THIS WEEK: The DC Round-Up crew of Zack Quaintance, Joe Grunenwald, and Dan Morris discuss the finale issue, Absolute Power #4, as well as the DC All In Special #1, which launches a new era for the publisher.
Absolute Power #4
Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Dan Mora
Colorist: Alejandro Sanchez
Letterer: Ariana Maher
ZACK QUAINTANCE: Hey everyone, welcome in to our latest DC Round Table. We’re going to kick things off with an ending! Specifically, we’re going to start this discussion by looking at Absolute Power #4 by writer Mark Waid, artist Dan Mora, colorist Alejandro Sanchez, and letterer Ariana Maher, which is out this week and wraps up DC’s big summer event. Friends, broadly speaking, what did we think of this book, and in a larger sense, this event as a whole?
D. MORRIS: This was a really solid capper to end for a few years worth of storylines in the DCU. It’s very much a Mark Waid “Good guys always beat the bad guys by coming together” ending. As someone who reviewed the Superson one shot a few weeks ago, the return of Dreamer was a pleasant surprise if not unexpected. It was a satisfying story for an event. Even if I had to read a few books I don’t normally read.
JOE GRUNENWALD: The massive amount of tie-ins necessary to follow what was going on in this event made the main series feel a little thin to me at times, but I think Waid and co. did a nice job in this final issue tying everything together in a satisfying way. There are some nice twists along the way, and even if one of them was pretty obvious from the start I think the way it was executed was clever. I also appreciate Waid’s use of Air Wave as a key part of the heroes’ victory, just because I think Air Wave is ridiculous and fun.
ZACK: Air Wave showing up alone was a fun surprise, much less actively being part of how this whole thing got resolved. I’m glad you mentioned that twist, Joe. I think it was definitely pretty obvious, to the point it was kind of a game of just waiting for it. That said, I thought it was still fun and satisfying. We are of course talking here about Green Arrow being a super “secret” double double agent. Still curious though, did you all enjoy that reveal in this issue? I know I did…
DM: I didn’t realize it was supposed to be that big of a twist because again, because it’s Oliver Queen. No way was he not gonna be a double agent! The most liberal, hippie superhero is gonna be up for a massive police state? No way. However, the reveal of how he was a double agent was such a fun twist. Martian Manhunter saying “I didn’t expect to get captured that quickly” made me laugh.
JOE: There’s also a nice moment between J’onn and Batman about making secret plans – a reference to things both of them did in Waid-written JLA stories – that made me chuckle knowingly. I appreciate subtle callbacks to previous stories that don’t detract from the reading experience of the current book if you haven’t read them. As for the Ollie twist, I was basically waiting for it the whole time as well, but I agree that it played out as entertainingly as possible, and the J’onn mindwipe mechanism was really clever. The way they defeat the Amazo robots was also totally unexpected, and really fun.
ZACK: I thought this event as a whole was really well-executed. To some extent, it’s a pretty basic premise — robots take the superheroes powers! — but the writing extrapolated that into commentary about AI, while artwork by Dan Mora (with colors by Alejandro Sanchez here) never misses. That said, events are always going to end with the heroes winning, so to me one of the more interesting questions becomes…what’s the status quo after the win? And here, we get some MAJOR status quo shifting. What did we think of where the heroes, and also the DC Universe, were left at the end of this issue?
DM: I am absolutely excited for the return of the Justice League. Two years is a long time for there not to be League book and now we’re getting one spinning out of this with both Waid and Mora at the helm. Bring on the world’s greatest heroes! As for the other development, where multiple heroes got their powers mixed up, I worry that there’s going to be too many stories where folks try to get them back to status quo immediately rather than work forward with this new paradigm. There’s a couple hinted at here that I’m sure will get reversed very quickly but others I hope creative teams explore, at least for a little bit.
JOE: I agree that the return of the Justice League is a welcome one, particularly with Waid and Mora on that book. I’m also interested in the fact that the multiverse has now been apparently cut off from the main DCU. They’ve been leaning on that a lot over the past few years, and basically everything in pop culture is a multiverse right now, so to see them specifically say they’re stepping back from that for a bit is an interesting move. And I think the mixed-up powers could be a lot of fun, and I suspect that’ll be something Waid follows up on in the new JL book. Also of note is that Barry Allen has apparently lost his powers, which, as a Wally fan, is just fine with me.
DC All In Special #1
Writers: Joshua Williamson and Scott Snyder
Artists: Daniel Sampere and Wes Craig
Colorists: Alejandro Sanchez and Mike Spicer
Letterer: Steve Wands
Center Spread: Dan Mora and Tamra Bonvillain
ZACK: I thought you’d like that! I actually texted you several times to see if you’d read it so I could get your reaction to that. I think that’s a good move. But I didn’t see the multiverse getting shut down again coming, not even a little. That really caught me off guard. But it makes perfect sense in the context of the next comic we’re going to talk about, the DC All-In Special #1, by writers Joshua Williamson and Scott Snyder, artist Daniel Sampere, colorist Alejandro Sanchez, and letterer Steve Wands, with a center spread by artist Dan Mora and colorist Tamra Bonvillain. This is the type of big sort of linewide reset that we actually haven’t gotten in a few years, not since Infinite Frontier #1. There’s A LOT going on in this one, so I’ll start by just asking…thoughts?
