Injustice 2 is one of the best fighting games to come out in years, bursting at the seams with both single and multiplayer content. NetherRealm Studios had already established the art of adding a worthy story mode in a fighting game through the Mortal Kombat series, but they would repeat this success again with the Injustice series, using a worthy comic book storyline that rivals both live-action and animated movies.
Injustice 2 features a diverse set of superheroes and supervillains to choose from, some are easier to use than others, but there's an argument that could be made for each character being as dangerous as the next in the right hands. However, many characters can be organized by pros and amateurs into categories that range from overpowered to utterly useless, and there are some clear winners when trying to determine who the best characters in Injustice 2 are.
Updated May 26, 2023 By Ben Jessey: Injustice 2 remains one of the greatest fighting games in recent memory. One of the things it receives praise for is its diverse cast of DC heroes and villains. They all look great, but they aren't all brilliant to play as.
After all, just because a character has cool powers in the comics doesn't mean they translate well to a fighting game. So, we created this list to rank all the characters from a gameplay perspective. Now we've returned to the piece to clean it up.
38 Cheetah
Anyone who is aware of Cheetah knows that she fights like a wild cat. In fact, even if you don't know her, you can guess her feline-like fighting style just from looking at her.
She has some amazing combo chains and tremendous speed. Unfortunately, this speed and agility aren't enough to make her an excellent combatant. She deals very little damage and is extremely vulnerable, due to having low durability and health stats. It's a shame too, because the character is still well rendered in the game itself, but looks can’t make up for this near-unusable character’s abilities.
37 Black Manta
This nemesis of Aquaman was somewhat of an odd inclusion for Injustice 2, being a fairly underrated and lesser-known villain that often looks more silly than serious. His inclusion was likely due to his presence in the Aquaman film, but for a fighting game, there was a lot of uncertainty about how he would play out.
Unfortunately, this ended up being quite underwhelming, as his powerful laser vision is the only real move that ends up being effective against most foes. His other forms of damage are still too weak to make a statement against most foes, and while it’s incredibly satisfying to blast foes with an intense beam of red energy, it’s not enough to keep him in the higher tiers of competitive play.
36 Atom
Atom is a particularly odd character in the DC Comics world, being confused often with Captain Atom and having several variations throughout different forms of media.
He’s slightly more consistent in Injustice 2, as Atom actually has a fair number of skills that can make up for his poor damage. His shrinking and growing abilities let him dodge opponents in a much more effective way, but that doesn’t really help him from taking down opponents. It’s hard to kill Atom, but you’ll probably have plenty of time to get him out of his dodging cycle.
35 Cyborg
As he's a popular character, it’s a shame Cyborg isn't very effective in this game. He has a lot of useful moves and is capable of working well in both close and long-range with his high-ability stats. But his mix of abilities doesn’t end up giving him a consistent enough strategy.
His charge move is capable of stopping a combo chain dead in its tracks but requires far more precise timing and skill than most players are going to be capable of.
34 Brainiac
In the Injustice 2 timeline, Brainiac was responsible for destroying Krypton, and makes for a great villain as he works to take down the misinformed Supergirl and villainous Superman.
Despite being the primary villain of the game, though, his health stats are on the lower side. He makes up for this by being a powerful long-range fighter, but his abilities are especially complicated and hard to master. He's not suited to newer players, but those who enjoy fighting on the outside will do well with Brainiac.
33 Firestorm
Firestorm is the joining of two minds in one body, the young Jason Rusch and Professor Martin Stein, and it’s established early in the story that they’re some of the strongest entities in the Injustice universe.
Unfortunately, this high power also comes with some bottom-tier health stats. Firestorm has some devastating special attacks, and elaborate particle effects that can keep an opponent guessing your next move, but his combo chains can be difficult to pull off even for some experienced players, meaning he doesn’t quite have a good home or playstyle.
32 Black Canary
Black Canary is an expert martial artist, and a member of the Justice League and the Birds of Prey. Plus, she has a remarkably unique power that allows her to create supersonic vibrations from her mouth, something that puts her surprisingly ahead of many other superheroes.
