Reviews
Injustice
Injustice 2 is on the way and there is no end to the DC characters that people would love to see make the roster. There are obvious picks like Static, Darkseid, and Black Canary, but there’s also plenty of lesser-known heroes and villains that could bring a lot to a fighting game.
This list is dedicated to the more fringe characters of the DC universe that still deserve a shot at the roster.
10. The Question
I’m sure you know about Rorschach from Watchmen, but you may not know that he is essentially the understudy of the Question. After DC acquired the rights to Charlton Comics, Alan Moore wanted to use their characters in Watchmen, but ended up creating his own unique cast with Rorschach taking the place of Question. A hard-boiled, noir-inspired detective along the same lines of the Shadow and, of course, Batman, Question has also had occasional stints as a hilariously nutty conspiracy theorist. The one major problem is that, despite looking like Slenderman in a fedora, Question doesn’t have any powers or even many gadgets and would have to rely on good ol’ fashion fisticuffs for his moveset. Still, he would certainly be a welcomed addition to the roster regardless of what he actually brings to the table.
9. Tawky Tawny
Remember Hobbs? Well, imagine if he had magical powers, dressed like James Bond, and was BFF’s with Captain Marvel. That, in a nutshell, is Tawky Tawny. A long-time ally of the Marvel Family, Tawny has all the strength you’d expect from a bipedal tiger as well as having the ability to transform into a sabertooth form that’s even stronger and faster. He’d be a perfect fit for a tooth-and-nail rushdown character similar to MvC Wolverine or Street Fighter‘s Necalli.
8. Platinum
The Metal Men are probably the silveriest of Silver Age super hero teams (despite not having a member actually named Silver). They are literally a group of sentient metals with powers and personalities based on the primary metals they’re composed of. Having any of them in Injustice 2 would be hilarious, but I’m going to go with the first member of the Metal Men and, ironically, the only female member (at least until Copper joined), Platinum. Her abilities to shape-shift and conduct heat and electricity have endless possibilities for an interesting and varied moveset. And now to make some painful, metal-based pun to close out this segment… I got nothing.
7. King Shark
He is a shark that walks like a man. I should not need to justify this.
6. Mr. Terrific
Mr. Terrific just seems like he was made to be a zoning character in Injustice. The third-smartest man in the DC universe, Terrific uses his robotic T-Spheres to fire off electricity, create laser grids, project holograms, and even just slam into people. He actually did appear in the first Injustice as a background character for the Watchtower stage, so we know Netherrealm has the character on their minds. Here’s hoping he can make like Martian Manhunter and step into the foreground.
5. Karu-Sil
Introducing more Lantern Corp characters is a little tricky as they all essentially have the same power set. However, it’s the personalities of the Lanterns and what they prefer to create with their hard-light powers that ultimately sets them apart and few have as distinctive a selection for their creations than Sinestro Corps member Karu-Sil. Orphaned at a young age and raised by wild beasts, she swore revenge against the Green Lanterns when one of their members killed her adopted family in a misunderstanding. She tore off her own lips and sharpened her teeth to more resemble her foster family (remind you of anyone?) and uses her powers as a Sinestro Corps Lantern almost exclusively to create constructs resembling her late loved ones. If she can’t make for a good Injustice character, I don’t know what does.
4. Vixen
There are plenty of heroes that have the power of being a one-man zoo, but making most of them actually work could tricky. Beast Boy is easily the most recognizable, but working in enough transformations to make him actually play like Beast Boy might be too taxing on the hardware. Animal Man doesn’t need to shapeshift, but he does need an actual animal nearby to draw on its powers. They could just brush over that plot-hole, but, all things considered, I’d rather have Vixen on the roster. With the Tantu Totem, she can mimic the abilities of all the animals she knows of. The strength of an elephant, the speed of a cheetah, the acrobatics of a spider, etc. Maybe I am being too pedantic in my reasons for wanting her over her more famous colleagues, but she definitely deserves some consideration.
3. August General in Iron
Originally trained as a member of an elite Chinese spec ops unit specializing in fighting space aliens (comics are great), the August General in Iron is now the field leader of Chinese super hero team Great Ten. What appears to be a suit of armor is actually a durable exoskeleton he developed after being put through live-saving experiments. While the Great Ten and the Justice League of America haven’t always seen eye-to-eye, August General was a major player in the New 52’s Justice League International. A highly decorated soldier with an energy staff that can cut steel, he would be a great pick for Injustice 2.
2. Mera
We already know that Aquaman is coming back, but having his wife on the roster would be even better. Along with having the same super-strength of her husband, Mera also has the ability to manipulate water to her will, which can easily form a diverse and unique moveset. Fun fact: she was also a Red Lantern at one point. It wasn’t for a long enough time for it to factor into how she’d fight, but it would at least make for a good alternate costume.
1. Booster Gold
Booster Gold: Protecting his past to ensure your future! Time-traveller Michael Jon Carter had an interesting journey from the 25th century to the present day. You might expect him to have travelled back in time to prevent the apocalypse or solve some caper that spans ages or something massive like that, but it was actually because his football career fell apart. Booster Gold is just some joe-schmoe who grabbed a bunch of everyday devices from his own time and traveled to the golden age of the Justice League assuming that his futuristic tech alone would instantly put him on par with the like of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. It didn’t really work that well.
Imagine if a big Sherlock Holmes fan grabbed a Mac book and an Uzi, walked through a portal in time to 1880s London, and tried to catch Jack the Ripper only for Scotland Yard to already be one step ahead the whole way. That’s Booster Gold in a nutshell and he is hilarious. While he’s usually treated as a poser and hanger-on by his associates, Booster Gold truly is a hero at heart and has his fair share of serious accomplishments under his belt. Between his witty dialogue and admittedly impressive array of gadgets, he’s an easy pick for my top spot in Injustice 2.
Those are my picks, now let’s hear yours. There’s no end to the utterly insane characters that comics come up with, so I’m sure you’ve got your fair share of underappreciated heroes and villains that would still make for great fighters. Leave a comment below and let us know what you think.
