Absolute Power #1 (2024)

A group of robbers in Metropolis attempt to make their getaway, but are stopped by Superman. He offers them a chance to surrender peacefully but one of them, named Joey, shoots Superman in a panic. To Superman's shock, the bullets pass through his chest and he falls to Earth. Twenty-eight hours prior, Animal Man and Animal Girl return from an off-the-grid camping trip and land in a park in Keystone City. Civilians flee in terror from them and an angry mob attacks Animal Man, screaming that it's him or them. It is revealed that A.I. generated footage of superheroes rampaging through cities and slaughtering civilians have been saturating the media for three days straight, sending people into a terrified panic. At the Daily Planet, a reporter named Lucille tells Lois they have to start reporting on the superhero attacks, as they are the only outlet not covering them, but Lois refuses to do so as the reports are unverified. However, Jimmy Olsen then runs into her office and shows her a live feed from their website of Apollo seemingly destroying an apartment building. She says she didn't sign off on that and Jimmy tells her that their system has been hacked and an outside agent is using their platform to broadcast the false footage. Amanda Waller, who is behind the fake footage, sends a report to the President of the United States admitting what she has done. She insists that superheroes are a threat to the world and she will institute a plan to stop them. The President directly orders her to stop but she simply ignores him. Waller orders Failsafe to initiate Phase Two and he deploys his team of Amazos, now termed Task Force VII. Meanwhile, Cyborg and Oracle try to stem the tide of disinformation but find it impossible as the videos are being generated by the Brainiac Queen, who is operating behind firewalls too alien for them to penetrate. The superheroes head out to the streets to rescue people and create a counter-narrative, co-ordinated by Batman. They form into small groups for safety. After Superman is shot, Jon Kent and Superboy fly over to catch him as he falls out of the sky. They fly towards the hospital and Superboy reports that Superman has lost his powers, but they both also lose their ability to fly and crash down to Earth. Waller cuts off the feed of deepfakes and broadcasts to the world that the Bureau of Sovereignty have dispatched the ultimate solution to stop the superhero attacks. Around the world, superheroes suddenly lose their powers. Mister Terrific and Batman are both shocked that Waller would act so openly, and simultaneously realise that the purpose of the disinformation was to lure them into the open for a full-scale attack. Task Force VII reveal themselves and attack the now powerless heroes. The power theft is so comprehensive that people who utilise items such as a Lantern Ring can no longer operate them, and magic users can no longer remember how to cast spells. Even the Spectre is banished when one of the Amazos attack Justice League Dark. Batman broadcasts over the Justice League's private frequency for everyone to retreat, hide and await further instructions, but suddenly Green Arrow enters the call. He tells Batman that he has joined Waller and she has tapped the frequency, meaning the isolated heroes can't even communicate anymore. Green Arrow also reveals that the Bureau has cut off all possible avenues of escape or help from space, the Microverse, alternate universes or time travel. He also tells them that the power theft is permanent, even if they manage to destroy the Amazos. Around the world Task Force VII overpower the heroes and take them into custody, with only a few stragglers able to escape or hide. Last Son, the Amazo who attacked Superman, drags Jon Kent away. Jon wakes up in a lab with the Brainiac Queen, his body now filled with circuity. He looks around himself and asks "Who am I?"