Absolute Power #4 review

Posted on by martingray1

Amanda Waller’s power is no longer absolute. The superheroes have broken out of her prison on the island of Genosha. The Brainiac Queen has been defeated. And Superman Jr Jon Kent has been freed from cybernetic servitude, giving the depowered good guys a very powerful asset.

A two-pronged plan is hatched. The heroes will break into Waller’s secret base and while most hunt her down, Green Lantern and the Flash are to head for the building’s basement where they know something big is brewing – but not what.

Heroes turned henchman Green Arrow sics a squad of enforcers equipped with stolen super-tech and magical weapons on his former friends.

Meanwhile, Hal and Barry find themselves face to face with multiversal menaces desperate to join Waller’s crusade.

And the main melee gets even more dangerous for the heroes when most of the Amazo androids – Jadestone is away examining the conscience he grew – arrive.

And so the main players are in place as DC’s best event for a long time heads towards its conclusion. Under the leadership of Nightwing the good guys work superbly well as a unit, pulling the rug from under Waller. A minor hero plays a key part, a barely remembered villain similarly steps up, and in the final moments a resurrected character gives Waller a fate worse than death.

I won’t spoil all the details – this is a terrific comic book and deserves to be read – but how about I show you just who is back from beyond?

Told you she wasn’t dead! Also, weren’t we wondering about Jon’s feelings towards Dreamer only last week? Dreamer really shines this issue, not so much in terms of her UDN (Undefined Nonsense Powers) but as regards her strength of character. Little by little, over the past couple of years, a Supergirl TV character imported into the comics has been given nuance and presence in stories written by the actress who played her, Nicole Maines. And here Absolute Power writer Mark Waid puts the cherry on the cake by having her roundly crush Waller, the woman who conquered the world with cunning and strength of will alone. It’s very satisfying and I hope Dreamer gets her own ongoing strip soon (first order of business, define those powers!).

This wrap-up also resolves the ‘is he or isn’t he a traitor?’ plot strand with Green Arrow and sets the scene for the Justice League Unlimited series Waid will soon debut with artist Dan Mora.

That’s artist Dan Mora who’s been Waid’s artistic partner throughout this series and who turns in another superb set of comic book pages here. The creative chemistry is near-magical, with Mora bringing Waid’s story to perfect visual life. He squeezes all the drama from every situation, whether it’s a battle royal involving bullets, blasts and blades, or a silent hero who may never be the same. Determination, anger, fear… whatever emotion is needed is right there on the page. Mora also produces this issue’s cover, an appropriately chaotic image made memorable by the unusual colour scheme.

Alejandro Sánchez adds colour and light, giving an extra burst of energy to scenes such as Mora’s two-page collage of the heroes getting powers back… even if it’s not necessarily their own, a story point to be dealt with in DC books going forward.

Ariana Maher’s letters are attractive, adding emphasis wherever it’s needed and quietly doing the job at other times

Absolute Power #4 absolutely sticks the landing, it’s a great example of creators on top form showing how an event should be done – with intelligence and style. All credit to everyone involved, including editors Matthew Levine and Paul Kaminski. When this crossover was announced my hopes weren’t high that we’d get a good book, and I’m delighted to be proven wrong.

21 thoughts on “Absolute Power #4 review”

  1. This issue was fine, but I have two problems with it. The first is that Waller and the threat of the Amazos is resolved way too easily. After all these months where the Amazos were presented as nigh unbeatable and Waller was simultaneously portrayed as having pushed the heroes to the brink of extinction, having all of them taken out with a double cross and a good shot from Ollie seems like an underwhelming end to this story. The downfall of her and the Amazos is something that should have played out in a much more intense battle that presented more of a challenge to the heroes and cost more lives than what’s presented here. For the record, I’m not rooting for a massacre or anything really bloodthirsty, but it does feel lame that the hyped up threat of Waller and the Amazos were taken down so swiftly without the heroes sustaining at least a few major casualties. It undercuts the seriousness of the threat posed by the Amazos while making Waller look dumb for allowing herself to be taken out this easily and relatively bloodlessly.

