That’s Amanda Waller. She’s the boss here. The public face of the Bureau of Sovereignty, whose remit is to keep superheroes in check after that whole ‘Beast World’ fiasco.

Absolute Power is the crossover event that sets up All In, a DC initiative aiming to create a line-wide jumping-on point for new readers. It’s a short, punchy mass DC event then, which has to contend with all the challenges that come with it (a Bedlam of characters, locations and exposition). But this is no classic crisis designed to rewrite continuity; while it’s set up to change dynamics and position chess pieces, it’s more about deft pruning of the multiverse. That’s something picked up in the All-In Special…

Writer Mark Waid steps up to the plate for Absolute Power, with a thematic and practical extension of his legendary Justice League of America storyline, Tower of Babel (2000). Only this time, it’s not Batman’s OTT safeguards that are subverted to incapacitate League members. It’s Amanda Waller’s all-in (sic) hifalutin play to once and for all eradicate any superpowers she doesn’t control, and create a multiversal army of her own.

Issue #1 starts strongly with some hoods skulking across a Metropolis tower as Superman approaches, something we’ve seen many times before. But this time, when a thug tries his luck against Big Blue with a gun, the hero falls to the ground, shocked at the blood on his hand. Using and subverting these big, timeless, well-known moments is bread and butter for Waid. The real win for Absolute Power is teaming Waid with Dan Mora, an artist who it’s tempting to think is almost too slick for a giant crossover. As with any crossover, despite its four issues, this is typically rammed with characters as the plot flies across multiple locations, and Mora’s stunning composition can only go so far.

Absolute Power has many moving parts, but it’s a simple escalation: we see the heroes (and villains) depowered, uncover how Waller managed it, and watch the heroes fight back. The villain threat is impressively built: a trinity (that perfectly DC of things) with Waller at the head. Joining ‘The Wall’ is Batman’s rogue robot Failsafe (introduced in Batman #125)–wryly called Uber Batman by Damian Wayne–and in a pleasingly galactic twist, Brainiac Queen–the Brainiac offspring that arrives on Waller’s doorstep as a blank slate, and to whom she’s happy to assume the role of mother. That’s grand strategy, commander, and a genius-level hacker sorted. It’s almost just kryptonian salt to the wound that an early win is Braniac Queen’s corruption of Jon Kent, so he can lead Waller’s new Taskforce to round up his vulnerable former comrades.

The use of Super Amazos (marshalled by Failsafe) as the method of sucking the powers out of assorted heroes that Waller cunningly lures into the open is a nice mash-up and extension of strong DC ideas. Their emerging weaknesses and their method of defeat are nicely formed sci-fi conceits that befit the power-aping androids, who, truth be told, could get a bit more action in this compact tale. The surprise addition of Green Arrow joining Waller’s ranks, having realised the superhero gig is up, is the weakest strand. Still, it does give Oliver Queen a devil of a role in baiting and lecturing the League Trinity that recalls his destructive approach to team heroics during the Infinite Crisis era.  

Highlights

Highlights from the four issues include the assault on Superman’s Fortress of Solitude, a messy, chaotic, and dark set-piece that proves Waid is a master of those kinds of ambushes. Before and during the melee, it’s a joy to see the rising stock of the Titans with Nightwing taking overall leadership of the decimated heroes (‘That’s my boy,” smirks Batman), while the bristling rivalry between the Dark Knight and Mr Terrific ratchetsup a notch. As Batman slowly becomes one of the most powerful heroes and sees his prodigy and his superteam earn their stripes, there’s a neat balance with Superman facing the loss of his powers and his son. This strand seems like a comfortable point for the hanging intentions of Future State slate to have reached: a universe-wide crossover that puts the next generation to the fore, with both sides of the struggle tussling with the meaning of legacy.  

An impressive touch comes when the sheer power that the Amazos steal becomes too much to handle. The robots develop a shred of morals (“Goodness is a superpower?” rails Waller). It’s a clear sign of DC reaffirming the innate struggle of good and evil ahead of some material changes to the DC universe. 

An Eye On The Past And Future

Absolute Power isn’t lacking in action, as it twists, turns and catapults from the Fortress to Themyscira. It feels fresh and vital as it carves out a new space in modern DC. Waller’s plot and the heroes’ fightback hinge nicely on newer characters like Time Commander (first appearance 2017) and Dreamer (2022). But there’s also a well-juged amount of DC past. The hues of Infinite Crisis are enhanced by distinct nods to Identity Crisis (2004) in Waller’s fate. Absolute Power doesn’t have the staying power of that storyline, and crucially, it doesn’t go as dark. It presents as a strong, clear and entertaining scrap between good and evil, so while it can’t hold a light to Waid’s bona fide classic Tower of Babel, that’s no disgrace. 

Absolute Power is good fun and excels at achieving its primary goal: to establish a new status quo ready for All In. The Multiverse is closed for business, and the core heroes of the DC Universe realise that far from disbanding the Justice League, they need something bigger, more cooperative and more effective than ever before.

Get ready, everyone, it’s time to go All In.

Our Verdict

A slick, punchy crossover that shows DC Comics on confident form: able to reaffirm the meaning of its heroes and villains and trim its universe without having a Crisis.