Long in the making, Mark Waid and Dan Mora’s Absolute Power promises to shake up everything you thought you knew about the DC Universe. In this series of features, Jules Chin Greene unpacks each new chapter of the core comic book event and helps us come to grips about just what it might mean.
 

Like most comic book fans, I form my own theories about what could happen next in a story. Most of the time, I’m not correct because my theories aren’t particularly serious in the first place. They mostly revolve around where I’d personally like to see the story go next and the characters I’d like to see show up, which is why I never share any of these theories publicly. For example, I’m a New Gods fan, and part of being a New Gods fan, in my experience, is reading dozens of crossover events and waiting for Orion, Lightray, Mister Miracle, Big Barda, Forager and Metron to show up. It’s like Waiting for Godot, only with more punching.

After I was left devastated by the events of Absolute Power #1, I wrote that the New Gods, surely, could get past Waller’s blockades to help out Earth’s heroes. I didn’t think anything of it beyond that. But now, with Absolute Power #2, I’m starting to think that my theory might be right for once. The New Gods might be coming!

In the second issue of Mark Waid and Dan Mora’s epic event, Nightwing tells Batman to go retrieve a Mother Box that Amanda Waller has hidden away. Dick describes the Mother Box as “the key to accessing the powers of the New Gods,” who live in a dimension beyond our own universe. A Mother Box is a living, pinging supercomputer that helps Orion, Darkseid’s son and sworn enemy, blend in with the beautiful and peaceful population on New Genesis. (A computer that helps people calm down? No wonder New Genesis is beyond space and time as we know it.)

I couldn’t ask for a better way for the New Gods to enter back into the fray in a major event. Shortly before sending Batman hunting for the Mother Box, Nightwing notes that “villains always believe their motives are universal,” explaining how selflessness, a drive to protect the vulnerable and a resistance to tyranny are completely foreign concepts to Amanda Waller.

These values, however, are perfectly embodied by the New Gods. I can’t think of a character in the DC Universe who hates tyrants more than Orion. Acts of oppression send Orion into such an intense state of rage that it shifts the very atoms of his face, transforming him from a handsome warrior to a monstrous brute. Do you see why he’s my favorite character in the entire DCU now? Amanda Waller has no idea the hornet’s nest she’s about to kick. I cannot wait to see what Ram V and Evan Cagle do with these beloved characters when their New Gods series begins in December!

But enough about the New Gods. Let’s talk about how Mark Waid and Dan Mora are a Dynamic Duo who keep serving. Absolute Power is what a threatening crossover event should feel like, and I believe it comes down to Waid’s usage of important items within the DC Universe. Little things (literally) like the Bottle City of Kandor, a Phantom Zone Projector and a Mother Box go a long way in presenting a believable reality for the story to take place in. Mark Waid is known for his vast knowledge of DC lore, and that’s certainly paying off here. And it’s always a delight to see Dan Mora drawing Nightwing.

At the Absolute Power panel at San Diego Comic-Con this year, Mark Waid hinted at a difficult road ahead for Dreamer. Seeing Dreamer side with Waller has been an emotional rollercoaster in and of itself, but I felt myself swell with pride when Nia stood up for herself and her family in Absolute Power #2. Protecting Jon Kent from the Brainiac Queen instantly got Dreamer back on my good side, but I’m terrified by what the consequences will be for her. Nicole Maines mentioned in a panel at SDCC this year that Dreamer is just an eighteen-year-old trying her best, and I really hope that she and Jon Kent can team up again. They really need each other’s support in a dark time like this.

Speaking of Jon Kent, I know I’ve written about how Amanda Waller is my favorite DC villain before, but man, Absolute Power is reminding me of how cruel she can be. I’ve been an avid Jon Kent reader these last few years, and like Dreamer, I’m incredibly proud of the way that he’s overcome traumatic events. But now, to see him infected by the Brainiac Queen and separated from the rest of his family, it hurts!

Amanda Waller, I hereby challenge you to a duel in the form of a one-on-one ice hockey match. It’s the best I can do.
 

Absolute Power #2 by Mark Waid, Dan Mora and Alejandro Sanchez is now available in print and as a digital comic book.

Jules Chin Greene writes about comics, TV, games and film for DC.com, and his work can also be found at Nerdist, Popverse and Multiverse of Color. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @JulesChinGreene.

NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this feature are solely those of Jules Chin Greene and do not necessarily reflect those of DC or Warner Bros. Discovery, nor should they be read as confirmation or denial of future DC plans.