Five Characters We Want In Injustice 2

The impending announcement and released of Injustice 2, the sequel to NetherRealm Studios’ hit DC Comics fighting game, was confirmed today via a promotional poster sent to GameStop store locations. While we still don’t have any firm details about the game (those are liking going to be revealed at next week’s Electronic Entertainment Expo), we’re already filling out our fantasy roster.

The original Injustice: Gods Among Us launched with a stellar roster that included most of DC Comics’ heroic heavyweights – Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, and the Flash –and most vile villains – the Joker, Harley Quinn, Black Adam, and Lex Luthor. The roster only grew through downloadable content that introduced the likes of Lobo, Batgirl, General Zod, Martian Manhunter, and Zatanna to the game’s ranks.

However, with hundreds of characters to choose from in the DC Comics universe, somebody’s favorite is bound to be left out. On top of that, it’s been three years since the Injustice: Gods Among Us was released. The landscape has changed. The DC Extended Universe has launched. The CW has an entire shared DC Comics universe of their own going. Certain characters who were probably never even considered for the original have seen their popularity rise considerably as a result of these new television and film properties.

It wasn’t easy, but ComicBook.com has boiled down the long list of characters we want to see in Injustice 2 to the very top five. We’ve made sure not to include any character who was playable in the original. Did your favorite make the list? Let us know in the comments!

Supergirl

Supergirl has received a huge spike in popularity thanks to her new television show, formerly on CBS and now moving to The CW for its second season. Melissa Benoist has become a near-instant icon of televised “girl power,” which should be enough to warrant her character’s consideration for Injustice 2. That Warner Bros. could probably sell a downloadable content pack featuring the television version of the Girl of Steel’s costume is just an added bonus.

The biggest obstacle to Kara’s inclusion in Injustice 2 is likely the guaranteed inclusion of her cousin, Superman. As both characters are Kryptonian, they possess identical power sets. In order to give Supergirl a unique place in the roster, NetherRealm would have to figure out a way to make her playstyle distinct from Superman’s. There’re a couple of ways to do that, perhaps by simply focusing on different aspects of their powers, or possibly by making Supergirl a lower consistent level of strength with more powerful “outburst” style special abilities, representing that she is still learning to control her abilities.

Deadshot

Sorry Deathstroke, but you can’t be DC Comics’ only gunslinging mercenary assassin hot shot forever. Floyd Lawton’s star is on the rise. The character is about to be played by superstar Will Smith in the upcoming Suicide Squad movie, and he should be a contender for Injustice 2 as well.

While Deathstroke had gunplay covered in Injustice: Gods Among Us, that was used to compliment Slade’s sword fighting capabilities. Deadshot could focus almost entirely on gunplay, mixing mobile attacks from his wrist-mounted guns with more powerful, stationary sniper attacks and grenades.

We chose Deadshot because he’s the highest profile member of the Suicide Squad cast who didn’t appear in the first Injustice, but any member of the team would make a great addition to the cast. Katana could step up the game’s swordplay with some energy drain powers, Diablo could make a good flame-powered fighter, and Enchantress could make a good arcane opponent.

Black Canary

Black Canary is perhaps the most confounding omission from the original Injustice‘s roster. As one of the best hand-to-hand fighters in the DC Universe, it seems like she should have been at the top of the list of characters considered, but she wasn’t even included in the downloadable content for the game.

Things may have changed for Dinah Lance, as the character has been featured prominently on The CW’s Arrow (played by Katie Cassidy). She could potentially play as a brutal and fast close combat character with her sonic scream as a special ability that keeps opponents on their toes. Throw in some downloadable Arrow-based costumes, and Black Canary seems like a winner.

Darkseid

Injustice 2 is going to need a big bad. With the villainous High Councilor Superman defeated, perhaps Darkseid can play that role. It isn’t hard to imagine a storyline where Darkseid leads an army against Earth and the heroes are forced to make the difficult decision to free the High Councilor to help defend the planet.

Darkseid would play a physical brute with his devastating omega beam as a special attack. As a bonus, Darkseid would open up the door for other characters from Apokolips to appear in the game, including Kalibak and Big Barda, or possibly some of the New Gods like Orion or Lightray.

Constantine

If you can’t keep John Constantine on television, maybe you can have him in a video game instead. The perennial cult favorite may seem like an odd choice for a fighting game, but what he lacks in brute strength he more than makes up for in arcane power, perhaps even casting a few ward and body armor spells to justify him not being immediately liquefied by the likes of Superman.

Constantine could fight like a bar brawler up close, while relying on his magic to do the real damage. Imagine Constantine fighting fist-to-fist and then whipping out his lighter for a little pyromancy. That seems like something that would fit right into Injustice.