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Written by: Mark Waid
Art by: Dan Mora
Colors by: Alejandro Sanchez
Letters by: Ariana Maher
Cover art by: Dan Mora
Cover price: $4.99
Release date: June 2, 2024
Absolute Power #1 kicks off a worldwide assault by Amanda Waller against every superpowered being on the planet to rob them of their powers and restore humans as the true power on Earth.
Is Absolute Power #1 Good?
I’ll be upfront and say I wasn’t looking forward to this event. Between Amanda Waller’s ludicrous amount of elevation/saturation across DC titles over the last year and the rushed/botched ending to the Failsafe arc, my expectations were pretty low.
That said, DC has one power team on their roster (Mark Waid and Dan Mora), so it should come as no surprise that this first issue is a banger in terms of pacing, urgency, action, excitement, and all-around quality. Placing Waller at the heart of a hard-to-swallow world takeover is still a faulty foundation, which puts the start of this event at a deficit, but Waid and Mora try their darndest to make up lost ground. At the very least, this issue gets an ‘A’ for effort.
Absolute Power #1 begins with a brief prologue showing Superman falling from a great height after suffering a gunshot wound from a bank robber. The Man of Steel is bulletproof no more.
Flashback to the previous day. Animal Man and his daughter return from a camping trip. When they see a commotion in the city park and land to investigate, they’re immediately attacked by the city’s citizens. What follows is a worldwide wave of panicked humanity reacting to video footage and news reports of superpowered individuals running amuck and slaughtering innocent people. We soon learn Amanda Waller is using the uber-powerful computing power of Brainiac Queen to transmit fake footage of attacks by heroes via hacks through every website and news source on the planet.
In short, the first salvo in Waller’s plan is a deluge of Fake News.
Using Brainiac Queen’s ultra-powerful computing power to create a worldwide panic over events that didn’t happen makes sense, and it can be an interesting way to steer public sentiment. That said, there’s an implied cynicism in this approach because it assumes that average humans are incapable of thinking for themselves or believing the evidence in front of their own eyes. Yes, online pundits have made a living talking about this very topic, but I follow Superman’s example by choosing to believe there is inherent good in people. In other words, this premise only works if you accept that everyone behaves like social media is the same as real life.
Sarge Steel discusses the progress of the plan with Waller, noting with some concern that Waller has chosen to override anyone who disagrees with her tactics, including the President. When public panic reaches its zenith through Waler’s conscription of every news outlet by force, phase two is initiated – the release of Amazo robots specifically designed to seek out and permanently remove the powers of every powered being on Earth.
Batman uses the secret Justice League comms frequency to signal to every Justice Leaguer about Waller’s attack, with a mandate to find a place to regroup. Batman’s transmission is interrupted by Oliver Queen, aka Green Arrow, who tells Batman he’s on Team Waller and he’s given her access to everything. Further, Waller made a deal with the United Planets to prevent anyone from leaving Earth or allowing otherworldly allies to lend aid.
Storywise, getting Waller to install herself as the sole power over Earth was a tough sell without a challenge from her people or the government, but Ollie’s turn makes the believability of this issue that much harder to accept. Ollie has always been too self-righteous for his own good, but his choice to side with a clear villain who kills people seems too far to reach in the name of keeping powered people in check. If you’ve been on the fence about Green Arrow up to this point, you’re going to hate him after this issue (unless he’s undercover, of course).
Waller’s second phase goes into effect. A squad of Amazo robots fan out across the world, zapping heroes to rob them of their power. Magic users have their minds wiped to forget how to conjure magic. Travelers through Time, Space, and the Multiverse are cut off. The entirety of Earth’s powered heroes are neutered in a matter of hours.
The issue ends with Jon Kent dragging a wounded Superman down the street to get him to safety. Suddenly, a robotic hand grabs Jon and hauls him away. Jon later wakes up strapped to an examination table, where it appears Brainiac Queen is assimilating Jon’s body into something inhuman. Resistance is Futile!
What’s great about Absolute Power #1? Again, Waid and Mora are the unbeatable power team at DC when it comes to delivering action, adventure, excitement, and drama. Waid’s ability to pull you onto the rollercoaster before it speeds away is undeniable, and Mora’s art is mesmerizing.
What’s not great about Absolute Power #1? The entire premise only works if you believe the following:
1. No one ever tells Amanda Waller “no.” Even on a human level, that hubris has to make her the target of several assassins.
2. Amanda Waller is an idiot for believing the UP, Trigon, or any number of non-Earth entities she bosses around won’t turn on her at the drop of a hat once they see Earth’s mightiest heroes are out of the way.
3. Oliver Queen is galactically stupid for siding with Waller.
That’s a pretty big series of horse pills to swallow. Is that Waid’s fault? Inside birdies tell me Waid is making the most of what DC editorial ga
ve him, so Waid deserves that ‘A’ for effort, but these lemons still amount to overly sour lemonade.About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
Follow @ComicalOpinions on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter
Final Thoughts
Absolute Power #1 presents oodles of action, adventure, excitement, and drama to get readers on board with DC’s big Summer event. As a bonus, Dan Mora’s art is an exquisite match for Mark Waid’s surprisingly engaging script. That said, the story only works if you choose to believe Amanda Waller can take over the world without anyone lifting a finger to stop her, which is a mighty big pill to swallow.
7.2/10
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