Batman No. 151: Batman and Catwoman's excellent adventure

During Absolute Power No. 2, Nightwing creates plans to stop Amanda Waller and help the heroes escape Waller's prison. Among them is getting a Mother Box away. Something more difficult than it sounds.

During Batman No. 150, Cyborg learns that one of Amanda Waller's power sources is a Mother Box. Before he can narrow down where it is, he’s captured by a member of Task Force VII. Batman relays this information to the rest of the heroes and Nightwing says it’s up to Bruce to steal it. Since something needs to be stolen, Bruce calls the one person he can trust. He asks Catwoman who reluctantly agrees.

As expected, this doesn’t go smoothly. The duo encounters Clock King, Black Alice, and Deadeye. Three against two leaves Batman and Catwoman at a disadvantage, but Waller also has Bizarro patrolling her island. It’s now four-on-two.

Even after Batman and Catwoman escape and find the mother box (located off-world in Waller’s family’s mausoleum), they’re attacked by Gunsmith. He's protecting the Mother Box and given the authorization to use lethal force by the U.S. Government. Batman and Catwoman's mission has gone from a difficult job to nearly impossible.

Things to notice

Catwoman notices that Black Alice is using magic. This shouldn’t be possible. Waller made sure that magic users were cut off from using their powers. That means only people working for Waller are allowed to use their abilities. This was a given since she hates metahumans but uses them on her Suicide Squads. However, if people shouldn’t be able to use magic, what makes her special?

Next, we have Bizarro. He normally doesn’t have any cybernetic attached to him. This is likely due to Doctor Pharm and Graft’s experimenting on him (seen in issue No. 3 of Joshua Williamson’s Superman). In that issue, Bizarro was missing an arm. Batman No.151 shows it replaced by a metal one. That particular Bizarro also didn’t appear again in Superman (another does in Action Comics by Jason Aaron). Now we know why.

One of two things happened. After Doctor Pharm and Graft were arrested, Amanda Waller gained access to their lab and experiments. Among them was Bizarro. The second is more terrifying. Doctor Pharm and Graft could have been working with Waller. If so, what else have they been working on for her? Stay tuned to Caped Crusader and Bam Smack Pow to find out.

Do you think Batman and Catwoman escape or will they be captured? What's next up for Amanda Waller during Absolute Power?