• • Comic Book Reviews
• July 3, 2024

Absolute Power #1 Review

Written by: Mark Waid

Art by: Dan Mora

Coloring by: Alejandro Sanchez

Lettering by: Ariana Maher

Editing by: Matthew Levine, Paul Kaminski

It’s been a while since there’s been a DC event I liked. Knight Terrors was confusing and Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths started out strong, but buckled under it’s own hollow ambitions. Will Absolute Power do the same? Who knows, but I will say this, it definitely starts out the strongest of the three most recent DC universe-spanning events.

To start, even if the story was bad, the art from Dan Mora and Alejandro Sanchez is some of the best in the business. The kinetic art style jumps right off the page, with colors that make everyone stand out. That’s a necessity in an event that spans as many characters as Absolute Power does. There isn’t an ugly panel here, or poor capturing of a single character.

Amanda Waller Is The Most Underrated Big Bad of DC Comics

Good thing for issue #1 at least, the story isn’t bad either. Amanda Waller has always been among the most represented, yet underrated bads in the DC Universe. I don’t mean underrated in that she doesn’t get her due, but in that the DC Universe itself never treats her as the big threat that she is. When DC heroes think of world-ending villains, they think of Darkseid and the Anti-Monitor. They don’t think of Amanda Waller, and this issue shows why that’s a mistake.

A shadow government run by Amanda Waller that manipulates the masses into thinking the worst of heroes has been done before. The Justice League animated series comes to mind. To my knowledge though, it’s never been done effectively in the source material. Watching people turn on the heroes feels timely and believable as AI deepfakes are becoming a problem in real time. If this book came out years earlier it might feel hollow, but it’s come out at the perfect time. Now, AI robots serve as a timely foe, and with Dan Mora drawing them, the enemy is anything but boring to look at.

This is a setup issue, as everyone should know. This makes it hard to tell who the story is going to follow from here. It seems like the heroes have completely lost and will have to fight a rebellion against Waller without their powers. This could be an interesting premise if it continues as that. My only real hope is that they continue to focus on the wider DC Universe beyond the typical Justice League. It would be kind of bland if the trinity gets to steal the spotlight again.

Check Out Absolute Power #1! The Art Is Worth the Price of Admission Alone!

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