Absolute Power is in full swing, and you know what that means: tie-ins! Last month only the backup was connected to the event, but now everything is related in some way or another to the plan to rid the world of superheroes. More specifically, Batman recruits Catwoman to help him steal a Mother Box from Waller. It's a nice little side quest that gives Batman something to do in his own title, but also won't majorly affect the plot of the main event. It's a balancing act with these sorts of thing. Sure, it would make more thematic and character sense for Batman to go after Failsafe whom he sees as his personal failing, but that would mean event readers would be lost if they didn't pull this title. It needs to be important, but not too important.

That all being said, the setup does make for a fairly good, self-contained heist concept. It uses the disarray and pseudo-legal status of the military in the wake of the global war on metahumans as a central conceit for why the heist is possible in the first place. Information is kept close to the vest, but corruption also runs rampant and anything can be gained for the right price. It makes sense that they'd start working with shady mercenaries, providing the perfect cover for the pair.

The rapport between Bruce and Selina gets off to a rocky start when he first asks her to join him. It tries to inject some melodrama into the scene with Selina having retreated into her "drawer" and seemingly afraid to face the world outside. It's all pretty out of character for the free-spirited cat burglar, but luckily only lasts a short while before she agrees to help. Once the mission actually begins, her usual energy returns and makes for some really enjoyable banter. There's a playful rivalry between her and Batman as she treats the whole heist as a contest, even if she's the only one having fun. It's the sort of dynamic that makes their relationship popular in the first place and something they could use more of.

Despite its fun premise, the actual heist portion of the comic only lasts long enough to get them onto the island. After that, they're more than eager to turn it into an action story as they fight their way to the Mother Box's bunker. Once their cover is blown, they're pitted against Waller's new Suicide Squad. Most of the battle is entertaining to read, even if some villains tend to stop existing whenever the comic isn't focusing on them. However, what makes the fight actually interesting (as opposed to just Batman beating on a handful of C-listers) is when Bizarro shows up. The comic rightfully makes clear that Batman has no chance against that sort of threat in a head-on fight, and allows him a chance to use his wits to outsmart the problem.

What often drags these scenes down is the art. Jiménez is out for the remainder of Absolute Power, and taking his place is Mike Hawthorne. The fill-in art is fine, but lacks the impressive quality one would expect from arguably DC's flagship title. The linework often comes across as sloppy, with haphazard shapes and faces that you'd usually only see in the background and out of focus. It's effective enough, and maybe I wouldn't notice so much were it not for the fact that this title regularly has a lot more to show for its pedigree (at least in terms of visuals). We also get the debut of Batman's Absolute Power costume, which like many alternate suits in this run, just looks overdesigned and unnecessary.

Finally, the story's climax ends on a cliffhanger twist that genuinely makes you question how the heroes will ultimately prevail. Of course, that puts the onus of a satisfying story on next month's issue that could retroactively either enhance or ruin this month's setup. This run has burned that promise before, but here's hoping for it to stick the landing.

Score: 6/10

Backup: Absolute Power Plant!

With Batman and every other hero on Earth completely busy, the actual protection of Gotham apparently falls on Harley Quinn. I'll admit that I didn't have a lot of hope for this story, as the back and forth of "can Harley be a hero?" has been more than rehashed enough times already. Even here it relies on Poison Ivy to actually motivate her to do good, further muddying the ever ethereal progress she's made on that front. However, Howard manages to give Harley a role in Gotham that allows for an entertaining perspective on the whole situation.

Amidst all of the chaos, Riddler has taken over Gotham's nuclear power plant, and is threatening to blow it up unless Batman can stop him. This is a small nitpick, but I'm shocked that if Gotham apparently runs on nuclear power then it doesn't come up all the time. Who needs to poison the water supply when you've got a fission reactor to hijack a couple miles away? Regardless, Batman's gone so Harley instead shows up to save the day. This throws a mallet-sized wrench in his plan because she's the opposite of Batman when it comes to these sorts of problems.

She's not a detective, she's not patient, and she has no interest in solving riddles. Instead she just smashes his computer and tries to beat the answer out of him. What makes this story for me is honestly how it writes Riddler. To him, this is all a game, and she's spoiling it. Letting a city full of people die is one thing, but there's no point to it all if he can't prove his mental superiority in the process. It captures his flamboyant smugness in a way that writers often miss. If there's one complaint I have with this scenario, it's that the riddles themselves are kind of lame. Two are basic nuclear science trivia, and the third is a pun that a random scientist could and does figure out. If Eddie had hoped to outwit the Batman with these things he'd better spend some more time at the drawing board.

I also want to give a shout out to Giovanna Niro's colors, whose deep neon palette convey the sense of mayhem and chaos permeating Gotham, as well as keeping a consistent visual tone with Harley herself.

Score: 7/10

Recommended If

• You're a fan of heist missions
• Batman and Catwoman team ups are something you've come to really enjoy
• Everything connected to Absolute Power excites you

Overall

As a tie-in to Absolute Power, Batman #151 offers a middling heist story that acts as a detour from the main event while still keeping somewhat connected to its ongoing plot. The dynamic between Batman and Catwoman is better than it has been in the recent past, and the action is enough to keep you engaged the whole way through. It probably won't be the most memorable part of Absolute Power, but it's suitable for anyone looking to supplement it.

Overall score: 6.5/10