Most Injustice 2 conversations skip past the story mode and go straight to Multiverse or online play. That is a mistake. The campaign is the only place the game explains why the characters are fighting, and it is also the most structured piece of content in the entire franchise — twelve chapters, one branching point, and two conclusions that contradict each other on purpose.
This is the complete walkthrough, including the chapter structure, the fights that matter, and the exact point where the story splits.
The structure in plain numbers
Injustice 2 story mode is twelve chapters long. It contains seventy-six fights across five difficulty levels, from Very Easy to Very Hard. Completing any chapter awards an epic-tier gear piece for the character you used, which is a good reason to play through chapters with characters you actually intend to use afterwards.
The campaign takes roughly six to eight hours on a first playthrough. The two endings are not mutually exclusive in the way people remember — you can see both without replaying the entire game, thanks to chapter select.
The chapters
Chapter 1: Godfall — Batman
The opening chapter establishes the timeline. Batman is investigating the Regime's final days, specifically the imprisonment of Superman and the power vacuum that followed. You fight as Batman through Gotham and the Batcave, with the final confrontation against a brainwashed Superman clone controlled by Brainiac.
The important thing to understand here is not the fights but the context: this is a world where Superman murdered the Joker and established a dictatorship, and Batman spent five years fighting him. Chapter 1 is the aftermath.
Chapter 2: The Girl Who Laughs — Harley Quinn
Harley Quinn breaks out of Gorilla City with help from Catwoman, who is secretly working for Batman. The chapter alternates between Harley and Catwoman, showing the Society's internal chaos without Superman holding it together.
Boss fights include Gorilla Grodd and a brainwashed Green Arrow. The chapter ends with Harley joining Batman's resistance, which is a significant character beat — she is the only former Regime loyalist who switches sides without being forced.
Chapter 3: The Brave and the Bold — Green Arrow or Black Canary
The first character choice. You pick either Green Arrow or Black Canary for the entire chapter. The story is identical either way: you are rescuing captured resistance members from Stryker's Island. The fights change, and one character gets a moment against the other in the story, but the outcome is the same.
Pick the character you intend to build afterwards. The chapter gear reward follows your choice, and using a character you already like means the gear is not wasted.
Chapter 4: Invasion! — The Flash
The Flash has been pardoned and is trying to stay out of the conflict. Brainiac's invasion changes that. This chapter covers the first wave of abduction — cities being lifted into space — and ends with Flash joining Batman's coalition.
The Flash's speed mechanics make this chapter feel different from the others. His projectiles and dash attacks are useful against the Brainiac drone enemies that appear here.
Chapter 5: Sea of Troubles — Green Lantern
Hal Jordan is adrift after the Regime fell. Aquaman refuses to help Batman, and Brainiac attacks Atlantis to force the issue. The chapter follows Hal and Aquaman through the Atlantean attacks, ending with Aquaman agreeing to join the alliance against Brainiac.
Green Lantern's construct-based fighting style is effective against the shielded enemies that appear in this chapter.
Chapter 6: Assault on Stryker's Island — Blue Beetle or Firestorm
The second character choice. Blue Beetle or Firestorm lead the assault on Stryker's Island to free Superman from his imprisonment. Both characters have moments against Brainiac's forces, and both end with the same plot beat: Superman is released and reluctantly joins the alliance.
This is the chapter where the story starts to feel like a team forming rather than a resistance surviving.
Chapter 7: Breaking and Entering — Cyborg or Catwoman
The third character choice. Cyborg and Catwoman infiltrate the Batcave to access Brother Eye, Batman's surveillance system, which Brainiac has taken over. The chapter shows the internal conflict between Batman's methods and Superman's, and it ends with Grid — a cyborg copy of Cyborg created by Brainiac — as the chapter boss.
The choice between Cyborg and Catwoman is mostly aesthetic. Cyborg has more raw power; Catwoman has faster attacks. Pick whichever fits your preferred fighting style.
Chapter 8: Goddess of War — Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman takes Supergirl to Metropolis to confront Superman about his actions. The chapter is a direct argument between the two Kryptonians, and it ends with Supergirl learning the truth about the Regime's crimes — specifically, that Superman killed the Joker and then expanded his control into a full dictatorship.
Wonder Woman's gameplay here is straightforward. Her speed and block-breaking moves make the chapter fights manageable on any difficulty.
