Writer Tom Taylor continues to slow play his DC Scrabble board, revealing the third letter in what appeared for the first two days to be a daily letter-by-letter unveiling of the word "Injustice" and presumably the announcement a new comic book series based the popular video game franchise.
But after tweeting an "I" on Sunday and an "N" on Monday (both in the Arial font of the original Injustice: Gods Among Us logo) along with quotes, Taylor tweeted a "Z" Tuesday, throwing DC fans playing the Wheel of Fortune at home game for a loop.
“To guide us.”@DCComics pic.twitter.com/zwRx4l7MNJJuly 28, 2020
Tuesday's new quote accompanying the "Z" reads: "To guide us. To inspire us."
These join the quotes "I think it could have been different," attributed to Batman and the unattributed "If they were still here" that accompanied the first two letter reveals.
Taylor also posted what seems to be a new piece of art featuring Superman, Batman, Nightwing, and Robin on his Instagram account along with the letter and quotes.
There doesn't appear to be any words in the English language that begin with the letters I-N-Z.
To DC fans, the name Inza Nelson comes to mind. She is the wife of Kent Nelson, the Golden Age Dr. Fate, and who later becomes Doctor Fate herself in mainstream continuity, as well as in the Injustice video game continuity. Kent Nelson/Dr. Fate is a playable character in the Injustice 2 video game, and his ending involves resurrecting Inza, who died in the course of the Injustice comic book storyline.
Given Taylor used the Injustice: Gods Among Us logo font and assuming the writer is purposely making readers second guess their assumptions with his third clue, as we detailed previously that original series and its sequel Injustice 2 were two digital-first comic book series Taylor created based on the two popular and critically-acclaimed Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment video games developed by NeatherRealm Studios.
The Injustice world is based on an alternate DC world in which the Joker tricks Superman into killing Lois Lane and their unborn child turning the Man of Steel into an Earth-ruling tyrant, and Batman's efforts to end his totalitarian regime.
Given the first four quotes, the use of the original series logo font for the first two letters, and the art prominently featuring Superman, Newsarama still anticipates the new series to possibly be about Batman and other DC heroes either going back to the Gods Among Us prequel timeline to prevent Superman from killing Lois and the reality that leads to, and either succeeding or chronicling their attempt.
Taylor has been vocal about the fact Superman is his favorite superhero and described being asked to write the original Injustice: Gods Among Us series and learning the premise as a "punch in the gut."
In a 2018 Facebook post that served as a thank you letter to fans at the end of the Injustice 2 series, Taylor detailed his admiration for the Man of Steel.
"Superman was my first hero. He remains my absolute favorite hero to this day," he posted.
"They say most comic writers want to write Batman and, sure, Batman’s up there. But my dream was always writing Superman. Angst is easy, earnest is hard. Cynicism is simpler, but idealism is worth striving for, even if you have to brush the sides of saccharine."
Taylor described being overjoyed when he was asked to write Clark and Lois… "until the kicker," which was learning that in the game Superman would turn into a dictator, and Taylor needed to write a way for him to accidentally kill Lois and their unborn child in the prequel comic book series.
After the 'gut punch,' Taylor agreed to write the series, "But I wasn’t going to have Superman simply snap," he explained. "One tragedy wouldn’t see Superman stroking a white cat and cackling… I mean, it might, but that would be because he’d rescued the cat from a tree and he was laughing at a wholesome joke - like Batman locking himself out of the Batmobile.
"Sadly, loving Superman, I think I knew how to hurt him. So, to make this believable, Superman would have to try to do everything for the right reasons, but overreach, and be stopped by his best friend."
If set in the timeline before Superman kills Lois, Taylor would get to write a Superman that isn't tainted by the tragedy and perhaps leads to a whole new alternate reality in which the character stays true to the writer's view of him. The new "To guide us. To inspire us" quotes seems to corroborate this theory.
In the same Facebook thank you letter to fans, Taylor hinted at a possible return to the comic book franchise.
"Who knows? We may be back one day…" he signed off.