DM: Well when you have a book where Green Lan- uh I mean Booster Gold gets a front seat, you know it’s going to be good right? The Justice League section of this does a great job setting up the status quo. For fans of the Justice League Unlimited tv show, of which I am one, the idea of Justice League team that could potentially have any character in the DC Universe in a given story is very exciting. There’s a spirit of optimism but also that idea that the League comes together to face the biggest and baddest threats the DC universe can throw at them. And like both you and Joe said, this doesn’t entirely close off the multiverse concept. We get to see one of the last alternate Earths which well Booster Gold doesn’t like what he sees but it looks really cool with an EVIL LEGION OF SUPERHEROES. I am very okay with this idea.
JOE: I’m also a big JLU fan, so seeing that brought into the comics is very welcome, and right in line with the kind of book I would expect Waid to excel at. And having Booster at the center of the story was really entertaining. We’ve seen so many varying characterizations for Booster over the past few years, so to get a straightforward take on him that actually feels like a character who has matured in the thirty-odd years he’s been around was kind of nice. And as for that alternate Earth, I’m excited that it’s something we’ve heard about already that’s being picked up after sitting out there with no further exploration for nearly four years.
ZACK: I’m with you both. I think the concept of a Justice League team that has basically every hero in the deep deep DCU at its disposal is just about as cool as it gets. Also, we’ve seen limited teams done to perfection twice, first with Justice League International and then more traditionally with the Grant Morrison–Howard Porter JLA. And pretty much every Justice League book after that has really suffered in comparison to one of those runs (usually Morrison-Porter). So, I think going the expansive route is absolutely vital to bringing the League back, and I’m just so excited to see where that goes. Good guys aside, what did you both think of the villain and how he was used here? I think you both touched on that a little bit, but still curious…
DM: We’re getting a new New Gods book in December courtesy of Ram V and Evan Cagle, a creative team that actually has me excited for a New Gods series. So Darkseid showing up in this book and his appearance setting up the status quo for the new League while also setting up a mystery seems appropriate. There’s precedent with the New 52 League fighting Darkseid at their formation. He’s a cosmic threat so why not. The merging with the Spectre though, that’s interesting and the second half of this book I think elaborates on all of this very nicely with some incredible Wes Craig art. Also weird coincidence but I’m currently playing Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom which also involves dark rifts opening after the defeat of an all powerful baddie. So are dark rifts the new multiverse in pop culture? Talk amongst yourselves.
JOE: Darkseid’s appearance in the first half was unexpected for me, and played very nicely as a ‘first mission’ for the new League. I also thought it set up the flip-side of the issue really nicely, with confusing dialogue in isolation from Darkseid making sense in the context of his journey. We also knew from the announcement of the Absolute universe that Darkseid was set to play an important role in that, and we see that play out in his half of the issue. My favorite part about that whole half of the book, though, is that it’s basically about Darkseid having an identity crisis about his role in the universe. How very human and relatable for him.
ZACK: He’s in his Tony Soprano era. On the whole, I really loved this special. I read the light half first, and I blew through it. I liked the spread early on where they recapped all the recent events and gave us a smattering of DC characters reacting to it. And as noted, the Wes Craig art rules so hard. I just thought even independent of how it functions for the line, this was a fun comic to read, with big moments and cool ideas. I think the last question I have for you both, is after reading this, how are you feeling about the forthcoming Absolute DC line?
DM: After reading that back half, I really wonder if Absolute is less DC’s version of the Ultimate line and more like the Marvel “Age of Apocalypse”; finite stories set in an alternate universe where everything went to hell. I’m still intrigued by the books (especially Al Ewing on Absolute Green Lantern) but the way Darkseid talks in this makes me wonder how much I should invest in this. If it’s just Scott Snyder, letting a couple of his pals play around with variations on a couple of characters. Or if it’s going to be a real line of books that will outlast whatever the set up here alludes. I would really like to see these takes last a couple of years.
JOE: I think I might be burnt out on alternate takes for a while, but that’s a personal problem. I’m interested in a few of the Absolute books mostly for their creative teams – Kelly Thompson on Wonder Woman, Jeff Lemire and Nick Robles on Flash – and I’m open to all of them being really good. A good comic’s a good comic. But I’m an old man, fellas. I don’t know if I have the energy to get invested in an entirely new universe. Even if they all have the same names as characters I’ve loved since I was a child. But we’ll see how it goes! (How’s all of that for non-committal?)
ZACK: I think they’ve got some truly exciting creative teams for this project. The overall premise of a universe where it’s harder for the heroes? Well, I don’t know exactly what to expect from that. Still! Have you seen some of this preview art? I’m game to check it out for sure. I feel like worse case scenario it’s just a high-production set of Elseworlds comics. Anything else either of you want to add before we wrap up?
JOE: Just that the flip-side of the All-In Special made me want to seek out more Wes Craig-drawn books, and I’m sure I won’t be the only one who has that reaction after reading it.
DM: The one panel appearance of Robotman gives me hope we’re getting that sequel Unstoppable Doom Patrol but otherwise, long live the Justice League!
ZACK: I mean, this is a topic for another column on this site, but Wes Craig’s Kaya is so good. Anyway! Thank you both for a great chat!
Miss any of our earlier reviews? Check out our full archive!