Warning! Spoilers ahead for Absolute Power #2!The most powerful weapon in Amanda Waller’s arsenal is unleashed andSupermancan’t do a damn thing about it. Clarkjust fought the Brainiac Queenduring the “House of Brainiac” crossover, but now she’s back and worse than before.
Waller’s first wave of attacks has de-powered superheroes and villains all across the DC Universe.As Task Force VIIhunts down and imprisons every metahuman they can, Waller’s holding her more powerful assets back. That is until they gather in an iconic DCU location, giving Waller the perfect time to unleash the Brainiac Queen and bring the remaining metahumans to heel.
The Brainiac Queen Attacks the Fortress of Solitude and Superman is Helpless to Stop Her
InAbsolute Power #2by Mark Waid, Dan Mora, Alejandro Sánchez, and Ariana Maher, Waller and her assets monitor Task Force VII’s success rate. While Waller is content that 80% of the metahuman population has been de-powered and is now held on Gamorra Island, she’s concerned about the heroes who have evaded her efforts so far. Waller prepares her underlings for the next phase of her plans andinforms Brainiac Queen that she’s going into the field to lead an assault, along with a brainwashed and corrupted Jon Kent.
…all it takes is for the Brainiac Queen to generate red solar radiation to de-power the Kryptonians
At the Fortress of Solitude, the handful of heroes who haven’t been apprehended yet prepare for war. Superman hands out weaponry he’s confiscated over the years and gives his closest allies new tactical suits. Unfortunately, their plans go sideways when the Brainiac Queen and Jon Kent invade the Fortress. As shocked as Superman is to see what’s happened to his son, he’s equally surprised to see the Brainiac Queen alive. With a flick of her wrist,Brainiac Queen destroys the weapons the heroes have just armed themselves with.
Things only get worse as Brainiac Queen unleashes dozens of robotic tentacles that ensnare heroes. She also generates portals to send any captured heroes straight to Gamorra. Aquaman buys the resistance some time by unleashing the Kryptonians collected in the bottle city of Kandor. But all it takes is for the Brainiac Queen to generate red solar radiation to de-power the Kryptonians. Superman initiates a self-destruct sequence, and the Brainiac Queen is caught in a massive explosion. However,the Brainiac Queen survives and reacquires Jon Kent for Waller.
Who is the Brainiac Queen and How Did Waller Find Her?
As her name implies, the Brainiac Queen was created by Superman’s infamous alien villain, Brainiac. After years of plundering information across the DC Universe, the powerful Coluan discovered gaps in his memory that began driving him insane. To fill the gaps, Brainiac embarked on a mission to create something new, a powerful queen that could be his equal.Brainiac succeeded in his project, but he was forced to abandon herwhen Lex Luthor destroyed Brainiac’s ship by attacking the villain’s hive mind.
The Brainiac Queen didn’t get very far as her escape pod wound up on Earth of all places. Unfortunately, Waller was keeping a close eye on things and was the first to discover the synthetic lifeform. Waller brought the Brainiac Queen to her base and discovered her hard drives were empty. Sensing an opportunity, Waller used the Sanctuary files and software developed by Failsafe to create a simulation in Brainiac Queen’s mind. In this virtual reality,Waller raised Brainiac Queen like a daughter, conditioning her to fear and hate superheroes like Superman.
Waller ‘raises’ the Brainiac Queen inAbsolute Power: Ground Zero #1 (2024)!
The simulation worked and Waller had the most powerful and most loyal soldier she could ask for. With Brainiac Queen under her control, Waller used the alien to generate falsified videos of superheroes attacking the public. It was a gambit to draw the heroes out and it succeeded, allowing Waller to unleash her all-Amazo crew, Task Force VII.Thanks to the combined technologies of Failsafe and the Brainiac Queen, these Amazos were more powerful than everand capable of completely de-powering any metahuman they encountered.
DC’s Heroes Have Nowhere to Run with the Brainiac Queen Loose
Things are getting worse by the second in the DC Universe. The world’s greatest heroes have lost their powers and Waller has several god-level automatons at her disposal. Task Force VII is a force unto themselves, sure, but the Brainiac Queen is far more wicked than any of them. Technically the Amazos don’t have any natural powers themselves, they’re just stealing the ones possessed by metahumans.Everything that Brainiac Queen has is naturally hers, from her insidious tentacles to her ability to generate red solar radiation.
Now the heroes’ numbers are reduced even more and they’ve all seen what the Brainiac Queen can do…
Even if Superman had his powers at the moment, he’d be struggling against the Brainiac Queen. Brainiac designed her to be one of the most lethal weapons in the universe. Then Waller spent 20 virtual years instilling a deep hatred of people like Clark and training her to use her powers solely against metahumans. But the Man of Steel was one of the first heroes to lose his powers andwhile his spirit may be willing to fight the Brainiac Queen, Superman’s body isn’t up for it.
Amanda Waller has played her cards very well. She could have used the Brainiac Queen to lead the first wave of attacks, but Waller waited until the heroes’ numbers were dwindled before revealing how much more firepower she had on her side. Now the heroes’ numbers are reduced even more and they’ve all seen what the Brainiac Queen can do, no doubt a crushing blow to morale. If the remaining heroes want to have any shot of defeating Amanda Waller,they’re going to have to do something about the Brainiac Queen.
How Can the Justice League Stop This Terrifying Threat?
Superman got lucky last time when Lex Luthor helped defeat the Brainiac Queen, but he can’t hope for a repeat. It may be possible that Jon Kent could turn against the Brainiac Queen, but she’s got her hooks deep in the young Kryptonian. Whatever the remaining metahumans decide to do, they’d better think up a plan fast. If they wait too much longer,Supermanand the rest of his Justice League comrades are going to be taken out by Amanda Waller’s greatest asset.
Superman
The icon who launched the entire world of superheroes, the last son of Krypton escaped his dying world to crash land on Earth and be raised as Clark Kent. The world knows him better as Superman, the Man of Steel, the leader of the Justice League, and the most well-known hero in the DC Comics Universe. Blessed with the powers of a demigod, Kal-El of Krypton fights enemies both small and cosmic in his endless pursuit of truth, justice, and a better tomorrow.