    That leads to my other issue with this. I never believed that Ollie had actually defected to Waller. It always seemed like he was obviously setting up a long con. The revelation of his ultimate loyalty to the heroes in this issue therefore feels less like a vindication of Ollie’s supposed betrayal than an indictment of the stupidity of Waller and all the true believers around her who never figured out that Ollie was a traitor. I’ll grant that the explanation of J’onn putting a time delayed telepathic imperative in Ollie’s head is interesting, but it doesn’t change the basic point that Waller and her associates should never have believed him in the first place. Anybody in Waller’s position should have immediately thought that Ollie’s offer to defect to her was a ruse given Ollie’s very history of intimate friendship with the heroes. His sudden decision to turn on them given that history never seemed plausible, and this event never provided a coherent reason for why Waller and her associates should believe in such a sudden change of heart other than sheer overconfidence and stupidity.

    Overall, this is still a decent issue and the rest of the Absolute Power Event has been ok on balance. With that said, I think it was a missed opportunity to engage in a more serious explanation of how normal people react to the behavior of the DCU’s superpowered denizens, and by extension to question the moral worth of the DCU’s heroes’ vigilantism. I really wish DC could just get to a point where it doesn’t feel like it has to do big events to juice sales. It would have been better if the DCU series that tied into this instead stuck to their ongoing narratives. and didn’t get hijacked to play into this thing.

    That’s probably the biggest takeaway for me from all of this. I wish DC would just stop doing these events and let each title freely tell the stories their creators have thought up for them. As long as titles’ narratives have to get periodically put on pause or altered so that they can tie into a marketing event, it’s going to compromise creators’ abilities to craft good stories that can stand on their own merits. A DCU founded on a solid stable of titles that are narratively engaging for readers over time because they feature compelling ongoing narratives backed by strong characterization and good art will always be better for both the readership and the company than a DCU that’s founded on the false premise that the readership can only be engaged for the long haul by a string of big events and other short term gimmicks.

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    1. The takedown of Waller did seem easy in a sense, especially given so many heroes were power-free, but Ollie struck at just the right moment, and the Time Commander is exactly the man to come up with the veebelfetzer to make the Amazos less of a massive threat. That short story he had in one of the tie-ins convinced me he has a first-class mad scientist brain.

      It may be because I never believed Oliver had turned traitor that I didn’t have a problem with his revealing all here. I was happy to be surprised by the telepathic blocks J’onn had inserted though, of course, I’d prefer him to have shot himself with a Telepathic Hero arrow.

      I totally agree with your final point, a few years without big events would be excellent.

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  2. To clarify, when I said that Ollie’s decision to turn on Waller given the long history of his friendship with the heroes, “never seemed plausible,” what I meant to say was that it never seemed plausible as a surprising event. The point is that his double cross was highly predictable, and in turn Waller and her associates’ failure to pick up on that makes them seem like idiots. Nonetheless, my bad for screwing up the phrasing of that passage as well as the preceding typo about Ollie’s history with the heroes (which should have been, “Ollies very long history of intimate friendship with the heroes,” rather than “Ollie’s very history of intimate friendship with the heroes.”)

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  3. I’ve kept to my self-imposed “no crossovers” edict, but I have enjoyed the reviews of this series and how much you’ve enjoyed it, Mart. It does feel like it probably hasn’t done anything surprising (although maybe that’s a strength), but I might pick it up if I can find the back issues cheaply. Some of what I’ve read online about the status quo changes going out of the story have made me roll my eyes a bit! I don’t want to get into details to respect that you’ve not spoiled much!

    Stu

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  4. Loved this one, too. This has been the most satisfying crossover event in years.

    A couple points:
    1) Why were all the weapons malfunctioning when the heroes first attacked? I imagine it was sabotage, probably from Ollie, but I’m not sure if we ever got the complete cause/effect there.

    2) To Anon’s point, I’m not sure Ollie’s double-cross makes Waller seem completely foolish. After all, there’s the matter of J’onn’s psychic implant, to make Ollie believe in her side wholeheartedly. That was there to fool psychics and mystics, etc., which Amanda had on her side. I assume she viewed him with suspicion, and checked him out with all those resources, and he passed. Which, well… WE know it’s a trick, but we also know it’s a story, and Ollie’s heroic nature is part of that story. To Waller, Ollie’s not a hero in a story — he’s a person she can manipulate, just like any other. Once she did her due diligence that he believed in her cause, that was enough. People who think they’re the smartest ones in the room are the easiest to fool.

    3) LOVED Dreamer’s resurrection, and her revenge. Perfect!

