Summary
He hasn’t been in the spotlight for a few years, but a new variant cover hints that one ofDC Comics' most underrated heroes and personal favorite of mine is making a return. Animal Man, the hero who took the alternative superhero scene by storm in the late ’80s is making a return just in time for the DC Universe’s latest calamity.
The last several months have seen news slowly trickle in regarding DC Comics’upcoming summer eventAbsolute Power. I’ve been pretty optimistic about this storyline, especially afterseeing the wild directionsAbsolute Powerappears to be going in. But nothing has gotten me more excited than a new variant cover released as part of DC’s September solicitations.
September 11th, 2024
Variant Covers:
Leirix, Khary Randolph, Stephen Platt, Dan Mora, and John Timms
Amanda Waller comes for the Amazons after they assist the heroes in their battle for survival! Will her weapon with the powers of the beloved champion of the island of Themyscira be able to unlock its secrets? Or will Queen Nubia and her sisters-in-arms send this robot straight to the Underworld?
Absolute Power: Task Force VII #6comes with a variant by John Timms. This particular variant is part of a connecting series that showcases the event’s major players.To my surprise, I discovered Animal Man was featured here, along with Batman’s ultimate contingency Failsafe.
Animal Man Returns for DC Comics’Absolute Power
Fans of Grant Morrison’s work don’t need to be reminded of how brilliant their revival of the C-lister hero Animal Man was. Morrison took a character that had largely been forgotten except by hardcore DC fans and overhauled the character to create a poignant story about heroism, animal rights, family life, and trauma (and that’s not even getting into the amazing meta nature of the comic).Animal Man got a second wind of popularity during the New 52when Buddy Baker was given a new series under the direction of Jeff Lemire, who also wrote Animal Man inJustice League United.
I’ve been pretty disappointed by Animal Man’s absence from the DC Universe in recent years. While his daughter Maxine has become a semi-reoccurring character inThe Flash, Buddy hasn’t had much of a chance to shine. He didn’t even get a cameo appearance inJustice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong, which just screams ‘missed opportunity’ to me.But Animal Man being featured on a variant cover forAbsolute Powerfills me with cautious optimism. The only characters featured on the Timms' variants are ones connected to the overall story,making me think Animal Man has a sizable role to play.
Animal Man Is Getting the Chance to Shine He’s Deserved for Years
Obviously, I’m an Animal Man fan. I think he’s a cool hero and has a really unique power set. That’s why I jumped seeing this Timms variant. I just can’t see why they’d bother putting Animal Man on a series of variants featuring Absolute Power’s biggest characters if he didn’t have some decently sized role in the story. Of course, it remains to be seen how big a role it actually is. But as a huge Animal Man stan, I’m just happy to see the return of one of my favorite characters to theDC Universe.
Absolute Power: Task Force VII #6is available on September 11th from DC Comics.