Chapter 9: Last Hope of Krypton — Supergirl
Supergirl confronts Superman in the Fortress of Solitude. This is the emotional core of the campaign — she discovers that her cousin, the man she thought was humanity's protector, became a tyrant who murdered criminals and then civilians who disagreed with him.
The chapter ends with Supergirl joining Batman's side, which completes the ideological split. The Regime is no longer a unified force; it is a collection of individuals with their own motives.
Chapter 10: Three Kings — Aquaman and Black Adam
Aquaman and Black Adam lead an assault on Brainiac's ship. The chapter is about the alliance's military wing, and it shows the two most powerful non-Kryptonian heroes on the planet working together against a common threat.
Gameplay shifts between Aquaman and Black Adam, both of whom are heavy, slow hitters. The fights here are longer but not more difficult — the AI adapts to the character change.
Chapter 11: The World's Finest — Batman and Superman
The two leads share the screen for the first time. Brainiac's shields are down, the assault on his ship is underway, and the alliance is fractured over what to do with him. Batman wants to spare Brainiac to recover the abducted cities. Superman wants to kill him and use his ship to re-establish order.
The chapter ends with the two fighting each other's teams before the final confrontation in Chapter 12.
Chapter 12: The Choice — Batman and Superman
This is the branch point. The chapter plays out the same way until the final decision, where you choose which character to control for the last fight.
If you choose Batman: You fight Aquaman, Black Adam, Wonder Woman, and finally Superman in the Batcave. Winning triggers the Absolute Justice ending.
If you choose Superman: You fight Green Lantern, The Flash, Supergirl, and finally Batman in the Batcave. Winning triggers the Absolute Power ending.
The chapter select menu becomes available after your first completion, so you can replay this chapter and pick the other side without replaying the entire campaign.
The two endings
Ending A: Absolute Justice
Batman defeats Superman and uses gold kryptonite to permanently depower him. Superman is imprisoned in the Phantom Zone, and Batman forms a new Justice League with the survivors — including Supergirl, who accepts the invitation.
The ending is optimistic but uneasy. Batman explicitly says Superman will return, and the final shot is of the Phantom Zone prison, not a victory celebration.
Ending B: Absolute Power
Superman defeats Batman and kills Brainiac, bonding with his ship to restore most of Earth's cities. He re-establishes the Regime with the captured alien populations as his army, and offers Supergirl a place at his side. When she refuses, he reveals a mind-controlled Batman as proof that resistance is futile.
The ending is a return to the first game's premise, but with Brainiac's technology added to Superman's power base.
The fights worth knowing about
Not every fight in the seventy-six needs a strategy, but a few are consistently problematic on higher difficulties.
Brainiac (Chapter 1 final fight). He fights as Batman but uses Brainiac's AI patterns. The trick is to close distance quickly — his projectiles are dangerous at range, but he is vulnerable to close-range combos.
Superman (Chapter 2). His laser eyes are an unblockable overhead. Do not try to block them; dodge or jump. Bait his heat vision, then punish the recovery.
Bane (Chapter 3). His venom rush is a long startup move with a short cooldown. Bait it, then punish during recovery. Jump kicks work well here.
Doctor Fate (Chapter 6 or 7, depending on route). His projectiles are fast and can be meter-burned for multi-hit strings. Stay mobile and close the gap between casts.
Brainiac final boss (Chapter 12). Three phases. Phase one is a standard fight. Phase two summons minions that need to be cleared before you can damage him effectively. Phase three adds a shield that must be broken before any damage lands. The shield breaks with heavy attacks or specific character traits, depending on who you are playing.
Where the story actually goes
Injustice 2 is often described as a sequel to Injustice: Gods Among Us, but it is more accurate to think of it as a sequel to the Injustice comics. The game borrows the premise — Superman becomes a tyrant after the Joker tricks him into killing Lois Lane — but the details diverge quickly. The comic continuity and the game continuity are not the same, and neither is canon for the other.
The two endings are the real problem for any sequel. A direct Injustice 3 would have to choose one, which means half the audience feels their playthrough was retconned. The rebrand rumors — DC fighter rather than Injustice 3 — are the cleanest solution to that, because they let the next game start fresh without invalidating either ending.
For now, both are valid, and both are worth seeing.
Where to go next
- Is Injustice 3 coming? — development evidence and timeline
- Injustice 2 story and characters — deeper lore coverage
- Injustice multiplayer guide — what to do after the campaign