    4) In that vein, Waid seems to have mastered — or maybe insisted on — something that DC should pay more heed to: He’s taken people off the board WITHOUT KILLING ANYBODY. Waller’s in prison, her memories out of reach. Barry’s off the board too (so many Flashes!), but not dead — just depowered. Other heroes will have weird things happening to their powers, which may either set them aside or shine a spotlight on them. The closest we have to a death is Red Tornado, who is “perhaps irreparable,” I think is how it was phrased. That’s hardly gone for good…and may be setting the stage for an upgrade once Mr. Terrific or Ted Kord figures out what to do with him. Pieces get moved off the board…but one one needs to literally come back from the dead to re-enter the story. That’s smart.

    5) Finally, a word about Waller. With regard to her forward progression, I got exactly what I wanted here. She went full villain, was recognized as such, and then was locked up. She’s even robbed of the secrets that make her so dangerous. Which means, as the wheel turns… sometime in the future, when the memories of Absolute Power has been eclipsed by five or six other events, the heroes, or the US government, or whoever, might need her skills again. And put her back in play on the side of the tarnished angels, perhaps as a Hannibal Lecter figure at first. Which is where she belongs: Helping the good guys by doing dirty jobs.

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    1. I think you’re right, Ollie tweaked the weapons; certainly the Waller reaction points that way.

      I reckon you’ll be proven right about Waller, give it five years and she’ll be nearer her original role in the DCU.

      Excellent observation about the lack of killing, Rob. I did notice, with relief, that no one had died but didn’t manage that extra step of thought leading to the notion that it’s Waid realising you don’t have to destroy to create.

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  5. Nice to see you come around so thoroughly to Dreamer, after what seemed to be some early skepticism. I’ve been a fan of the character since the TV version’s first Supergirl appearance. (And yes, her powers were kind of whatever-the-plot-requires there, too. What exactly is “dream energy,” anyway? But I just roll with it.)

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  6. I wasn’t happy with this finale and I think it only highlighted the weaknesses of the event.

    1. There was too-much heavy lifting by the tie-ins. Those should have been cut out and in exchange Waid given 5, 6 or 7 issues rather than 4 to flesh out the story further and do more character work, the kind of stuff he excels at. The various heroes’ missions should have been told in the main event, not in the side books.
    2. It raised a major issue – are superheroes doing more harm than good? – only to pretty much ignore it. It would have been nice to have even a couple of the heroes debating among themselves whether Waller had a point, even if her approach was wrong… None of this was explored. Heck, none of the heroes even paused to think, “If we release all of the superpowers, that mean the villains get them back, too. Is it worth it?…”
    3. We needed more public reaction. So basically Waller manipulates the public via technology to turn against the heroes in issue 1, and the heroes use technology to gain their support again in issue 4. That’s it?!?!?! How about a subplot with Lois Lane trying to report to the world that the images of heroes going nuts were faked? Again, with just 4 issues there was not enough room to flesh any of this out. It kinda feels like DC set out to do its version of Marvel’s “Civil War” but only half-heartedly…
    4. I don’t get the use of the multiverse here. So Waller was trying to stamp out superheroes on our earth, but willing to turn to superpowered villains from other worlds to do so? That … doesn’t make sense… And how did shutting down her portal to the multiverse seal it off? I don’t get the cause and effect there.
    5. What was Waller’s end game? To just keep all of these depowered heroes and villains in prison for life with no trials and expect the world to go along with it? And would she just spend the rest of her life guarding the place? Where would the funding come from? Who pays for her private army? This should have been explored more. She just comes off as a madwoman with no plan, which is NOT Waller’s character.
    6. Waller comes off as a madwoman, in this final issue in particular. My fault for fooling myself into thinking there would be some creative twist. There wasn’t. Waller WAS the villain here. And if you wanted to feel sympathy for her/her cause, I guess you had to go read one of the tie-ins.
    7. Waid tried I believe through Dreamer and Airwave to give us some interesting, more person-on-the-street perspectives on the crisis. But neither was given enough panel time. Who is Airwave? How did he become a hero? Heck, if we HAD to have tie-ins, Waid could have written an “Airwave Special” showing his origin and also how he is dealing with being thrust as a new hero into this dark event. I would also have liked to have seen more of the Time Commander.
    8. The ending, with powers being “mis-assigned” to other heroes and, I guess, civilians, is just kinda goofy for what was such a dark event and also too reminiscent of Waid’s other recent DC mini, “Lazarus Planet.”
    9. This is just a coincidence, but the Green Arrow reveal fell flat for me in part because it was the exact same twist writer Jed MacKay used this past summer in an issue of “The Avengers.” Maybe it would have hit differently for me otherwise. But even so, I think Green Arrow’s role in this was just resolved far too quickly. Points, though, to Waid I’m assuming intentionally pairing Green Arrow and Martian Manhunter, who were the first “Brave and the Bold” team up of the Silver Age.
    10. I LOVE Mark Waid and always have faith in his ability to tell wonderful stories. But this feels like something he was assigned to do in order to get the DCU into its new “Absolute” era and set up his new Justice League title. I think he put in the work but was just hamstrung by how this was all editorially set up and the fact he only had 4 issues.
    11. I’m holding out hope that perhaps some of the plot threads will be dealt with in his new Justice League book. Maybe Airwave becomes a member? Maybe there is some lingering resentment with Green Arrow’s involvement? Maybe the heroes still have to address lingering public suspicion?