Black Canary’s moves and speed are quite easy to utilize in Injustice 2, and her Super Power move can really stop opponents in their tracks. Despite these great power moves, though, her normal attacks don’t deal a lot of damage, and just like Cheetah this can prevent her from dealing enough consistent damage.
31 Atrocitus
As you'd expect for a character with the physical presence of Atrocitus, he is a character with excellent strength and health stats. He also has fast combo chains when you unleash his feline companion Dex-Star.
However, the player needs to be on the offense all the time, and his large size means you can have your attacks telegraphed from a mile away. This doesn’t make him anywhere near the worst character in Injustice 2, he’s definitely one of the most deceptively fragile.
30 Catwoman
Catwoman is often seen as something of an anti-hero in the DC Universe and is sometimes seen as both an annoyance and a help to Batman. This often prevents The Dark Knight from completely trusting her, but she has had his back more often than not and is a plenty capable fighter in her own right.
Catwoman can be a joy to play and has an excellent amount of speedy moves coupled with good range through the use of her whip. However, she is in the lower tier of fighters because of her lower strength and attack stats, and while she has more broad utility than Cheetah and Black Canary, she still lacks in the places that a fighting game character needs to reach.
29 Darkseid
Darkseid is the Lord of Apokolips and is one of the most powerful characters in the DC universe. In the comics and movies, the villain has limitless strength, invincibility, and commands an army of Parademons, making him a potentially overpowered character in a fighting game.
Yet, despite this powerful reputation and inspiration, Darkseid is quite underwhelming when it comes to Injustice 2. His speed is extremely minimal and he relies on using heavy attacks at the right moment, which simply won’t work against a large number of foes. If you’re an expert player who can get his timing down perfectly, he’s far from useless, but be ready to get disappointed when using this cosmic terror for the first time.
28 Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is one of DC's most well-known and popular superheroes, having two major blockbuster films and a long history in television. Most people know her as an iconic Amazon, protecting humankind from all sorts of mystical and ancient threats with one of the most prideful identities of any DC hero.
In this game, Wonder Woman's strength and health stats are fittingly good, but she's surprisingly slow given her thinner frame, leaving her open against the higher-tiered speed characters. It can also be a little hard for beginners to get a grasp on beginning a combo chain, as they aren't as easy to pull off in comparison to other characters despite being fairly effective.
27 Bane
Bane is popular among DC fans as "the man who broke The Bat," and was a previous member of Superman's Regime. However, Bane was betrayed by the Regime and was pursued continuously by Batman.
Bane is a very strong character with good health and ability stats, but his defenses let him down. Much like Atrocitus, he’s extremely oriented towards fast and ruthless aggression but is significantly strong Injustice 2 character thanks to a fairly simple moveset. He's not spectacular, but certainly capable of putting up a fight against most other B-tier characters.
26 Swamp Thing
Swamp Thing is considered a living elemental that protects all plant life (also known as "The Green") on Earth. He is handy in a fight, too.
Although Swamp Thing is big and strong, he isn't quite a tank like Bane or Atrocitus. His health and ability statistics are some of the lowest in the game, but some of his more powerful moves aim low and can often catch unsuspecting opponents off-guard. He’s extremely vulnerable to faster opponents, but he’s also fairly good if you have a rival who you think he can easily counter.
25 Green Lantern
In Injustice 2, Green Lantern returns to the side of good and attempts to redeem himself in the eyes of the other heroes by stopping Brainiac's invasion of Earth.
Just like the comic books, his power comes from his ring, giving him extremely balanced moves with a lot of room for different playstyles and combos. If you lose your combo chain, it can take a while for him to recover his stamina to start again, but if you’re a more experienced player you might be able to make use of his versatility quite well.
24 Aquaman
Aquaman is often seen as a joke by a majority of comic book fans, but with his recent film appearances this reputation has slowly faded, and he's satisfyingly powerful when it comes to Injustice 2.
