Absolute Power: Ground Zero #1 – Mark Waid, Joshua Williamson, Nicole Maines, Chip Zdarsky, Writers; Gleb Melnikov, Skylar Partridge, V. Ken Marion, Artists; Patricio Delpeche, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: Absolute Power is finally here, with Mark Waid being joined by a trio of top DC writers to tell the story of how Amanda Waller took over the DCU—and the heroes and villains joining her at the top. This is an anthology, but one that seems to be much more directly thematically linked.
First up is “Stage One,” with Waid being joined by Nicole Maines and Skylar Partridge as Dreamer is sent after Waller’s one remaining target—Jay Nakamura, whose mother was killed by the Suicide Squad in Maines’ last comic. Jay is considered a loose end, and Dreamer is deputized to bring him in alive—which she does, but she can’t help but visit the person who used to be her friend. And once Jay figures out exactly how involved Nia was in the tragedy that befell Gamorra, all hell breaks loose. There might not be as much action as in the latter two stories, but the emotions that flow through this story are brutal and it nicely gets across how far Nia is going to have to go to stop Waller’s plan from within.
“Stage Two” by Waid, Zdarsky, and Marion finds Waller looking for her next weapon—and to get it, she resurrects the forgotten villain known as the Time Commander, one of Batman’s more obscure villains. She doesn’t need him—she needs his device that can rewind anything, including death. And now that she knows it works on him, she wants to use it on Failsafe. The robotic Batman, backed up with the mind of Batman’s insane alter ego Zur, was defeated a few weeks back—but now his body fits into Waller’s plans. And once Time Commander starts figuring out how far Waller is ready to go, he starts making plans to escape. But Waller is always six steps ahead—and John Starr’s work is just beginning.
Finally, Josh Williamson and Gleb Melnikov take over on “Stage Three,” which focuses on the newest DC villain, The Brainiac Queen (who was just defeated in this week’s issue of Superman). The Queen was made as a tool and never wanted to be a villain—so Waller sees an opening. Rather than forcing this now-blank slate to serve her, she places the Brainiac Queen in a lotus-eater machine where she is raised from childhood by one person—Amanda Waller, who teaches her about the threats of superheroes and metahumans. And so Waller discovers a force even more powerful than hate and control—love and loyalty. And that might just make her the deadliest member of Waller’s army yet.
This is a fantastic start to the event, with all three stories setting up fascinating future plots.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
