Part of an ongoing series revisiting graphic novels and collected editions from days gone by....

Superman, tired of the supervillain Parasite's shenanigans, throws him into the sun. That's just one concrete example of how far gone Superman and his fascist Regime have gone by the start of Year Five in DC's ongoing Injustice: Gods Among Us storyline.

He also rips Solomon Grundy's head off, but since he knows it will grow back, that's less impactful.

Year Five is the final arc in the saga and, as such, will get three books instead of two to wrap up the story, which has seen Superman -- torn by grief after the Joker destroys Metropolis and, in the process -- killed his wife Lois and unborn child -- establish a global government that he rules with an iron fist ... all with the justification of enforcing peace and safety on the world's citizens. Many heroes have flocked to his banner, among them Wonder Woman, the Hal Jordan version of Green Lantern, Cyborg, Flash, Hawkgirl and Robin, aka Damian Wayne, Batman's son, who is still grappling with the guilt of accidentally killing Dick Grayson in an early conflict in the series.

Sinestro, the powerful antithesis of the Green Lantern Corps, also joins Superman's side of the fight, lending a great deal of power -- and questionable moral tendencies -- to the Regime. The Green Lanterns have mostly fallen, and everyone from Aquaman and the people of Atlantis to the pantheon of Greek gods have been bullied into submission -- or killed -- so that they can't hinder the Regime's further consolidation of power.

In the last book, however, Plastic Man rescued his son from Superman's prison and, in doing so, freed a horde of supervillains.

Meanwhile, Batman's efforts to stop Superman's authoritarian rule grows increasingly desperate, particularly since Superman's side doesn't flinch from killing its foes. Green Arrow, Black Canary and Rene Montoya are among those who fell in earlier volumes. But now, with so many supervillains on the loose, he recruits a team from among them -- specifically, members of Flash's Rogue's Gallery, who despite being criminals have a strong aversion to killing.

Then Doomsday falls to Earth, still with a mad-on for Superman. Bane, the villain who broke Batman's back, offers his services to Superman's team. Catwoman, who has been among Batman's most reliable allies, is captured and tortured by Bane and, after her rescue, decides, she has had enough of hopeless insurrection. Hawkman flies in from Thanagar to bring Hawkgirl home at any cost. Damian and Alfred have a heart to heart chat in the disused Batcave. And Bizarro Superman, a clone attempt gone seriously wrong, escapes from the lab that made him and decides he must rid the world of the "pretender" who wears his face.

So, expect to see a lot of big fights in this book, including Batman vs. Superman, Superman vs. Bizarro Superman, Superman vs. Doomsday, and Hawkman vs. Hawkgirl. More people die, too.

There is a lot going on Year Five, and it's only just getting started.