DC Reveals the Codenames of Its Evil Justice League Replacements & They Expose a Dark Truth

Warning: Spoilers for Absoluter Power: Task Force VII #1, Batman #150, and Absolute Power #1

​​​​With the Justice League scattered, Supermanand his allies have had their powers stolen by their evil Amazo counterparts. Amanda Waller’s crusade against heroes is no new thing. With free will, variable morals, and abilities often beyond what governments are able to counter, superheroes are a rogue element — but the way she has named her new Amazo robots reveals a dark truth about her role in the DCU.

Zur-En-Arrh’s Amazo-bots, made in the Justice League’s image, are in Amanda Waller’s hands. At her direction, one Amazo started with the Super-Family, absorbing their abilities while wearing a mockery of their symbol. Now, Waller’s super-controllable “Justice League” are leading the hunt for the remaining heroes. True to her myopic worldview, Waller has given this super-bot a name: Last Son, which she uses in Absolute Power: Task Force VII #1 by Leah Williams and Caitlin Yarsky.

But does Waller really oppose the existence of over-powered individuals, or does she simply want to have control over them? The names that she gives the new Amazo task force indicate her true desire: not for the elimination of the Justice League, but for dominion over them.

DC Confirms the Evil Justice League’s Codenames

Panels from Batman #150’s Absolute Power Story “Brick by Brick” by Chip Zdarsky, Mike Hawthorne, Adriano Di Benedetto, Romulo Fajardo Jr., and Clayton Cowles

The newly-named Amazos, Last Son and Paradise Lost, reinforce two ideas very clearly. The words “Last” and “Lost” show that Amanda truly believes this is a final, lasting defeat of these heroes. Superman, the Last Son of Krypton, is the inspiration for “Last Son,” and Wonder Woman, who is from the hidden paradise Themyscira, inspires the new Amazo villain “Paradise Lost.”

This naming convention — basing them off the heroes whose powers they’ve stolen — indicates something deeper. Amanda Waller has led operations from the shadows, always in opposition to heroes assembling teams, working independently, or gaining power. But her own power is rooted in this stance, and the idea that she is saving “regular people” from the heroes. When she alone controls the remaining heroes, where will she derive her power?

Amanda’s plan is shortsighted. Creating a super-team using the themes and powers of the Justice League is, at best, keeping the number of superpowers in the world the same. Waller is not eliminating threats, but merely shifting them — or possibly, making them more dangerous. When Last Son goes after Black Adam with Parasite in Task Force VII #1, he learns that absorbing powers isn’t an isolated process. This Superman-themed evil robot has also absorbed elements of Superman’s morals and personality, putting him in crisis, and it certainly won’t be the last time.

Amanda Waller Will Always Want to Be the DCU’s Most Powerful Player

Absolute Power #1 by Mark Waid, Dan Mora, Alejandro Sánchez, and Ariana Maher

In Absolute Power #1, Amanda is questioned about whether this elimination of superpowers is a “want” or a “desire.” “A want,” she is warned, “can be achieved. A desire is a void that nothing can ever completely fill.“ Amanda’s pursuit of control over all powered individuals is, unfortunately, a desire. By transferring their powers and shades of their personality to the Amazos, Amanda risks her “evil” Justice League turning on her or straying from her authority.

Last Son has already shown a capacity to talk out dilemmas with the heroes he’s tracking. Whether he will share this newly revealed vulnerability with Waller or hide it from her remains to be seen. But this evil League is already facing a series of varied influences on their identities. Last Son has now taken both Kryptonian and magical abilities, and Failsafe is working as Amanda’s partner and team leader, reminding the Amazos that they are “Batmen.” Waller’s undefined scramble for power, while effective in the outset, is doomed to a messy collapse, leaving the real Justice League to pick up the pieces.

Absolute Power: Task Force VII #1, Batman #150, and Absolute Power #1 are available now from DC Comics.