    Sorry to be so negative. But this was just so frustrating. My gut had told me to stay away because I don’t like how Waller’s being treated, but Waid’s involvement, the fact this leads into his highly anticipated Justice League relaunch and the good reviews convinced me to dive in. – Brian

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    1. 1 That’s a great point about making the tie-ins part of the main series; otherwise, a page or two showing what, say, Superman and Zatanna got up to would’ve been useful.
      2 Again, great idea. They could at least have given us a short story in one of the side books.
      3 I think Lois said in a Superman issue that she’d set the world right about what was going on, but yes, that should have been in the main book.
      4 Very fair points.
      5 The Waller they’ve given us for the last few years is basically a madwoman, that hats been so annoying. I assume she can make weapons and the like with nanobots or Brainiac tech of whatever.
      6 I read the tie-ins and felt no sympathy, that Origins book just showed her to be more paranoid, sooner, than previously.
      7 Excellent points.
      8 Amen.
      9 I never knew that, I’ve not been following the main Avengers book.
      10 I’m sure you’re right.
      11 I believe Batman will be resentful of Ollie in the JLU book, which is rich coming form Mr Babel and OMAC.
      12 I am apparently very forgiving, Brian.

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      1. It was an entertaining event and got the job done laying the groundwork for Absolute DC/the new Justice League era. I just felt like Waid’s involvement would have elevated it beyond what it wound up being. But it’s also my fault because I really had convinced myself that issue 4 would offer some serious and exciting twists, like perhaps Darkseid manipulating Waller or this all being a scheme by Waller to take out Darkseid given the strong hints about his involvement in Absolute DC. I had also counted on Waid being aware of some fans’ frustration with Waller’s characterization these last several years and reconciling that Waller with Ostrander’s Waller, just because he is so good at things like that. But on the other hand, it isn’t unrealistic to think someone like Waller has changed/become more extreme, and that’s the story we wound up with. There just weren’t any surprised. The heroes rallied. The evil robots were destroyed. Ollie was a mole. Waller wound up being the villain. I’ve read a lot worse comics. I just was hoping for more. But like I said, maybe Waid will flesh out some things in Justice League…

        -Brian

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    2. It looks like DC isn’t completely ignoring the notion that people might think superheroes do more harm than good. This year’s DC Power anthology is the starting point for a relaunch of The Power Company, which says part of its mission is to restore faith in superheroes in the face of a significant “Amanda Waller Was Right” movement.

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      1. I really would be delighted if they just left the question of ‘are superheroes bad’ alone. They’re there, they’ve been there for nearly a hundred years, and while superheroes beget supervillains, the fact remains that the world would have ended/been invaded hundreds of times without them.

        And while I’ve been wanting to see the return of the Power Company for years, and welcome seeing heroes who don’t have regular spots show up, I dislike teams that aren’t open to all skin tones. Anyone who wants to fight for equality and diversity should be welcome, the Black Power Company seems something the DCU doesn’t need. Vixen, for example, has been a Justice Leaguer several times, and colour hasn’t come into it.

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  7. So… my question is… who was the mysterious shadowy figure that told Barry to go check out the multiverse (or go do something in issue 3). Are we to assume that this was Oliver? Or is this something that was dropped and might be picked up again later?

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    1. Now there’s a great question. I went to GCD where people often list who’s in the issue to see if anyone referred to the mystery person but found nothing. I may have to hunt Mark Waid down…

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Published by martingray1

Journalist, comic reviewer, theatre critic, film lover, biscuit fan, cat indulger