Thanks to Batman’s leadership, The Justice League became embroiled in an incident that led to the destruction of Washington D.C. and the death of nearly every member of the American government. It also destroyed countless endangered species when one of Ra’s Al Ghul’s secret nature preserves was blown up.

Small wonder then that Oliver Queen and Dinah Lance both want to beat Batman senseless since, in addition to all of the above, Batman implanted their son, Connor, with a microchip without their knowledge and used Connor as bait in a scheme to get to Ra’s Al Ghul. Small wonder they’re less than thrilled when Batman shows up at their secret base. Particularly with Catwoman – a former member of Superman’s regime – in tow.

Bruce, for his part, isn’t happy to be there either, but he needs The League’s help as much as they need his information. Wonder Woman has escaped from her prison on Themyscira. Ra’s Al Ghul has a new weapon that destroyed the population of a remote Arizona town in minutes. And The Teen Titans are imprisoned in The Phantom Zone, requiring a mission to break into The Fortress of Solitude.

This just leaves one question – who gets the puppy that Batman saved?

It is to Tom Taylor’s credit as a writer that he tries to make every issue of Injustice 2 as accessible to new readers as possible. After two series (counting all five years of Injustice: Gods Among Us as a single series) there is a lot of lore to absorb and the story of Injustice 2 #35 is heavily steeped within that history. Somehow, Taylor manages to explain it all with the minimum of exposition, keeping the focus on the interactions between the characters.

Taylor also manages to introduce a fair bit of comedy into a serious situation and the artwork by Xermanico aids in this difficult balancing act. Consider the incongruous image of Batman delivering a dire proclamation of on-coming dooms while holding a cute little puppy. Backed by the colors of J. Nanjan and the lettering by Wes Abbott, Xermanico also excels when the time for talk is over and the time for an action sequence is nigh.

The only thing that prevents me from whole-heartedly recommending Injustice 2 #35 to everyone is the fact that I think it far better to start where it all began than try and jump into the story at this late date. It is possible, certainly, but not practical. Those already familiar with the world of Injustice, however, will find this issue to be as great as what they’ve enjoyed before.