Warning! Spoilers ahead for Absolute Power #2!The Justice League Was betrayed by one of their own, but he is about to make good as we all knew he would eventually. While the DC Universe was shocked by the sudden and unexpected twist of Green Arrow working for Amanda Waller, most of us are sure that this Had To be a trick.
The good news is, it seems like it is! Waller can bring down hell on Earth’s metahuman population, but she slowly loses control of her assets. As she celebrates her latest victory, Green Arrow is ready to go for broke and return things back to normal.
Green Arrow is ready to double cross Amanda Waller
in Absolute power #2 By Mark Waid, Dan Mora, Alejandro Sánchez and Ariana Maher, Waller is gloating over the de-powered and capturing 80% of the world’s meta-human population. However, among the heroes who still remain, Waller is concerned that the biggest fish are still running free. Waller gives her orders to her team, Telling Failsafe and Green Arrow to continue monitoring Task Force VII To ensure that they contain the power they have consumed properly. As for the rest of her team, she prepares them for the next phase of Waller’s plans.
At the Fortress of Solitude, the heroes panic over Waller’s show of force, but they come together once Nightwing takes the lead. The heroes formulate a plan and get involved. Unfortunately, before they can carry out their plans, the fortress is attacked by the Brainiac Queen and a brainwashed Jon Kent. The two lay waste to the fortress while one of Waller’s task force androids de-forces as many heroes as possible. The heroes make a heroic effort, But Waller’s army is too much for them.
Superman triggers the fortress’ self-destruct sequence and escapes, aided by Dreamer, who suddenly turns against Waller. An explosion levels the fortress, seemingly killing Dreamer. Waller and her underling Sarge still replay footage of the attack and discuss Dreamer’s death, deciding not to tell Oliver about it. Elsewhere in the Hall of Order, Green Arrow rifles through equipment stolen from the Justice League archives. After digging through a box of Chronos’ belongings, Green Arrow finds an hourglass and remarks “Time is up” with a smile.
Green Arrow has been playing the long con against Waller
If you’ve been following the last volume of Green Arrow (and I hope you are, because it’s a fantastic read), you know that Oliver has been through hell and back. He was manipulated by Merlin and Amanda Waller, who kept Team Arrow separated over time and space. While Merlin was out for revenge, Waller was hoping to recruit the archer. When Queen finally confronted Waller, She offered Green Arrow a deal to work for her in exchange for keeping his family together and safe.
I wasn’t exactly worried when Green Arrow agreed to the deal, especially since he told Arsenal he was just working the long shot against Waller. That said, Oliver looked like he had a change of heart right before Absolute power started. He has a dramatic costume change and Told his allies that he was no longer a Green Arrow and handed over all his property. But that paled in comparison to what Quinn did a week later when Absolute Power #1 fell
Oliver Queen goes all-in working for Amanda Waller Green Arrow #13 (2024)!
Waller finally acted on the plans she had been working on for months. She used AI-generated videos of heroes doing terrible things to draw out the real ones, then sent her all-amazo team Task Force VII to de-power them one by one. As the heroes scrambled, they communicated on a secret frequency, Only for Green Arrow to discover his treachery. Oliver told his allies that Amanda Waller knew everything about the heroes and that there was nowhere to hide, not even in the multiverse or the timestream.
I knew Green Arrow didn’t go completely villainous, but I’m still happy
For the sake of the story, I know it at least had to seem like Green Arrow really did give up everything he stood for to work for one of the worst people in the DC Universe. But come on, it is Oliver Queen We talk about. The man is as leftist as they come and absolutely despises authoritarians like Amanda Waller. But he also knew that he couldn’t just take down Waller right away, So of course, Green Arrow went for the ‘long can’.
Now Green Arrow has some of the time-based villain Chronos’ weapons at his disposal. This could be a serious game-changer. Waller shut down the timeline, but it’s possible that the hourglass gives Oliver a way around that. If he could travel back in time, Green Arrow could easily undo everything Waller did by traveling back and warning his friends. Of course, if the timeline is permanently cut off, Green Arrow can use the hourglass as a distraction so he can escapeOr better yet, free every imprisoned meta-human.
It’s hard to say what he’s up to, but that cocky little smile tells me one thing: Green Arrow has something in mind to save his friends. Yes, we probably all saw it coming, but that doesn’t make the development any less satisfying. I’ll admit, I was a bit worried earlier this year once I found out that Oliver was seriously going to start working for Waller. But the final panel of Absolute power #2 Tell me that no matter what happened, The Green Arrow we all know and love hasn’t gone anywhere.
Despite everything, Green Arrow is still a hero
Of course, Green Arrow will have to answer for a few things. For all the good intentions he had, Oliver still worked with Waller when he could have let his allies know what she was up to. I have no doubt in my mind that Queen will have hell to pay and that his personal relationships could take a serious hit over this. But the important thing to note is that Green Arrow’s heart has always been in the right place and that he will finally help them Justice League Out of this mess.
Absolute power #2 is available now from DC Comics.