Unfortunately, the word is out. Thanks to Failsafe, Braniac Queen, and her army of Amazos, Amanda Waller has won. Unexpectedly, every metahuman on earth must hide from Waller's power stealing A.I. she affectionately refers to as Task Force VII. Subsequently, this series follows that hunt for the remaining heroes and metas hoping to turn the tide.

Corrupts Absolutely

Leah Williams (DC’s Power Girl; Marvel’s X-Factor) writes Absolute Power: Task Force VII #1 from a hopeless perspective. Specifically, Williams describes the takeover as a "planet wide blitzkrieg." Unsurprisingly, Waller pursues every loose end to this master plan with cold brutality. Including temporarily spreading misinformation, promoting Sarge Steel, and forcing supervillains like Parasite or The Thinker to do her bidding. Not to mention, this issue exclusively surrounds hunting down two teenagers with her cybernetic manhunter. Considering how unsubtly corrupt her takeover has been, readers would naturally assume she would be afraid of the consequences. However, after her successful regime on Earth-3, Waller may no longer care about the impending backlash from the world.

Following the events of Wonder Woman #11 and Absolute Power #1, Billy and Mary are able to narrowly escape the Amazos. To that end, Waller deploys her Super-family powered Amazo called "Last Son" to track down Shazam and Mary Marvel. More specifically, Waller desires access to the Rock of Eternity as another preventative measure. Although, Waller makes it clear in Absolute Power that she can cut off metahuman's connection to magic somehow. Of course, it wouldn't be modern day Waller without another act of inhumane torture, so she conscripts Parasite to help Last Son against his will. Despite having similar abilities, Last Son violently forces Parasite to sniff out the Rock of Eternity. Artist Caitlin Yarsky even intentionally frames the two of them to highlight their contrast.

Imitation of Life

Presumably, each Amazo in Task Force VII will have the abilities and archetypes of certain Justice League members. Last Son has the powers of Superman with a large "A" crest reminiscent of Superman's emblem. Furthermore, it has the standard elf ears and "deep v" hairline common to Amazo, while its outer skin features busy LED lights and an ugly silver chassis. Even Amanda Waller wears an out of place uniform with knee pads and what looks like confusingly militaristic house shoes. Speaking of goofy designs, the addition of Mr. Dinosaur (a.k.a Space Dinosaur) was tonally fun. In comparison to the overly serious plot, the dapper Dinosaur minding file cabinets of fantastical trinkets shouldn't feel as digestible. Although, honestly the worst part of the artwork is the poor panel sequencing and overall sense of pacing.

Additionally, things heat up when Black Adam arrives. While Billy and Mary try to find an artifact capable of beating Waller, they remain helpless against Last Son. Curiously, Black Adam is not only able to fight it back, but the villain also gets insight into the Amazos. Allegedly, the emotions and morality of the Supermen Last Son absorbs conflicts with his programing. This repeatedly manifests in distinct changes in dialogue and random personality malfunctions. According to Black Adam, the Amazos are simple husks with no will of their own. Black Adam goes so far to argue that the soulless robots don't truly have beliefs. Nonetheless, Last Son still uses hollow phrases like "by all that is holy" and self-righteously describing its foes as "Ne'er-do-wells."

Recommended If...

• You would enjoy a goofy DC Comics story within an overly serious plot.
• You're trying your best to keep up with Absolute Power.
• Dinosaur-Accountants are the best.
• You totally think Amazo believes in God.

Overall

I can't take Task Force VII seriously! Perhaps it is the custom skin androids with flawed yet self-righteous personalities, or the incredulous circumstances they operate upon, but I can't get onboard with Absolute Power. Most especially, the pacing of this particular issue is off putting. One panel Black Adam deflects freeze breath, the next he's dodging statues out of nowhere. A better handle on key-framing the most important moments in sequence go a long way in effective storytelling. The strongest part of this issue is the whimsical use of Mr. Dinosaur and Black Adam's "vessel" conversation with Last Son. There is a chance that the analysis of A.I verses human personality could go in a great direction in the series overall. For now, this was a often fun but unappealing start.

Score: 5/10

DISCLAIMER: DC Comics provided Batman News with a copy of this comic for the purpose of this review.