Absolute Power #1 – Mark Waid, Writer; Dan Mora, Artist; Alejandro Sanchez, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Despite loving just about everything this creative team has done at DC, I was always going to be a bit of a hard sell for this event. There are two tropes in superhero comics I’m more sick of than any other – “Heroes turn against other heroes”, and “The government turns against the heroes”. This is mostly due to the other company using them relentlessly, but it adds a veneer of cynicism into the books that I tend not to like. And this event, which spins out of Amanda Waller’s long-building effort to eliminate superheroes and metahumans, has both in spades. So why did I wind up liking this first issue quite a lot? Simple – because it’s a very good comic that knows exactly what tone it wants to go for.
That tone is pitch black, with the heroes being caught unaware by the ferocity of Waller’s attack. Superman is sniped out of the air seemingly by a single bullet, taking the most powerful hero in the DCU off the table. Animal Man and his daughter are attacked by a mob upon returning to the city, and it soon becomes clear why – a never-ending stream of AI-driven anti-superhero propaganda, portraying the heroes committing crimes that never happened. It’s a very timely twist, and the most chilling scene of the issue is when Lois Lane realizes that the Daily Planet is taking part – because the servers are no longer under her control. Just like that, the free press has fallen without Waller ever having to fire a shot.
But that doesn’t mean she won’t fire shots if she doesn’t want to. Even Sarge Steel, her second in command, is horrified by how far she’s going – but she doesn’t need him. She has Failsafe, the Brainiac Queen, and of course, she has Green Arrow. The ultimate insider, now working for her, as she unleashes an army of Amazos designed to absorb the heroes’ powers – permanently – and win the war before the heroes can even respond. We only get a brief glimpse of what she has planned this issue, but if Jon Kent’s fate at the end of the issue is any indication, it’s terrifying. This is one of the bleakest first issues of an event comic I can remember in a while. My only hesitation is that this still doesn’t feel like Waller, and I’m wondering if that’s a twist to come. But one thing is for sure – I am hooked.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
