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Summary
Waller’s master plan to eliminate metahumans involves gaining political power and powerful assets like Brainiac Queen.
Unlike the Joker’s chaos, Waller’s calculated attack shifts public opinion, showing her as a more sinister villain.
Warning! Spoilers ahead for Absolute Power #1!As shocking as it is to hear, the Joker has been dethroned from his top spot on the list of most successful villains. The Clown Prince of Crime is infamous for his numerous attacks, not just on Batman, but the DC Universe as a whole. But one surprising villain goes further than the Joker ever has.
In Absolute Power #1 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora, falsified videos are hitting the internet and airwaves, showing heroes attacking innocent civilians. As the heroes scramble to figure out what’s going on, the videos’ distributor, Amanda Waller, discusses her operation with Sarge Steel.
Waller justifies her decision to whip the public into a frenzy with videos artificially generated by the Brainiac Queen, saying it’s crucial to their plans. Waller also contemplates how misguided villains like Joker and Lex Luthor are, saying the only thing that’s really needed to shift public opinion is a powerful slogan repeated endlessly.
Waller Just Destroyed the Justice League’s Reputation
The Joker might come up with evil schemes at the drop of a hat, but Waller has been planning her latest assault on DC’s heroes for quite some time. Over the course of months, Waller has made deals, collected assets, and gained political power for one reason: to eliminate the world of metahumans, the source of the Earth’s problems (as far as Waller is concerned, at least). It took a considerable amount of time, but Waller finally collected the last assets that would give her some serious firepower: Batman’s android Failsafe, a swath of Amazos, and the Brainiac Queen.
There’s no doubt that Joker is one of the most terrifying and lethal villains in the DC Universe. He’s even gotten one over on the Justice League in the classic “Endgame” storyline in Batman. However, Waller did something worse than merely attacking a couple of heroes. She destroyed their credibility among the public and got everyday people to attack superheroes. The Joker is great at generating chaos, but even he couldn’t have done something like this. Sure, he knows how to stir the pot, but Waller’s resources and psychological knowledge helped her harm the superhero community like no other villain.
Waller Has Hurt the DC Universe in a Way the Joker Never Could
The Joker is scary and he’s probably got one of the highest body counts in the DC Universe. But Waller’s got a completely different objective. She wants to justify getting rid of metahumans and nothing does that better than fomenting fear against superpowered individuals. The Joker is an amazing villain, but when it comes to completely shifting public opinion, he could never do what Waller just did. It’s hard to surpass a villain like the Joker, but Amanda Waller has done it with her ominous crusade.
Absolute Power #1 is available now from DC Comics.
Absolute Power #1 (2024)
Writer: Mark Waid Artist: Dan Mora Colorist: Alejandro Sánchez Letterer: Ariana Maher Cover Artist: Dan Mora
“}]] The Joker has been outdone by one surprising foe. Read More