Summary

• The Justice League faces a devastating defeat as Amanda Waller's power grows in Free Comic Book Day 2024: Absolute Power Special Edition #
• Amanda Waller's plan to eliminate metahumans is in motion, with the Justice League facing their toughest challenge yet.
• Fans can expect a bleak future for the Justice League as Waller's Task Force VII hunts down every metahuman in sight.

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Free Comic Book Day 2024: Absolute Power Special Edition #1!A shocking scene from DC Comics' Free Comic Book Day special reveals that the Absolute Power may be months away, but fans are already getting a glimpse to what lies ahead later this year.

Amanda Waller has been tirelessly working toward getting rid of metahumans and she's on the precipice of getting everything she wants. Thanks to backroom deals, extortion, and careful planning, Waller has nearly all the pieces in place. As a preview of Absolute Power shows, the Justice League might be facing the one event even they can't overcome.

Dreamer Reveals the Justice League is Going to Lose in Absolute Power

In Free Comic Book Day 2024: Absolute Power Special Edition #1's story "Prelude to Absolute Power" by Mark Waid, Mikel Janín, Trish Mulvihill, and Ariana Maher, Failsafe and Clock King process the Teen Titans villain Haywire in the Hall of Order. Clock King gives Haywire an overview of Failsafe and Amanda Waller. Haywire discovers Amanda Waller has amassed a lot of power recently. Not only is Waller the Bureau of Sovereignty’s head, but Waller is secretly running every metahuman prison on Earth.

The Justice League being marched in chains as Amanda Waller and Task Force VII look on.

After discovering that Waller has even managed to convince Green Arrow to work for her, Haywire is brought to a room so that Failsafe can get a cellular map of Haywire’s body. After Failsafe gets what he needs, Haywire is brought into a room and given a target to destroy with his electric powers. Failsafe and Waller observe from another room as Haywire attempts to perform the task. Unfortunately, the process creates a loop that winds up killing Haywire, forcing Waller and Failsafe to move on with another metahuman.

Frustrated with the lack of progress, Waller takes a break and meets up with the precog hero Dreamer, who is still being forced to work for Waller. Waller demands that Dreamer look into the future and tell her if Waller’s plans will be successful. Dreamer does and sees a horrifying vision: The Justice League being marched in chains as Amanda Waller and Task Force VII look on. Fearing this future, Dreamer lies and tells Waller she doesn’t see anything until Waller is called away by Failsafe.

How the Justice League's Greatest Threat Grew in the Shadows

After the dust settled from Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Justice League decided it was best to disband and allow its a chance to get back to their lives. This allowed the Titans to step up and become the leading superhero team in the DC Universe. Unfortunately, without the Justice League around, Amanda Waller took advantage of their absence and kicked a plan into high gear. Spurred on by the Council of Light, Waller began making moves to eliminate metahumans completely.

Waller recently discovered Brainiac was in control of the Council of Light in Superman: House of Brainiac Special (2024)!

With assets like Peacemaker by her side, Waller began collecting powerful relics like the Helmet of Hate and the Knightmare Stone. After making a behind-the-scenes deal with Raven’s demon side, Waller gave these magic items to the evil Raven, who took on the role of Doctor Hate. With her greatest weapon by her side, all Waller had to do was wait for an opening to do serious damage to the Titans. Fortunately, she got her chance when a powerful alien known as the Necrostar invaded during the “Beast World” crossover.

Using Doctor Hate, Waller had Beast Boy’s mind wiped during the Titans’ response to the Necrostar, which left Garfield stuck as a rampaging monster attacking the Earth. Waller convinced the President of the United States to activate the Bureau of Sovereignty and give her unlimited power to deal with anything Waller deemed a threat. The threat of “Beast World” settled, but Waller finally had almost everything she needed for her final plan. All that was left was for Waller to recruit the soldiers best suited to aiding her mission, like Green Arrow.

The Justice League Are Facing a Threat That Might Be Too Much For Them

Thanks to the most recent batch of DC Comics’ solicitations, fans have already gotten a look at the Justice League’s coming trials. Not only is Amanda Waller stealing the power of every metahuman on the Earth, but she’s going to be leading an all-Amazo crew known as Task Force VII to hunt down and arrest every metahuman in sight. Fans have wondered how heroes like Superman or Wonder Woman would fare in a world where they’re powerless and the answer quite simply is that they won’t.

...things just aren’t going to work out for the Justice League this time.

Of course, this assumes that what Dreamer saw in her vision actually comes to . Precognition is a finicky power that isn’t always accurate. Unfortunately, Dreamer was recently recruited onto Amanda Waller’s Suicide Squad because of the high rate of success in her visions of the future. Not to mention, Dreamer seems quite certain that what she saw in the coming days is going to happen and she didn’t want Waller to know that. Dreamer seems certain that if Waller finds out she’s going to win her war, that’s it for DC’s heroes.

Given what fans know about Absolute Power, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where the Justice League wins. It’s known that Waller’s t work with Failsafe and the Brainiac Queen is going to rob DC’s heroes of their powers and that Task Force VII will effectively be the only powerful beings on Earth. That’s an uphill battle if there ever was one and based on this glimpse into the future, things just aren’t going to work out for the Justice League this time.

Is it Too Late for the Justice League to Change the Future?

Perhaps this is the future as things are now and the Justice League still has time to change it. Or perhaps this is just one glimpse of the future and DC’s heroes could be saved by other means. However things play out, as of right now, the Justice League is on track to lose their battle with Amanda Waller. While they’ve faced tougher odds and overcome them before, Dreamer’s vision has proven that the Justice League is in for one of the most harrowing experiences of their lives.

Free Comic Book Day 2024: Absolute Power Special Edition #1 is available now from DC Comics.