Warning! Spoilers for Absolute power: origins No. 3!Batman is one of the most popular comic book characters ever created, and I’ve noticed that DC Comics tends to inflate that reputation every chance the publisher gets, making him the most dangerous and powerful person in the room. This ego inflation has most recently led to a strange retcon as the main Suicide Squad the moment is changed to further support Batman.
An unexpected Suicide Squad retcon was spotted in Absolute power: origins #3 by John Ridley, Alita Martinez, Norm Rapmund, Andrew Dalhouse and Steve Wands. This book details Amanda Waller’s rise to absolute power in the DC Universe and recounts several events that avid DC readers have already seen. One such event is Batman’s attack on Belle Reve when he discovers the existence of the Suicide Squad. the way this story retells the event is very different from how it originally played out.
In this book Amanda Waller is humiliated and easily defeated by Batman. He threatens her and gets everything he wants with little trouble. This utter defeat pushes Waller to plot even more against superheroes, but looking back at the event as it first played out, this simple defeat on Batman’s part is not what happened. Instead of, Origin The retcon was done to further enhance Batman’s reputation, but I really don’t think it works all that well. Honestly, I think the original story is much better because it shows both characters at their best.
Amanda Waller originally faced Batman and won
Pages from Suicide Squad No. 10 by John Ostrander, Luke McDonnell, Bob Lewis, Todd Klein and Julianne Ferriter.
The original confrontation between Batman and Amanda Waller was first shown in Suicide Squad No. 10 by John Ostrander and Luke McDonnell. At first, the story plays very much like a retelling: Batman sneaks into Belle Reve and steals data from Amanda Waller, which she quickly realizes. The difference is that in the original story, Batman then quickly tries to escape after stealing the data, only to be mauled. stopped by Amanda Waller and the Suicide Squad. Waller manages to negotiate with Batman, essentially threatening Batman with his secret identity to force him to give up the data he stole. Batman agrees and leaves empty-handed.
It’s not a loss for Waller; it is a moment of victory because it prevents an almost catastrophic moment of sabotage.
This single issue established Amanda Waller as a credible threat to the DC Universe as a whole, which practically led to later events such as Titans: Beastly World Tom Taylor, Ivan Reis and Lukas Meyer and even Absolute power Mark Waid and Dan Mora. She knew exactly how to handle Batman and what to threaten him with to get him to back down. Even Deadshot expresses surprise that Waller actually made Batman back down and leave. I think it’s clear that this isn’t a loss for Waller; it is a moment of victory as it prevents an almost catastrophic moment of sabotage. But in Absolute power: origins #3, she later deliberately describes it as Batman”humiliating” she. This is simply not how the event played out in the original version of events, and was only shown this way to try to bolster Batman’s reputation as an unstoppable force.
Amanda Waller once stood up and defeated Batman
DC is officially rewriting one of its most iconic moments
Batman is an amazing character and one of my favorites in the entire DC Universe. But what makes Batman cool is that Bruce Wayne is only human. He is not some unstoppable force of nature. I think it’s okay if Batman loses or faces setbacks because what makes him incredible is how he overcomes them. In the original version of this story Batman tried to expose Waller but failed. She defeated him, hands down, making her an exciting force in the DCU and making Batman a more complex hero. But this defeat does not mean that he gives up; he bluntly says that he will continue to pursue her and find another way to defeat her. Then in this retelling, why is Waller still active if Batman has everything he needs to shut her down?
Connected
Batman is an incredibly popular character and fans love to see his success. But sometimes DC goes too far in its pursuit of Batman’s triumph and makes him seem unstoppable even if it doesn’t serve the story. Waller had years of building animosity towards superheroes and the initial confrontation between Waller and Batman in Suicide Squad doesn’t change her motivation. In any case, the initial event strengthens them. Waller was able to successfully talk Batman down, causing him to leave empty-handed. This event shows her that Batman Maybe to be defeated, which is much better than just showing yourself as an impossible force and humiliating her and everyone Suicide Squad.
Absolute power: origins #3 And Suicide Squad #10 Available now from DC Comics!