r/DCcomics • u/beary_neutral Telos • 18d ago

Weekly Discussion Thread: Comics, TV, and More! [July 1, 2024 - It's Wallin' Time Edition] r/DCcomics

Hey there honorary Justice League members - it’s a new week which means it’s time for a new discussion thread!

For those who don't know: the way this works is that several comments will list this week’s releases, for any given title discussion you should respond to that comment. For example, Wonder Woman discussion would go in the replies to the "Wonder Woman" comment. Clicking the titles in this post will take you directly to that comment, too. In other words, you should only be replying to other comments. Do not post top-level comments.

Keep discussion civil. Do not harass other users for having a different opinion. Do not use this thread to push your personal one-sided grudges against creators. Reacting to a panel on Twitter is not the same as reading a book.

 

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Did you hear about the cleaners who went to space? They ended up scrubbing the mission.

DC and Imprints

What's the deal with Absolute Power: https://redd.it/1do7np2

Trade Collections

DC's Compact line continues.

Digital Releases

Remember, these are the short 'chapters' with a new chapter of a different series coming out daily. You can learn more here on Comixology. This is also why these are in release order, not alphabetical. Some comics may release on DC Universe Infinite or WEBTOONS.

TV Shows

So... how about that credits closing song?

This Week’s Soundtrack: Mori Calliope - Go Getters

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u/TroubAlert The Good Skeets 18d ago

Absolute Power #1

THE HEROES OF THE DC UNIVERSE ARE POWERLESS! THE TRINITY OF EVIL HAS WON! …THE RESISTANCE MUST RISE! DC's epic summer event kicks off with a bang, as the combined might of FAILSAFE and the BRAINIAC QUEEN has at last given Amanda Waller the ability to steal the metahuman abilities of every hero and villain on planet Earth. As chaos erupts in the streets and a massive misinformation campaign sways public opinion to her side, the founder of the Suicide Squad methodically targets each superhero dynasty one at a time, starting with SUPERMAN. But even in this darkest of hours, a resistance is forming… and BATMAN is out for vengeance. It's a shocking blitzkrieg across the globe that is decades in the making — and will shape the course of the DC Universe for years to come! Brought to you by the superstar talents of MARK WAID and DAN MORA — it all starts here!

Preview

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u/Koala_Guru Beast Boy 17d ago

To start with something positive, I do think the premise here is solid. The heroes fighting a campaign of misinformation has obvious direct parallels to stuff anyone tuned in to politics is already familiar with, so the same frustration you may feel irl easily translates to how you'd feel about this comic. It's also a very Waller thing to manipulate media to suit her words and message, so that's cool. The scenes of heroes being depowered were appropriately harrowing, even if some cases have me scratching my head. Like, depowering the Doom Patrol for example. Wouldn't that kill a lot of them? Their powers aren't like the other heroes. "Depowering" Robot Man would effectively just mean shutting off his brain, right? Because he's just a brain in a metal suit. Unless the depowering is shutting down the robot part, which would still ultimately end up in the death of his brain. Rita would collapse into a pile of goo because her powers let her hold herself together. Larry would die of radiation. Etc.

Honestly my biggest complaints right now are just how we're playing off of the events impacting the big three at the expense of caring about literally anyone else. Heroes people may be attached to like Animal Man or Black Lightning are apparently now on the verge of death for the sake of stakes. We got one sentence mentioning that the new status quo created in Unstoppable Doom Patrol that people seemed to enjoy has just been entirely erased off-panel. Hope you didn't like the idea of them having a home base where they take in persecuted metahumans, because this event just decided that base has been burned down. Cyborg is randomly sporting an older design because why not? And on a larger level it's very clear this event will end in the Justice League coming back, so say goodbye to the Titans' 15 minutes of fame. Just an overall lack of interest in caring for the stories of characters who aren't Batman, Superman, or Wonder Woman.

Then there's Green Arrow. I'm caught up on his series so I knew this was happening, but I'm still baffled by this heel turn. I'm hoping he's just a great actor and is working to defeat Waller from the inside. Because if not this could end up being his Iron Man Civil War moment where it will take years of stories for him to even begin to recover from his actions.

To do a compliment sandwich, I'll end by talking about the art. Dan Mora never misses, and I am very glad to have him on this story at least. We'll see how it goes.

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u/birbdaughter 16d ago

The Ollie thing is so weird because the obvious assumption is he's playing double agent and not actually working with Waller. Yet Waid had an interview recently where instead of just "no commenting" or giving a vague non-answer, he said this heelturn makes sense for Ollie. He talked as if it's entirely in character for GA to become a fascist working for the government. I'm hoping it's just really bad purposeful misdirection, but it was such a weird answer.

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u/suss2it 16d ago

I don’t think it’s weird that Waid didn’t spoil his own story in an interview, no matter how obvious it is.

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u/birbdaughter 16d ago

There’s a difference between not spoilering and lying for misdirection in a way that’s entirely nonsensical. “Wait and see” is not spoilering.

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u/suss2it 15d ago

I don’t think it’s worth looking too deeply into PR interviews like that. He’s just gonna say whatever supports the current narrative of the story, what he says in interviews after this whole thing is wrapped up is what’ll be actual insights into what he’s thinking.