Warning: Spoilers for Absolute Power #3 ahead!Amanda Waller’s assault on the world ofDC Comicshas been so devastating, it has accidentally broken one of DC’s greatest unspoken clichés. With the fate of all superheroes on the line, Waller faces resistance not just from the usual DC roster but also from heroes who readers haven’t even heard of - because they aren’t American.
The situation isbleak inAbsolute Power#3 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. The bulk of DC’s heroes are launching desperate rescue missions from the haven of Themiscyra, while Waller and Failsafe have cowed most of the world’s governments. But not all hope is lost: when one of Waller’s Amazos chases down Zealot, Cassandra Cain, and Black Orchid,rescue comes unexpectedly in the form of two new heroes.
The newcomers -Cadejos and Rana Dorada- are implied to be superheroes from Central America, giving readers a rare glimpse of superheroes from outside the United States.
DC Reminds Readers That Superheroes Are Worldwide
Absolute Power#3 by Mark Waid, Dan Mora, Alejandro Sánchez, and Ariana Maher
On the one hand,it makes sense that the bulk of DC’s heroes would consist of American characters; DC is an American publisher writing stories for a primarily American audience, in a medium that has its roots heavily steeped in pro-American World War II propaganda.
As such, American ideals and virtues are frequently extolled - Superman’s own motto originated as “Truth, Justice, and the American Way” - withAmerican colors and motifs frequently incorporated into character designs. Foreign heroes like Wonder Woman (ostensibly Greek) are presented as devotees and ambassadors of American values, while foreign metahumans who aren’t are often villains.
Superman Lore Rewrite Explains How He Became Earth’s Hero (Not Just America’s)
Superman is a hero beloved the entire world over, which never really made sense when he’s so America-centric — but DC promises to explain the reason.
It’s not just this cultural bias that DC has to overcome, either. It takes dedicated research and effort to write accurate portrayals of other countries, lest the attempts instead come off as tokenism - see, for example,DC’s Hispanic Heritage Month controversy, when variant covers were criticized for equating Hispanic culture purely with food. This difficulty tends to lead to publishers playing it safe, expressing internationalitythrough the lens of DC’s pre-existing and mainly American Justice League heroes- like the teams Batman Incorporated andthe Justice League of China. In a world filled with heroes, it is rare to see one without American ties.
DC Comics Acknowledges Its Wider World
Superheroes Aren’t Just from the United States
Absolute Power#3 does a better job than most at acknowledging DC’s worldwide metahuman presence, starting with China’s Great Ten. The Great Ten has been a steady background presence in the DC Universe since their introduction in52#6 by Grant Morrison, Geoff Johns, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid, Keith Griffin, Joe Bennet, Ruy José, Alex Sinclair, and Nick J. Napolitano.
While their depictions admittedly lean toward pastiche, they remainexamples of DC characterswho exist outside the American sphere of influence - in contrast to characters like Avery Ho and Kong Kenan, who are, when pared down,versions of the American heroes Flash and Superman, only from China.
Kong Kenan debuted and starred in his very own solo series:New Super-Manby Gene Luen Yang and Viktor Bogdanovic, available now both digitally and in collected editions from DC Comics
2023’sWe Are Legends publishing line also made a push to emphasize Asian and Pacific Islands characters. Created by Ram V and Lalit Kumar Sharma, the Vigil is an Indian superhero black-ops team with the shapeshifting Saya, the intangible Dodge, and the electroconductive Arclight acting as their core, in a series rife with secrets, espionage, and government interference.
By contrast,City Boy’s Cameron Kim - created by Greg Pak and Minkyu Jung - is a more street-level hero, able to communicate with and shape the spirits of cities themselves. The characters from the We Are Legends lineact as a wonderful first step, butso much more of the world remains underrepresented in the DCU- for example, Australia, Eastern Europe, and the entire continent of Africa.
Is DC Finally Overcoming the Greatest Superhero Cliché?
All Signs Point Toward Yes
As such,Absolute Power’s inclusion of the Great Ten alongside Rana Dorada and Cadejos (whose naming conventions imply Central American origin)does an excellent job of emphasizing how Waller’s overreach affects the entire world.Combined with Themiscyra acting as the last haven for metahumans, with the nation at odds with the United States since 2023’sWonder Womanseries by Tom King and Daniel Sampere, the issue manages to paint the picture of a world where superheroes are a part of life across the globe and not solely existing within American cities - something that DC often implies but rarely displays outright.
Get to know The Vigil, City Boy, and more in theDawn of DC: We Are Legends Special Edition#1 anthology!
It seems odd, in retrospect, that it is more common to see superheroes that originate from another planet than it is to see superheroes who come from another country, butinclusions like Rana Dorada and Cadejos help round out DC’s world immensely. It is one thing to treat Superman as a hero who belongs to the entire world (he has a proportional powerset) but another thing entirely to act as though there are no superheroes outside of America. It’s a persistent cliché with little justification - but one thatDC Comicsis finally pushing back against.
