Written by: Jeremy Adams
Art by: Marco Santucci
Colors by: Arif Prianto
Letters by: Dave Sharpe
Cover art by: Pete Woods
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: July 31, 2024
Absolute Power: Task Force VII #3, by DC Comics on 7/31/24, sends the JSA running when Jadestone absorbs Alan Scott's Starheart power, but Amanda Waller didn't plan for what happens next.
Is Absolute Power: Task Force VII #3 Good?
So far, the Task Force VII tie-in miniseries has added a lot of background information and one or two cool moments but nothing valuable to the Absolute Power event... until now. DC is relying heavily on Mark Waid to save their collective bacon with an Amanda Waller-centric crossover, but Jeremy Adams is turning out to be the go-to guy to take a lemon and make decent lemonade. Absolute Power: Task Force VII #3 isn't perfect, but it's one of the better tie-ins by far.
When last we left the JSA in Green Lantern #13 (an Absolute Power tie-in issue), Alan Scott and the team fought valiantly against the Amazo robot known as Jadestone. The JSA lost the fight handily, but Salem teleported several members of the team away to Hal Jordan's trailer for help. Meanwhile, Hal Jordan endured torture at the hands of Amanda Waller's goods, leading to an escape, and the discovery of a large weapons cache.
In Absolute Power: Task Force VII #3, Jadestone uses the superspeed is stole from Jesse Quick to immediately catch up to the JSA, latch on to Alan Scott, and fully absorb his power. In a surprise move, Jadestone suddenly shuts down. The team decides not to waste the breather, so they go with Salem's suggestion to find a ley line nexus that will take them to the Tower of Fate for refuge. The team loads up in a van, bringing along an unconscious Carol Ferris they found at Hal's destroyed trailer, and head for the nearest nexus.
If there's one down point in Jeremy Adams's turn on this miniseries, its the number of off-panel developments that need to be explained to get to this point. We can infer Hal's trailer was destroyed and Hal was captured when Amanda Waller's goons showed up at the end of Green Lantern #12, but you never see it. You only get the aftermath after a significant chunk of missing time. This jarring gap heavily implies Adams was forced to pivot his GL run in a hurry.
Later, the Amazon robot reactivates after its body is consumed by Green Lantern energy. Through the robotic inner monologue, aided by Dave Sharpe's super smart lettering, we see the robot is struggling to reconcile Waller's directive with intrusive thoughts. It decides to return to Waller and report what happened.
Without too much trouble, you quickly get what's happening. The Amazo robot is "infected" with Green Lantern's Starheart energy, and it's playing havoc with its programming. This development is both cool AND smart because it's an intriguing outcome that gets the imagination gears turning. Will the Stearheart magic turn Jadestone against Amanda Waller? What would happen if the good guys had an Amazo on their side with the powers of a Green Lantern? I don't know, but I'm interested to find out.
Amanda Waller is none too pleased with Jadestone when it returns to base empty handed. Waller orders Jadestone to invade the Oblivion Bar at all costs. During Jadestone's dressing down, it starts to consider whether or not Amanda Waller is the threat.
If the Starheart "infection" gets your creativity juices flowing, Adams smartly doesn't waste time leaving you wondering. It's clear the Amazo is confused, and every action it takes hereafter is an uncertain one, which could lead to a reversal of fortune for our heroes.
Jadestone uses magical power to bust into the Oblivion Bar, where a large number of magically-powered individuals are waiting out the Waller's attack. Jadestone demands the location of the Tower of Fate, but the patrons decide to let their spells do the talking.
Boo! Hiss! This scene marks the second down point of the issue, albeit a small one. In a relatively action-free tie-in, Adams had the opportunity to show off a big brawl of magical proportions, and again, leaves the fight off-panel to save page space. Yes, economical page space is critical, but that means the overarching plot wasn't spaced out properly. That lack of planning may or may not be Adams's fault.
The issue ends with a brief aside to show how Steve Trevor is faring on Gamorra Island, a confrontation at the gates of the Tower of Fate, and a sacrificial choice.
Overall, this is one of the stronger, smarter, and well-developed tie-ins to Absolute Power, despite the few annoying shortcuts noted above. Given Adams's success on Flash, Green Lanter,n, and now, Task Force VII, DC would do well to lock him down as the fix-it writer.
How's the Art? Marco Santucci gives this issue his all with grounded panel compositions, cool character designs, and all around solid figure work. There are a few spots were faces look slightly misshapen, especially in the wide shots, but the comic generally looks great.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
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Final Thoughts
Absolute Power: Task Force VII #3 is one of the better tie-ins in the Absolute Power event because it maintains consistency across titles, shows intriguing developments, and presents it all in a relatively pretty package. Adams continues to prove he's the DC guy who can make lemons out of lemonade, and Santucci's solid art is made better by Arif Prianto's excellent coloring.
8/10
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I wish Adams was the new Batman writer after Zdarsky cause he has the talent to pull off darker storylines as I have seen some of his other works outside DC comics but I doubt they would give him that opportunity or maybe he isn't interested in the Batman side of DC (though I heavily doubt it). I thought they might have given him Batman and Robin but that proved false.
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