DC K.O. #5
Chad Burdette
Recap
The gloves came off as the greatest superheroes in the universe entered the arena in a thunderous tournament where the stakes are sky-high!
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The Heroes rose. Legends fell. Time for the cosmic throwdown for the Heart of Apokolips is Earth has been transformed into a hellscape in preparation for the return of Darkseid which has arrived and reached the final climactic moment!
In the melee that started with dozens of heroes and villains vying for their chance to win the ultimate power in the universe, now only one remains!
But to truly be crowned the King Omega, you must battle more than the obstacles in your path… you must battle yourself.
Suit up, get ready, and leap into the final round!
Fight Month
- DC K.O.: Superman vs. Captain Atom #1: Fight Month Begins With A Predictable Winner And Outcome – Winner: Superman
- DC K.O. ALL FIGHT MONTH: ROUND 2 OF 8 – Aquaman Vs. Hawkman: When Friends become Foes in Aquaman #12 – Winner: Aquaman
- DC K.O. ALL FIGHT MONTH: ROUND 3 OF 8: Wonder Woman vs. Lobo #1: Bracelets & Bastiches!!! – Winner: Wonder Woman
- DC K.O. ALL FIGHT MONTH – Round 4: The Green Vs The Man And Machine in Titans #30 – Winner: Cyborg
- DC K.O. Fight Month – Round 5: Harley Quinn vs. Zatanna #1 – Black Magic Woman Winner: Zatanna
- DC K.O. Fight Month: Round 6: The Flash #28: Talkin’ Bout My Generation Winner: Guy Gardner – Green Lantern
- DC K.O. Fight Month – Round 7 – Superman #33: No Sympathy For The Demon Winner: Lex Luthor
- DC K.O. Fight Month – Round 8: The Joker vs. Red Hood #1: Paybacks A Bitch Winner: The Joker
Comic Watch Reviews:
- DC K.O. #1: The Scene Is Set For A Real Slobber-Knocker Of An Event
- DC K.O. #2: Round 2 – DCU Items Of Power…Gotta Catch Them All!
- DC K.O. #3; Rock’;em, Sock;em Superheroes (And Villains)
- DC K.O. #4: I Used To Roll The Dice & Feel The Fear In My Enemy Eyes
Tie-Ins:
Oneshots
- DC K.O.: Boss Battle #1: The Gang Is All Here
- DC K.O.: Green Lantern Galactic Slam #1: Let’s Get Ready To Stumble
- DC K.O.: The Kids Are All Fight #1: Granny Said Knock You Out Cold!
Limited Series and Regular Title Tie-Ins
- DC K.O.: Knightfight #1: The Curse of the Cowl
- DC K.O.: Knightfight #2; Under The Black Cowl
- DC K.O.: Knightfight #3: You’re Getting Old, Bruce
- DC K.O.: Knightfight #4: Why You Fight
- The Flash #26: Some Say He’s Impulsive…
- The Flash #27: Caught in the Omega Force
- The Flash #29: Saving the Speed Force
- The Flash #30: A Crisis of Faith
- Superman #31: The Return of Superwoman
- Superman #32: Ready? Fight!
- Superman #34: Prime Time
- Superman #35: Love Trumps Hate
Review
The K.O. finale is here and it delivers on all levels making this one of the most exciting and unique events in DCU history.
WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD!
Picking up from the end of the last issue, Lex Luthor levels up to King Omega after “winning” the tournament and embracing the Heart Of Apokolips, but as expected this is not his battle to fight. Yes, Snyder does use a McGuffin of sorts, but it is one that works and connects to what has been established in the series and the build up to the event. Superman has been put in a pocket dimension (the game night by Doomsday-Time Trapper who knows that only Superman can ultimatly beat Darkseid and save reality. The multiple full spread pages in this section and throughout give Javier Fernández and Alejandro Sánchez a chance to shine and show off their incredible talents on the page and further bring the story to the next level.
Snyder does a solid job showing why Superman is the only one who could be trusted to rebuild the universe in his image and do so in a way that is not a complete reboot of the characters but allows for a smooth transition from the end of the event into the second phase of the All In era. He always pays respect to the various time periods of DC as Superman and Darkseid fight to the Beginning of Time and even pulls reference from Doomsday Clock.
Along with setting up the second phase, the seeds are sown for what is most likely the next major event: Absolute Crisis. It looks like the multiverse is now the Infinite Multiverse with the Absolute Universe expanding from the single earth to Absolute versions of the other Earths such as an Absolute Tangent Earth, Absolute Crime Syndicate among others.
This event as a whole has been well-run and for the most part left few dangling strings to be resolved, and those that have been will hopefully be tied up as things begin to settle on the other side of the event. As for predictions to what is to come – Chapter Zero of Barry’s history has strong Zero Hour vibes and it is an Omega corrupted Superman that is most likely the author.
Final Thoughts
DC K.O. #5 finds Snyder, Williamson, Fernández, Sanchez and the rest of the creative not only landing a winning story and art combo, but also embiggens the DCU and Absolute sandboxes without total universe reboot or changing things just for the sake of change.
DC K.O. #5:Darkseid Rope-A-Dope or, Float Like A Kyptonian, Sting Like a Man of Steel
- Writing - 10/1010/10
- Storyline - 10/1010/10
- Art - 10/1010/10
- Color - 10/1010/10
- Cover Art - 10/1010/10