Aquaman has solid strength, top-tier ability, and defense stats in the right hands, meaning he can often be a force to be reckoned with. Aquaman's fighting style seems to be better suited to patient players who enjoy fighting defensively, and given his disappointingly low health stats, it means you’ll want to be blocking and taking your time as much as possible.
23 Raiden
Raiden is among the most famous fighting game characters ever due to his exploits in the Mortal Kombat series. In those games, Raiden is a deadly force to be reckoned with, particularly in the canon. But how does he fare against DC heroes and villains? Not incredibly well is the answer.
He certainly looks fancy with his range of spectacular lightning attacks, but they seem more effective in Mortal Kombat than they do in this game. He's not completely awful, but he's certainly not among the best fighters in the game.
22 Starfire
Starfire is mostly known from the Teen Titans shows, but her existence in Injustice 2 is worth a discussion on its own. When she first released, her aerial combat style made her functionally overpowered, being nearly impossible to deal with and getting progressively nerfed with each patch.
At this point, she’s still fairly powerful and has one of the best finishers, but she is hardly the disastrous metahuman she was before. She’s built around keeping a distance from your opponent through wide and long-distance attacks, but her impact is fairly low and her only major benefit still is her excellent aerial dodging.
21 Superman
Next to Batman, Superman is DC's most well-known character. As such, he's been in many different games. And in Injustice 2, he is very important to the main narrative. More importantly, though, he's a decent fighter, but not as good as you'd expect.
Superman's starting strength stats are only second-tier when compared to the likes of Bane, Gorilla Grod, and even Scarecrow. He has top-tier defense, but his ability stats are middling, and his health stats are near the bottom of the list. As a result, you are forced to fight defensively with him while trying to take advantage of his flying powers, which give him enough vulnerability to be better than most characters while controlling somewhat challengingly.
20 Poison Ivy
Poison Ivy has the ability to produce mind-controlling pheromones and control plants. This makes her a dangerous foe in the comics.
In the game, Poison Ivy is at her best when she is keeping her opponents at a distance, this helps protect her lower health statistics. She has good combo chains but they can be a little difficult to pull off, and if they fail she's completely vulnerable to close-range fighters that can take advantage of her low-tiered health.
19 Blue Beetle
Jaime Reyes gained his powers because one day when he was out with his mother in Texas he stumbled across an artifact known as the Scarab. This alien tech binds onto him and gives him a wide set of technological powers from flight to energy blasts, and his appearance in this game is surely a huge surprise for many comic fans.
Thankfully, Blue Beetle is a decent all-around fighter with a good amount of speed and ability stats, and a variety of good moves. His combo chains can hit fast and hard from mid-range, but his strength stats are middling and can be difficult to pull off for newer players. Nonetheless, he’s absolutely the point where Injustice 2’s characters start getting substantially stronger.
18 The Joker
The Joker is Batman's most well-known and greatest nemesis. This version of The Joker is responsible for the destruction of Metropolis and the complete breakdown of Batman and Superman's friendship and only appears as a hallucination in the story, but gets a full character identity with Injustice 2 that’s worthwhile for dedicated fans of this famous villain.
Despite The Joker not being one of the strongest characters in the game, he has the ability to close the distance very well with a variety of fast combos that you wouldn’t normally expect from this clown. This includes some special moves that can be chained with Meter Burn abilities, but also just a wide set of counter strategies that give him a wonderful edge above even some other speed-based characters.
17 Red Hood
Former holder of the Robin handle and a nemesis to Batman, the Red Hood has historically been one of the cult classics of most DC Comics fans. His weirdly clothed style with guns and gadgets has made him a massive favorite among Batman fans especially, and he’s ended up beloved in nearly every game and film appearance thanks to this excellent style and backstory.
As for Injustice 2, he’s actually one of the more powerful DLC characters to have been released, functioning extremely similar to the Joker. His attacks are fast and he can counter all kinds of moves, so if you want something more serious that can deal with all kinds of strategies, Red Hood is the perfect anti-hero for your play style.
