Brainiac's Invasion Kills Three Major DC Villains in Injustice 2 #72

SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Injustice 2 #72, the series finale, by Tom Taylor, Bruno Redondo, Juan Albarran, Rex Lokus and Wes Abbott, on sale now.

When Batman's Resistance toppled Superman's regime at the end of Injustice, players knew this happy ending was going to be a temporary one. The imprisoned Kryptonian promised that, even if he didn't break free himself, Batman's way of dishing out justice would always breed criminals or leave Earth susceptible to outside attack, and they'd eventually call upon him again.

Well, Superman's words pretty much foreshadowed everything that's been transpiring in the Injustice 2 comics. This week's series finale finally shows just how Brainiac went about implementing the first wave of his invasion prior to the events of the video game sequel's story. The villain's deft maneuvering eventually requires the Dark Knight to call in some major assistance later on down the road.

In laying the groundwork for all this, Brainiac manipulates Gorilla Grodd into carrying out a coup on Gorilla City to take back the army he sees as rightfully his. In the process, Brainiac's puppeteering leads to the death of three major DC villains.

Grodd has long been plotting his revenge after Ra's al Ghul and his ape rival, Solovar, excommunicated him from an alliance of eco-terrorists comprised of Ra's League of Assassins and a Suicide Squad now controlled by the Demon's Head himself. However, Grodd, broken and now in exile, was found and co-opted by Brainiac, who needed an army on the ground to destabilize the new world order Bruce Wayne and company were building, which was already showing cracks in its early stages.

And so, just after the wedding of Killer Croc and Orca, Grodd makes his move with his devoted followers in the dead of night, wounding Ra's and taking him hostage. He gains control of the Suicide Squad's detonators and, as they oppose him, Man-Bat, who decides to swoop down on the rebellious gorilla, becomes the first to die. Grodd activates his explosive device, blowing his head up in midair, bringing a shocking end to the career of Dr. Kirk Langstrom, someone who was actually trying to atone for his murderous past as part of Amanda Waller's Task Force X.

Readers then bear witness to Grodd's second killing, which is way more heartless because it's done in front of a child. Solovar confronts Grodd to warn him of the mistake he's making, only to discover through their telepathic link that Grodd is being influenced by Brainiac.

Still bitter over their fallout, Grodd dangles Solovar's son in front of him, gloating that he'll be the child's new father, and, in the blink of an eye, before Solovar can even attempt to negotiate a truce or fight back, Grodd uses his mind-control abilities to make Deadshot put a bullet through Solovar's brain. Sadly, Solovar's son can't even grieve due to Grodd's brainwashing.

Saving the best for last, Grodd savors the slaughter of the man who led the uprising against his vision for the future of Gorilla City. This is, of course, none other than Ra's himself, and it's a very gory death befitting Game of Thrones.

Grodd uses his powers to make Ra's place his head in his hand. Right after delivering the chilling line, "Kneel before Grodd" the beast proceeds to squash Ra's skull. It leaves you squirming, similar to Season 4 of the hit HBO series when the Mountain squashed Oberyn Martell's head.

With all his enemies now dead, Grodd has at his disposal a group of villains he eventually uses to form the Society. They'll be used to weaken Batman's Resistance, distracting the vigilante while Brainiac corrupts Brother Eye to help his invasion plans run smoother. Eventually, this leaves Batman with no choice but to reluctantly free the Man of Steel, setting up the game's main storyline.

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Injustice 2: Brainiac's Invasion Has Killed Three Major DC Villains