Review by Frank Plowright

The core Absolute Power event begins with Amanda Waller’s Bureau of Sovereignty rapidly rendering the world’s superheroes ineffective and capturing the vast majority of them via advanced robots draining their powers, which the robots then use. Task Force VII picks up after that’s happened, as the Amazo robots are dispatched further afield.

There are seven Amazo robots, so this anthology supplies seven different stories from seven different creative teams each featuring one of them. Each creative team has their own approach, and the chapters are largely unconnected other than being set after Waller’s first move, the exception being a few pages of interludes every time featuring Steve Trevor loose in Waller’s HQ. That’s a continuing feature. The other connection is that Waller hasn’t realised that along with the powers the robots are absorbing the personalities of the heroes, and their essential goodness is beginning to play havoc with AI programming.

In turn we look in on Billy Batson without the powers of Shazam, the Doom Patrol in Atlantis, the Justice Society of America, Voodoo and Nightwing in Gotham, Flash, the Amazons and, surprisingly, the Global Guardians.

The most ordinary offer very little more than a battle between robot villain and heroes, which is the case for Stephanie Williams and Khary Randolph’s Amazo let loose on Amazons. The best offer something unexpected, and leading the way on that score is Alex Paknadel presenting a chase at super speed as a robot attempts to figure out why Barry Allen keeps running a race he knows he can’t possibly win. Paknadel incorporates Flash learning when younger and has the benefit of being teamed with Pete Woods (sample art left), so the art is magnificent. The other sample page is the digital wizardry of Fran Galán, who’s stuck with a script from Dan Watters attempting to incorporate too many characters in too few pages.

Too many graphic novels tying in with a big crossover event feature work from creators new to Marvel and DC, but almost everyone involved with Task Force VII has a track record, and even those who are relatively new such as Pornsak Picheshote have shone elsewhere. His trip to Gotham isn’t as individual as his other work, but neither is it the fumblings of a raw talent who’ll be really impressive three years down the line. It means a baseline quality, and anyone really invested in the events of Absolute Power will probably rank this higher.