16 Gorilla Grodd
Gorilla Grodd is an intelligent and powerful ape with superb telekinetic powers that don’t feature prominently enough in Injustice 2.
Nonetheless, Grodd is an extremely powerful character. He is surprisingly explosive and he's much quicker than other power characters like Bane or Atrocitus, and his ability to pull in opponents from long distances makes him a great grappling tank. If you want to juggle opponents in the air quickly and disruptively, Grodd is an excellent choice.
15 Robin
Bruce Wayne's son, Damian, is currently in the suit of Robin during Injustice 2. He was raised and trained by his mother Talia al' Ghul in the League of Assassins and was always at odds with his father's code of no killing, so it makes fair sense that in Injustice 2 he sides with Superman's Regime so that he can kill villains in his way.
Robin is one of the better mid to close-range fighters in the game, and much like Joker he's able to land devastating and disruptive combo chains without much challenge. His middle-tier statistics allow for a balanced fighter, but not a superior one, and is especially great when it comes to countering larger tanks that can’t keep up with his speed.
14 Harley Quinn
Harley Quinn has seen her popularity increase since she was a central character in DC's Suicide Squad and as the main character of an Adult Swim series, and this surely led to her definite inclusion in Injustice 2.
Although Harley doesn't excel greatly in one particular statistic, she's very well-balanced, especially if you learn her set-ups to unleash massive combo chains. This is an excellent character for new players as she can be quite straightforward compared to the more superpowered characters, while not lacking in defenses or offenses in ways that would make her sub-par compared to most characters.
13 Scarecrow
Scarecrow is a character known primarily for providing significant scares using his toxins. And he uses those same toxins in the game to give himself the appearance of a monster. This is makes him a more fearsome fighter.
It helps that he's also one of the strongest characters in the game. His normal moves can cause a lot of damage and have the longest range in the game, but they take a long time to properly recover, meaning he’s primarily good in the hands of players who can predict opponents well enough to not risk serious misses.
12 Black Adam
Black Adam has been known to be both a supervillain and an anti-hero in the DC universe. And his overall fame has continued to increase, which has been helped by his various video game appearances, as well as his standalone movie.
Black Adam has high-tiered strength and top-tier abilities and defenses, but like an oddly large number of tanks, he lacks in his health stat. That said, he functions quite similar to Superman, so if you enjoyed the floatier style of movement you can take a more offensive and effective approach with this other villainous character.
11 Dr. Fate
Kent Nelson is a powerful sorcerer that has the ability to see the world's fate. Although his Helmet compels him to maintain the world's fate for the sake of Order, his ever-present humanity causes him to intervene, leading to a sudden and dominant presence throughout Injustice 2.
Dr. Fate has some of the most visually impressive movesets in the game, featuring several that can prevent opponents from using environmental attacks and a few unblockable moves to knock opponents away from you. This makes him a great choice for those who enjoy countering combos, as he’s easily one of the best disruption and crowd-controlling characters you can choose.
10 Captain Cold
This classic member of the Flash’s Rogue gallery is an underrated one for sure, and in Injustice 2 he fits right in.
Captain Cold isn't a combo-heavy character like most Injustice heroes, but the moves he has at his disposal are extremely effective. His ability to set up traps and hit his opponents with overheads and unblockable strikes can cause many issues for the opposition. He has low defense, so using mid to long-range attacks will definitely help keep him protected.
9 Supergirl
Supergirl was originally sent to Earth at the same time as her cousin Superman, but her ship was knocked off course and she drifted in space in a cryogenic state. By the time she landed on Earth, Kal-El had grown into Superman, but he had been imprisoned by Batman and kept from her sight.
Supergirl's versatility makes her a great character for newcomers, taking all the great aspects of Superman and Black Adam without being as complicated or strategy-based. Her combo chains and special moves are easy to learn too, and while she can be easy-to-predict for expert players, it’s easy to use Supergirl in nearly any matchup.
