Report: Injustice 3 Leak Reveals New and Returning Characters for Roster
It’s an open secret by now that a new entry in the DC fighting series Injustice is in the works at NetherRealm Studios. A few months ago, we spotted the first explicit mention of the title on an artist’s resume, but whispers regarding a return to DC’s brawler franchise had been circulating long before that.
Recent reports suggest that playtests seemingly belonging to Injustice 3 are currently taking place in California. Could this motion behind the scenes point to an imminent reveal? We don’t know for sure, but we can provide details on another front.
We’ve found further corroboration of the game’s existence, and we also have a first peek at the roster, confirming the inclusion of two well-known characters for DC fans.
Injustice 3 Is Bringing Heroines from Gotham and Metropolis
This latest information stems from the resume of a stunt worker who’s a recurring collaborator of NetherRealm, providing action-related motion capture for their latest titles. While the listing is predictably light on details, it reveals two characters being worked into the fighting roster: Batwoman and Supergirl.
It also confirms the involvement of Jake Huang, an animator and stunt coordinator at the studio who is jumping into this new project right after wrapping up his duties on Mortal Kombat 1.
Supergirl’s return comes as little surprise given her central role in Injustice 2. After seeing the reality of her cousin’s regime, she turned her back on Superman and joined the reformed Justice League in the game’s canonical ending.
But while Kara’s return is exactly what fans expected, the character drawing more attention here is Batwoman, as this would mark her debut in the mainline games (excluding the CW-inspired version in the Injustice mobile game). However, this wouldn’t be her first appearance in the broader storyline.
The Bat-family member previously appeared in the game’s tie-in comics, ultimately meeting a fatal end at the hands of Superman. That tragic comic book exit makes Batwoman’s involvement really interesting, implying a few possibilities for the narrative.
The first is that the heroine’s mantle could be taken over by someone else. In the comics, the version who perishes is Kate Kane, so in classic comic book fashion, there’s still a possibility for the role to be brought back through a different character.
Another choice would be to retcon the comic events or simply ignore them altogether. But this seems unlikely, given that the comic arcs are widely recognized as canon and acknowledged throughout the games. The final option might be simpler than expected: this game might not be a direct continuation of Injustice as we know it.
Before NetherRealm’s latest release, Mortal Kombat 1, the title was internally referred to as Mortal Kombat 12, surfacing in leaks with that name. Only later did it become clear that the game was designed as a soft reboot of the established timeline. Because of this precedent, we can’t rule out that the Injustice franchise could follow a similar path and start over with a completely fresh story.
Whether this turns out to be I3 or a complete reboot, proof that a NetherRealm DC project is in the works has been in plain sight for a while. Just last year, DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran hinted at tighter collaborations across mediums. “James and I sit with the guys that run the studios under JB [Perrette], whether it’s NetherRealm or Rocksteady,” Safran noted.
Either way, it’s likely we won’t have to wait much longer to see what NetherRealm has been cooking. If the studio follows the rhythm of previous releases, an official announcement could arrive anywhere between later this year and next year.
