Absolute Power (comics)
| "Absolute Power" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher | DC Comics | ||
| Publication date | July 3, 2024 | ||
| |||
| Main character(s) | |||
| Creative team | |||
| Writer(s) | Mark Waid | ||
| Artist(s) |
| ||
| Colorist(s) | Trish Mulvihill | ||
| Editor(s) | Paul Kaminski | ||
"Absolute Power" is a 2024 American comic book crossover storyline published by DC Comics. As part of the Dawn of DC initiative, the main limited series will be written by Mark Waid, with art by Dan Mora, and debuted on July 3, 2024. The event takes place in the aftermath of "House of Brainiac".[1]
Premise[edit]
To neutralize the ability of every metahuman around the world, Amanda Waller recruits Failsafe and the Brainiac Queen into the Suicide Squad, beginning a campaign of hate and fear over people. In response, the Justice League and the remaining heroes form a resistance.[2]
Publication history[edit]
"Absolute Power" is a crossover event published by DC Comics and was released July 3, 2024. The main limited series of four issues is written by Mark Waid and drawn by Dan Mora.[1] During the Dawn of DC initiative, a "Trinity of Evil" was teased,[3] featuring Amanda Waller, leader of A.R.G.U.S., Checkmate and the Suicide Squad, alongside the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh, a Silver Age character who was reintroduced in 2022 during the "Failsafe" arc from Batman (vol. 3) #125–130 by Chip Zdarsky and Jorge Jiménez, and the Brainiac Queen, a female variation of Brainiac who was introduced in 2024 during the "House of Brainiac" storyline by Joshua WIlliamson and Rafa Sandoval.[4]
Plot[edit]
Background[edit]
In response to recent events involving metahumans, Amanda Waller decided that superpowers, regardless of coming from both superheroes and supervillains, are already dangerous to be left unchecked. She gains the approval of the Council of Light (later revealed to be several clones of Brainiac in disguise) to take drastic measures. To archive her goal, Waller takes over the Hall of Justice, founding the Bureau of Sovereignty in order to discredit both the Justice League and Titans as berserk heroes. She even coerced Dreamer and Green Arrow to work for her in taking over Gamorra and create an exclusive prison for metahumans.[5]
Meanwhile, in Gotham City, Batman developed Failsafe, an AI robot with the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh's personality, who is determined to eradicate all crime, even if that means not following his creator's moral code. He created his own army of Amazos to archive his goal. He was defeated by Batman and his family, but Waller took Failsafe's body.
Finally, in Metropolis, Brainiac created the Brainiac Queen as a mean to experience the feeling of love he lost during his previous planetary invasions. Her primary functions involve devouring the abilities from the worlds he conquered until she gains her final form. After admitting his last defeat against Superman, Brainiac sends the Queen away, but in the process, she lost her memories.
After the Brainiac Queen awakens from her slumber, Waller and Failsafe recruit her to help them complete their agenda, which includes using her powers on a special device that causes power draining over the metahumans, transferring these to Failsafe's army, which Waller named as "Task Force VII".[6]
Main story[edit]
In Metropolis, a group of robbers attempt to escape using a helicopter. Superman tries to de-escalate the situation, but one of the robbers fires his pistol at Superman, which manages to injure and cause him to fall from the sky.[7] In Keystone City, 28 hours earlier, Animal Man and Animal Girl land in the park and are met by scared citizens, which proceed to beat Animal Man to near-death. Batman and Robin watch news channels report on Animal Man's attack and on videos depicting superheroes committing acts of violence and destruction across the globe. Batman deduces the videos are fake, and were created to discredit superheroes.
In the Hall of Justice, Amanda Waller reveals to Sarge Steel that the videos were created by Brainiac Queen as part of her plan to take down every superhero on the planet due to the heroes having too much power and answering to no one. Failsafe arrives and is ordered by Waller to enable Task Force VII, a task forced composed of Amazo androids equipped with power-syphoning technology which allow them to depower any superhero.
