Absolute Power #1 is written by Mark Waid and published by DC. Artwork is by Dan Mora, colours by Alejandro Sánchez and letters are by Ariana Maher. Main cover art (left) is by Mora.
Absolute Power #1 is available from today, in print and on digital platforms where all good comic books are sold. Grab your digital copy from Amazon Comixology UK right here.
Synopsis
THE TRINITY OF EVIL HAS WON.DC’s epic summer event kicks off with a bang, as the combined might of FAILSAFE and the BRAINIAC QUEEN has at last given Amanda Waller the ability to steal the metahuman abilities of every hero and villain on planet Earth. As chaos erupts in the streets and a massive misinformation campaign sways public opinion to her side, the founder of the Suicide Squad methodically targets each superhero dynasty one at a time, starting with SUPERMAN. But even in this darkest of hours, a resistance is forming…and BATMAN is out for vengeance. It’s a shocking blitzkrieg across the globe that is decades in the making—and will shape the course of the DC Universe for years to come! Brought to you by the superstar talents of MARK WAID and DAN MORA—it all starts here!
Review
Hold on to your butts, a wild ride lies ahead Super Friends. Today DC begins its summer 2024 event, Absolute Power in earnest with the first issue of the main event series. Boy what a start it is. Event architect Mark Waid and artistic partner Dan Mora are wasting no time in devastating the entire DCU and its audience as Amanda Waller seemingly steals control of what feels like the entire world in an instant.
The book picks up in a moment we’ve seen in several other recent DC releases as core storylines overlap with the beginning of the event. Superman, a beacon of hope and strength to the world, is suddenly taken down with a seemingly normal looking bullet and plummets back down to Earth. It’s a gut wrenching sequence which Mora brings to calamitous life with a full page splash which deserves hanging in a gallery somewhere. It’s the perfect place to start the story. Taking down one of the DCU’s most powerful heroes without any resistance. It instantly unseats the reader and puts us on the back foot as it appears nobody is safe.
Of course Waid then opts to leave us in the dark as to the Man of Steel’s fate, picking up after the credits page with Animal Girl and Animal Man 28 hours prior to the Superman event. We quickly learn that Waller is using doctored footage of metahumans attacking those they have sworn to protect as a way to turn ordinary civilians against heroes. It’s another jaw dropping sequence of events which leaves the reader confused and distressed. Just how is Waller doing this? Why? The answer, of course, lies in the last year or so of DC storytelling. This is the culmination of the Dawn of DC project and pulls together threads from all of the publishers main storytelling. Waller has been an active figure across the board and how it’s time for her to play her hand and she sure does it with gusto.
Page after page the heroes fall. From famous faces right the way down to lesser known heroes. Nobody with powers is safe from Waller’s grasp and Waid manages to encapsulate the fall of the metahuman race in a mere handful of pages. Honestly it’s breathtaking. Waid makes the entire scenario appear effortless and the pages practically turn themselves. It’s like witnessing the biggest blockbuster movie play out and generates the same level of anxiety in its audience.
Right through to the final page there is just panel after panel of devastation leaving no stone unturned. Magic wielders. Aliens. Atlanteans. Amazons. Literally nobody is safe and when all is said and done there are barely any heroes left to pick up the pieces. Small moments pick up on that impact on the wider world. Waller herself is here to preside over the fall and we get a better look at her fleet of Amazo robots. Clones of Bruce’s Failsafe robot which has been adapted to de-power each of the main former-Justice League members. Waid doesn’t paint a portrait of Waller as a moustache twirling villain. Quite the opposite. She’s resolute in performing her duty to protect humanity from the scourge of the metahuman. But as the title of the event might suggest, absolute power corrupts. Absolutely.
What there isn’t much time for is human insight. There’s no street-level reaction from any of the various supporting casts. There is a moment to pick up with Lois Lane, arguably one of the DCU’s many heroes. An interesting moment which in reality is more focussed on the reach of Waller’s scheme than how Lois and her family reacts to seeing Clark taken off the board. Moving forwards I would like to see Absolute Power exploring more of how the world reacts to what Waller has done. Is everyone on board with her anti-hero propaganda? Do any humans join the resistance? I would particularly be interested in whether the US government is still on side with her plans. But there’s plenty of time to get to that in the next couple of months.
Verdict
An incredible start to the Absolute Power event. Waid and Mora are masterminding a devastating and compelling story to take the DCU to the brink of destruction.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
