Summary

• Task Force VII is a Secret Batman Squad - have different aspects of Bruce Wayne imprinted on them.
• Failsafe collected consciousnesses and created Amazos - driven by different Batman personas.
• Waller's use of various Batman personalities in machines may lead to a powerful enemy in Task Force VII.

The newest threat to come to the DC Universe is actually a secret previews of Absolute Power. Now Mark Waid digs into Task Force VII and reveals what it is that drives this new team.

Absolute Power is almost here and to get all the details, Screen Rant spoke to event architect Mark Waid. Waid dove into the series' antagonists, particularly Task Force VII, the team of Amazos Amanda Waller is about to unleash on the world and divulged a few thoughts.

Mark Waid: [...] but Failsafe has also been through the multiverse. One of the things that Chip Zdarsky did with one of his Failsafe stories was establish that, in his travels to the multiverse, Failsafe picked up the consciousnesses of Failsafes from other universes. And so he has to some degree imprinted each of the Amazos with a slightly different aspect or voice to Bruce Wayne. The one that fights Wonder Woman is the "Gotham by Gaslight" Batman, if you will. One of them is more of a Bruce Timm, very taciturn man a few words. So that's that's what they bring to the table.

Waid emphasizes that the Amazos were "programmed and imprinted by Failsafe", who had collected copies of other Failsafe consciousnesses around the multiverse. Waid emphasizes that each member of Task Force VII has some form of Bruce Wayne in them, whether it's the Gotham by Gaslight Batman or the Bruce Timm Dark Knight.

Task Force VII is a Secret Batman Squad Hiding in Plain Sight

Fans who have been paying attention to the current Batman run may recall that Bruce traveled across the multiverse and his twisted backup persona Zur-En-Arrh went along for the ride. Zur-En-Arrh collected copies of other Zur-En-Arrhs as part of his plan to end crime in all its forms across the multiverse. Zur-En-Arrh eventually transferred his consciousness to the Failsafe body and once he was out, he acquired several Amazo 3.0 models, intent on using them as host bodies for the other Zur-En-Arrhs. However, Zur-En-Arrh was defeated and Failsafe, as well as the other Amazos, were apprehended by the military.

Those who have been keeping abreast of the big DC Universe happenings might not be too shocked hearing Task Force VII's all have a bit of Batman in them. But it's interesting that Waid is building on that plot point. Once the Amazos were in her possession, Waller could have just as easily installed her own programming into them (undoubtedly an easy task for Waller). However, having various Batman personalities in these machines might work out in Waller's favor. Channeling Batman's relentless determination, multiplying it sevenfold, and casing it in power-sapping robot bodies sounds like a recipe for victory.

Task Force VII Will Be the DC Universe's Nightmare

It wasn't too long ago that the DC Universe faced another evil all-Batman squad with the Dark Knights in Dark Nights: Metal. But while it was obvious that the Dark Knights were all Batman in some way, Task Force VII is far more subtle about it. Externally, they're all modeled off of a particular Justice League member. But internally, they're all driven by a form of Batman's personality. In a hero, a bit of Bruce Wayne can be an asset. But in villains like Task Force VII, Batman's drive is going to help them to become a true threat.

Absolute Power #1 is available on July 3rd from DC Comics.