Warning! Spoilers ahead for Absolute Power #2!The Justice League was betrayed by one of their own, but he’s about to make good like we all knew he eventually would. While the DC Universe was shocked at the sudden and unexpected twist of Green Arrow working for Amanda Waller, most of us were certain this had to be a trick.
The good news is, it seems like it is! Waller might be bringing down hell on the Earth’s metahuman population, but she’s slowly losing control of her assets. While she celebrates her latest victory, Green Arrow is getting ready to go for broke and return things back to normal.
Green Arrow is Getting Ready to Double Cross Amanda Waller
In Absolute Power #2 by Mark Waid, Dan Mora, Alejandro Sánchez, and Ariana Maher, Waller is gloating over having de-powered and capturing 80% of the world’s metahuman population. However, among the heroes that are still remaining, Waller is concerned that the biggest fish are still running free. Waller issues her orders to her team, telling Failsafe and Green Arrow to continue monitoring Task Force VII to ensure they’re properly containing the power they’ve consumed. 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 are panicking over Waller’s show of force, but they come together once Nightwing takes the lead. The heroes formulate a plan and arm themselves. Unfortunately, before they can enact 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-powers as many heroes as possible. The heroes make a valiant effort, but Waller’s army is too much for them.
Superman triggers the Fortress’ self-destruct sequence and escapes, aided by Dreamer, who has suddenly turned against Waller. An explosion levels the Fortress, seemingly killing Dreamer. Waller and her underling Sarge Steel 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’s up” with a grin.
Green Arrow Has Been Playing the Long Con Against Waller
If you’ve been following the most recent 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 Merlyn and Amanda Waller, who kept Team Arrow separated across time and space. While Merlyn 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 that he was just working the long con against Waller. That being said, Oliver did look like he had a change of heart right before Absolute Power started. He had a dramatic costume change and told his allies that he was no longer Green Arrow and handed over all of his possessions. But that paled in comparison to what Queen did a week later when Absolute Power #1 dropped.
Oliver Queen goes all-in working for Amanda Waller in
Green Arrow #13 (2024)
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Waller finally acted on the plans she’d been working on for months. She used AI-generated videos of heroes doing horrific things to draw the real ones out, 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 reveal his treachery. Oliver let his allies know that Amanda Waller knew everything about the heroes and that there was nowhere to hide, not even in the the multiverse or the timestream.
I Knew Green Arrow Hadn’t Gone Full Villain, But I’m Still Happy
For the sake of the story, I know it at least has to seem like Green Arrow really did betray everything he stood for to work for one of the worst people in the DC Universe. But come on, this is Oliver Queen we’re talking 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 Waller down directly, so of course, Green Arrow went for the ‘long con’.
So now Green Arrow has some of the time-based villain Chronos’ weaponry at his disposal. This could be a serious game-changer. Waller has shut off the timestream, but it’s possible that this hourglass gives Oliver a way around that. If he can travel back in time, Green Arrow could easily undo everything Waller has done by traveling back and warning his friends. Of course, if the timestream is permanently cut off, Green Arrow could use the hourglass as a distraction so he can make an escape, or better yet, free every imprisoned metahuman.
It’s hard to say what he’s planning, but that cocky little smirk 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 this development any less satisfying. I’ll admit, I was partially worried earlier this year once I found out Oliver was seriously going to start working for Waller. But the final panel of Absolute Power #2 tells me that no matter what’s 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 is going to have to answer for some things. For all the good intentions he had, Oliver still worked with Waller when he could have let his allies know what she was planning. I’ve got no doubt in my mind Queen is going to have hell to pay and that his personal relationships could be taking a serious hit over this. But the important thing to note is that Green Arrow’s heart was always in the right place and that he’s going to ultimately help the Justice League out of this mess.
Absolute Power #2 is available now from DC Comics.