Back in the present, Superboy and Jon Kent arrive and see Superman injured and falling to the ground. They manage to grab him but are depowered and captured by Amazon robots. Amanda Waller starts a world-wide broadcast, stating her intention to solve the super-powered being problem permanently. At the same time, the Amazos of Task Force VII attack, depower and capture the majority of superheroes (including Wally West, Jay Garrick, Bart Allen, Justice Society of America, Aquaman, Tempest, and Doom Patrol) around the world. Batman deduces that Waller would not start such an attack if she hadn't already won, and is suddenly attacked by Failsafe.
Batman tries to warn the heroes but is contacted by Green Arrow, who is now working for Waller. He states that Waller made sure no help would arrive: she brokered a deal with the United Planets to make sure no one arrives or leaves Earth, and also the locked down the Multiverse, the Timestream and the Microverse, and mocks the heroes saying their powers are never coming back.[8]
Sub-plots[edit]
![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (July 2024) |
Characters[edit]
Trinity of Evil[edit]
Task Force VII[edit]
- Last Son
- Depth Charge
- Jasestone
- Velocity
- Paradise Lost
- Global Guardian
Resistance[edit]
- Aquaman (Arthur Curry)
- Batman (Bruce Wayne)
- Flash (Wally West)
- Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)
- Martian Manhunter (J'onn J'onzz)
- Superman (Kal-El/Clark Kent)
- Wonder Woman (Diana Prince)
Other heroes[edit]
- Animal Man
- Doom Patrol
- Flash (Barry Allen)
- Justice League Dark
- Justice Society of America
- Mary Marvel
- Nightwing (Dick Grayson)
- Oracle (Barbara Gordon)
- Justice League Dark
- Robin (Damian Wayne)
- Shazam (Billy Batson)
- Superboy (Kon-El/Connor Kent)
- Superman (Jon Kent)
Titles involved[edit]
Preludes[edit]
| Title / | Issue(s) | Writer | Artist(s) | Colorist | Premiere date | Finale date | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batman (vol. 3) | #145–149 | Chip Zdarsky | Jorge Jiménez | Tomeu Morey | March 5, 2024 | June 18, 2024 | "Dark Prisons" story arc |
| Free Comic Book Day 2024: Absolute Power Special Edition |
One-shot | Mark Waid | Mikel Janín | Trish Mulvihill | May 5, 2024[9] | — | |
| Action Comics | #1066 | Joshua Williamson | Rafa Sandoval | Alejandro Sánchez | June 25, 2024[10] | "House of Brainiac" tie-in | |
| Superman (vol. 6) | #15 | ||||||
Countdown to Absolute Power[edit]
| Title | Issue(s) | Writer | Artist(s) | Colorist | Premiere date | Finale date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suicide Squad: Dream Team | #1–4 | Nicole Maines | Eddy Barrows Eber Ferreira |
Adriano Lucas | March 12, 2024[11] | June 11, 2024[12] |
| Green Arrow (vol. 7) | #12–13 | Joshua Williamson | Eric Gapstur Phil Hester Sean Izaakse Amancay Nahuelpan |
Romulo Fajardo Jr. | May 28, 2024 | June 25, 2024[10] |
| The Flash (vol. 6) | #10 | Simon Spurrier | Vasco Georgie Ramón Pérez |
Matt Herms | June 25, 2024[10] | |
Limited series[edit]
| Title | Issue | Writer | Artist | Colorist | Premiere date | Finale date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Absolute Power | 1–4 | Mark Waid | Dan Mora | Alejandro Sánchez | July 3, 2024[9] | October 2024 |
| Absolute Power: Task Force VII | 1–7 | Jeremy Adams John Layman Pornsak Pichetshote Alex Parknadel Dan Watters Leah Williams Stephanie Williams |
Khary Randolph Max Raynor Calire Roe Pete Woods Marco Santucci Caitlin Yarsky |
TBA | July 10, 2024[13] | September 25, 2024 |
| Absolute Power: Origins | 1–3 | John Ridley | Alitha Martinez | July 24, 2024[13] |
One-shots[edit]
| Title | Writer | Artist | Colorist | Premiere date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Absolute Power: Ground Zero | Nicole Maines Gleb Melnikov Mark Waid Joshua Williamson Chip Zdarsky |
