Mark Waid and Dan Mora did exactly what they needed to do with the debut of the Absolute Power event. Things immediately escalated to the maximum degree as Amanda Waller did not hold back in attacking the entire superhero community. With her newly formed Trinity of Evil alongside allies like Green Arrow and Dreamer on her side Waller effectively took out every heavy hitter. Whether it was by capturing them or taking their powers away, Waller placed the superheroes against the wall without a way out. How will the heroes respond? Let’s find out with Absolute Power #2.
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Dan Mora
Colorist: Alejandro Sánchez
Letterer: Ariana Maher
ABSOLUTE POWER #2 SOLICITATION
“THE BLOCKBUSTER EVENT LED BY SUPERSTARS MARK WAID AND DAN MORA CONTINUES! SIEGE OF THE FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE!
In the aftermath of Amanda Waller’s total victory, the metahumans of the DC universe have been depowered, scattered to the wind, and are reeling from critical defeat across the planet. But the resistance lives on. Any heroes not rounded up by the TRINITY OF EVIL have rendezvoused at Superman’s Fortress of Solitude… but even this sanctuary of peace and hope is not safe from Waller’s blitzkrieg.
The precog known as Dreamer has pointed Waller’s weapons to the frozen tundra where our heroes lick their wounds… and the shocker general leading Waller’s charge to raze the fortress to the ground will leave you breathless. It’s underdog versus complete global domination in this epic second installment of the ABSOLUTE POWER saga!” – DC Comics
REVIEW
Absolute Power #2 is exactly how to ensure to not only keep up the momentum but take it to another level. This is reflected in how Mark Waid and Dan Mora go about showing Amanda Waller does not want to lose the momentum she gained from taking out so many heroes in the first issue. Waller knew exactly what she accomplished and could not just let it be a moment in time. This was her chance to fully seize control of the DC Universe.
It was Amanda Waller who carried the greater story of this issue. And that is without her appearing as much as you would think. Absolute Power #2 is mainly focused on the heroes remaining to make a stand against the villains. But what made Waller dominate this second issue was that at all times you felt the aura of her will. Everything that goes down here is a reaction to what Waller accomplished in the previous issue.
Presenting Waller’s will in this way made the pacing of this entire comic book. From the talking-heavy scenes to once the action in the Fortress of Solitude went off, everything was about pushing the story forward. Having that type of momentum is the greatest strength of this story.
Carrying this momentum made the speeches Amanda Waller and Nightwing have with their respective allies stand out so much in the first half. Waller said what you expect from someone who wants to fully crush their opponent. Meanwhile, Nightwing continued his character arc since Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths of being the ultimate leader of the DC Universe. With no hero, including Batman, in agreement about what they should do next or who should be in charge, Nightwing stepped up without question.
The thing that made Nightwing’s rallying speech a success was the set-up of it. Even though the remaining heroes all gathered in the Fortress of Solitude there was no sense of unity. Batman, Wonder Woman, and Mr. Terrific couldn’t see eye to eye on who should lead. At the same time, we saw the other heroes just left wondering what they could do next.
That made the moment Nightwing, with the Titans beside him, stepping up to say the exact words all the gathered heroes needed to hear hit so hard. We could see that the moment Nightwing started speaking everyone’s attention was on him ready to follow him. Having Mr. Terrific and Batman, who just minutes earlier were arguing their case for leadership, be in awe of Nightwing spoke to the speech’s impact. This all shows how important Nightwing’s character arc since Dark Crisis has been as he has fully established himself as the leader of heroes.
Carrying that forward with Nightwing already having a plan of how all the heroes would split up into teams to give them a chance to win was all well done. This perfectly sets up all the tie-in comic books in the most organic way possible. It was honestly surprising how well the heroes’ plan established this as we don’t normally see this from a big event comic book. It spoke to how well-planned Waid and Mora have of how they will present the main story of Absolute Power and let the tie-ins help expand on their story.
But just as it felt the heroes were setting the foundation for gaining momentum Waller proved she was ultimately prepared for this. Sending Brainiac Queen to attack the Fortress of Solitude with Jon Kent, who has been turned into an android controlled by Brainiac Queen, is such a dastardly move. Right away we are reminded of how behind the ball the heroes are in this story. Amanda Waller has used all her time planning from the shadows since Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 to ensure her ultimate victory.
The immediate blow of Superman and the heroes seeing Jon turned into an android controlled by Brainiac Queen makes you as the reader hate what Waller is doing even more. Which is exactly the feeling you want to have invoked from what the villain does.
Through all the chaos of the fight between the heroes and Brainiac Queen’s forces was the capture of Yara Flor. Like Jon Kent, it looks like Waid is setting up Yara to lead into the next phase of the attack, which is likely Themyscira. Waid and Mora have used the way Android Jon Kent was handled here to build trust they will not just make Yara into a plot device. It would certainly be detrimental to her character if Yara isn’t given some sort of agency as we see with the internal battle we get hints from Jon towards the end of Absolute Power #2.
The other big angle from his Battle at the Fortress of Solitude was Dreamer’s sacrifice. Given Dreamer’s precognitive powers, her sacrifice isn’t something that feels like it is the end of her character. The way her sacrifice was framed it does appear that Waid is playing into Amanda Waller becoming more and more overconfident in her ultimate victory. It wouldn’t be surprising if Dreamer plays a role in the finale of the story and this was a way for her to do things from the shadows to help the heroes.
The overconfidence by Waller is also something we see with how she seems to blindly trust Green Arrow won’t betray her. While each battle victory she gains over the heroes gets her closer to her ultimate goal it is also creating a weakness in Waller’s plan. She appears more overconfident now than she did as she was meticulously planning things. This all makes what role Green Arrow plays in the story one of the most fascinating parts of Absolute Power #2.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Absolute Power #2 does an excellent job of not just continuing the momentum of the debut issue but also elevating the story even higher. There are so many great moments throughout this second issue that build on all the storytelling we’ve been getting since Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths. It all helps to create greater investment in this story that Mark Waid and Dan Mora are crafting together. Which in turn makes this a must-read comic book event.
Story Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 10 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 9.5 Night Girls out of 10
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