What would happen if Superman lost everything that makes him the greatest superhero in history? Not gradually, but all at once. A priori, that should give rise to a more than well-deserved vacation. The other reality is that it will be the trigger for Absolute Power, the big DC Comics event that will arrive this summer. Or winter, depending on which country you live in.
We have not yet closed February and DC Comics is already anticipating what we will see after the halfway point of 2024. What you can take for granted is that metahumans and those who have superheroic abilities officially have their days numbered: a plan has begun to unfold to remove the superpowers of all metahumans. Of the villains, of course, but also of the heroes.
Said like this, it might seem more or less generic, but behind Absolute Power there is not the devious Lex Luthor, the sworn archenemy of the Man of Steel, nor is it a murderous joke by the Joker, but rather an initiative of the same Amanda Waller. And that means that to a greater or lesser extent he ends up getting his way.
What Absolute Power consists of
Comics event announced during the ComicsPRO conference Absolute Power It will be the great workhorse of the DC publishing house of 2024. The main events will take place over four issues that will be published starting in July. Of course, there will be two previous publications that should be kept track of.
- A 32-page special issue that will be released on May 4 during the Free Comic Book Day and will offer a 12-page original story, a short look at the first issue and a compilation of key events that take the reader to the point where the event begins.
- Additionally, in June it will be launched Absolute Power: Ground Zerothe official prelude to Absolute Power that serves as a bridge between the events of House of Brainiac and the event and provides background to Waller’s motivations for the initiative to eradicate superpowers.
What is recommended to read before Absolute Power? For now, we know that from these two previous comics they will give us a recapitulation of what we saw in Dark Crisis, Knight Terrors y Beast World. However, these two comics will be enough to get us into the event if we would like to have some prior context. Optionally, of course.
Behind the four issues of Absolute Power comic we have none other than the legendary writer Mark Waid (who gave us his own superheroic twilight with Kingdom Come) and the no less talented Costa Rican cartoonist Dan Mora, whose pencils he signs the illustrations, covers and pages shown so far. Being a tandem more than capable of surprising the reader and the fan.
Absolute Power: DC’s new dawn
In the presentation of Absolute Power DC itself defined this event as the beginning of a new era for printed stories and their characters. To be fair, it is a claim that is usually used more or less regularly in the face of any major plan of the publisher. However, it is a key piece within a larger plan: relaunch DC Comics in a big way.
It is not the only great initiative, but it will keep continuity active while key movements are made in the background:
- Starting in June Elseworlds returncomics and original stories, completely outside the continuity of what happens at DC, and with a unique approach to each hero or event.
- In addition, almost all Amalgam stories will be reprinted (with Marvel), recovering a joint legacy in which characters from both houses collide and subsequently end up merging.
- A new line of comics called DC Finestin which the best of each character will be compiled, organized in a comprehensive way for any reader.
- And, in both cases, key movements now that James Gunn is rebuilding the universe in film, television and video games and it is expected that this year we will see the first projects on the small screen.
Given this series of initiatives, Absolute Power will serve both to maintain interest in the face of what happens in the current issues and to put Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman in new trouble as they join you. Amanda Waller that, together with the technology of Brainiac Queen already a robotic Batman (Zur-En-Arrh), has set out to eradicate superpowers from the planet.
From here a note: Waller is a nightmare who takes the concept “the ends justify the means” beyond any limit. Something we saw in movies and video games putting the Suicide Squad in trouble, but also putting Batman or the Last Son of Krypton in the Snyderverse in serious compromises.
In Absolute Power Waller is tasked with eliminating people with superpowers, and when he cannot extract what makes them unique, he will opt for plan B: eliminate the metahuman. An initiative that will mobilize all the Superheroes of the DC Universe. What can they do without super strength, without the ability to fly or when they can no longer breathe? Between July and the end of the year we will know.
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