V. Ken Marion Dan Mora Skylar Patridge |
Patricio Delpeche | June 25, 2024[9] |
| Absolute Power: Super Son | Sina Grace Nicole Maines |
Travis Mercer John Timms |
TBA | September 18, 2024 |
Tie-ins[edit]
| Title | Issue | Writer | Artist | Premiere date | Finale date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batman (vol. 3) | 150–152 | Chip Zdarsky | Jorge Jiménez Denys Cowan |
July 3, 2024[13] | September 4, 2024 |
| Green Lantern (vol. 7) | 13–15 | Jeremy Adams | Fernando Pasarin | July 10, 2024 | September 11, 2024 |
| Superman (vol. 6) | 16–18 | Joshua Williamson | Jamal Campbell | July 17, 2024[13] | September 18, 2024 |
| Wonder Woman (vol. 6) | 11–13 | Tom King | Tony S. Daniel Belén Ortega | ||
| Green Arrow (vol. 7) | 14–16 | Joshua Williamson | Amancay Nahuelpan | July 24, 2024 | September 25, 2024 |
Release order[edit]
- Free Comic Book Day 2024: Absolute Power Special Edition
- Absolute Power: Ground Zero
- Absolute Power #1
- Batman (vol. 3) #150
- Absolute Power: Task Force VII #1
- Green Lantern (vol. 7) #13
- Superman (vol. 6) #16
- Wonder Woman (vol. 6) #11
- Absolute Power: Origins #1
- Green Arrow (vol. 7) #14
Critical reception[edit]
According to Comicbook Roundup, the event so far received an average rating of 7.8 out of 10 based on 15 reviews.[14]
See also[edit]
- "Genesis", a 1997 DC crossover event.
References[edit]
- ^ a b Epps, Justin (2024-02-22). "DC's "Trinity of Evil" Unites in ABSOLUTE POWER, 2024's Massive Summer Blockbuster". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2024-03-02.
- ^ Salmon, Will (2024-02-22). "Suicide Squad supremo Amanda Waller is close to achieving Absolute Power in DC's next big event". gamesradar. Retrieved 2024-03-02.
- ^ Brooke, David (2023-11-09). "DC's signals a Trinity of Evil with 2024 Dawn of DC teases". aiptcomics.com. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
- ^ Arrant, Chris (2023-11-09). "Suicide Squad's Amanda Waller is leading DC's Trinity of Evil, and that means trouble for Batman, Superman and the good guys". Popverse. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
- ^ Reaves, Dashiel (2024-06-25). "Superman's Boyfriend Reveals the 1 Weakness of His Seemingly Unbeatable Superpower". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2024-06-29.
- ^ Dodge, John (2024-06-26). "Brainiac's Deadliest Creation May Be More Powerful Than Superman". CBR. Retrieved 2024-06-29.
- ^ "Superman Gets [SPOILER] in DC's Absolute Power". Comics. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
- ^ Epps, Justin (2024-07-03). "ABSOLUTE POWER #1 Kicks DC's Summer Event Off Right with High-Stakes Drama". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
- ^ a b c Smith, Sam (2024-02-22). "DC Announces its Summer Blockbuster Event and Elseworlds Updates". CBR. Retrieved 2024-03-02.
- ^ a b c First Comics News (2024-03-14). "The Fall of the House of Brainiac Begins in Action Comics and Superman This June". www.firstcomicsnews.com. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
- ^ O'Donoghue, Kate (2023-11-09). "Waller's Dream Team: DC's Suicide Squad Officially Returns with a Powerful New Member". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2024-03-10.
- ^ Brooke, David (March 15, 2024). "Full June 2024 DC Comics solicitaions". Adventures in Poor Taste. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Salmon, Will (2024-04-18). "DC's massive summer event Absolute Power sees Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and more take on a "Trinity of Evil" led by Amanda Waller". gamesradar. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
- ^ "Absolute Power Comic Reviews". Comicbook Roundup. June 26, 2024. Retrieved June 29, 2024.