DC K.O.

by Scott Snyder, Javi Fernandez (Illustrator)

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics

208 pages, Paperback

Expected publication August 4, 2026

About the author

Scott Snyder is the Eisner and Harvey Award winning writer on DC Comics Batman, Swamp Thing, and his original series for Vertigo, American Vampire. He is also the author of the short story collection, Voodoo Heart, published by the Dial Press in 2006. The paperback version was published in the summer of 2007.

Reviews

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think everyone and their mother could guess this tournament would come down to Superman vs. Darksied, which is exactly how it ends up after the Lex fake out. Joker had a disgusting amount of plot armor here and frankly I was disappointed they didn’t let Jason Todd get his revenge in their fight. Especially considering how little Joker contributed to the plot afterwards. Keeping him around just for Batman to unceremoniously kill him wasn’t as impactful as letting Jason do it in my opinion.

If you follow the Absolute books there is a brief cameo at the end that again does little to advance the plot. Felt like this whole “event” was built around hype and not actual story. I found the short Knightfight companion series to be more compelling than the actually KO storyline, it had better writing and art.

[Jesse Luthy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I forget who said that this would be the equivalent of smashing action figures together but they’re 100% right. It was perfectly entertaining but nothing really more. The one liners were rough I’m not gonna lie, especially Clark, Bruce, and Diana’s. I appreciate the Superman glazing though, Scott Snyder is just like me for real.

[MannyLikesPie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did like it overall quite a bit but I’m not sure what Superman is doing. However Prime is here and the current Superman runs been good

[Subham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was so fun honestly!

I liked how it started with like a crisis of cosmic levels as usuals with Darkseid invasing and all that and our heroes needing to gather omega energy to beat him and they have to conduct like sparring rounds like wwe contest or something and it gets wild with every issue and reading the tie-ins specially Superman series which ties-in so well and love all the characters and the dynamic between them!

I loved it overall like Superman realizing he needs to be brutal and like Darkseid which is so unlike him yet he never loses hope and love how it all came together! Superman vs so many heroes and villains like Captain atom and Guy gardner which were amazing and then like getting shazam powers and even cap powers and his whole rivalry with Luthor was so cool loved it actually!

And Darkseid is a beast and like that issue with absolute characters was so awesome adn the fight and the team up between the two trinities was cool too and yep the last issue kinda became weird where its like too much of .. yeah.. idk i didn't like it.. like it felt very similar to the ending of DN Metal but yeah overall it ends with hope and Superman doesn't lose who he is despite the situation which is strong characterization and as far as endings go it wasn't bad..

but yeah Darkseid will return again but now time for DC Next level!

Overall I enjoyed the event and how hyped I was reading it every month and the conversation around it and it had so many fun tie-ins and like one of their best event anyways!

[Molly™☺ · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a complete and utter let down. How they managed to make such an action oriented premise so hollow and devoid of fighting is beyond me. DC are seemingly incapable of making an event that can be followed solely by reading the core issues, and that's on full display here. Most of the actual one-on-one fights that are promised are given to the tie-in issues, and what you get here falls flat until the very end that is saved solely by the snippets of multiversal crossover. Why are there even brackets for the tournament if everyone is just going to box whoever they come across first? What's collected here are 5 core issues in a 43 issue long event, and these 5 simply aren't enough to tell a story on its own. I was going to give this a two star rating, but after multiple instances of being burned by DC's practices when it comes to crossover event storytelling and packaging it in TPBs for a wider audience, I am tired.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly average superhero event. Some fun moments but I never believed there were many stakes to all the fighting. None of the outcomes were particularly novel, the characters I expected to be around at the battle royale generally were. I'm exceedingly tired of Darkseid as the uber villain at this point. I have no idea what his motivations are other than he is evil. Please give him a break. Clearly they won't since he's so involved in the absolute universe, but one can dream. Read this in issues.

[Logan Hurston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. Kept up with the monthly issues, which is much more than I can say for most comics, but this kinda fell flat for me. Mindless fun that ultimately ends up doing barely anything for the status quo. I won’t put spoilers since the story hasn’t been published in a trade yet, but this wasn’t much to me. Didn’t love the art as much as everyone else either. Haven’t read the tie-ins, but haven’t heard much about them.

[Cleber Fregatto · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not a long saga but the start of something else. The storytelling by itself is a bit weak as we have seen this kind of arc before, however, the fights between characters and sometimes between allies are the most intense and interesting. As always Superman becomes the main event here, which makes the other characters arcs weak and sidelined. Graphic design could also be better but overall very good.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25
Solid and interesting story. Not blown away amazing. But pretty fun, including some existential philosophizing.

It connects to a lot of other stories in meaningful ways and will have future implications.

Managed to be both a big story and a character study at the same time.

Also kind of silly, in the way good comic stories can be.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

After a good start, Scott Snyder gets sucked back into trying to emulate Morrison and Kirby and it becomes too silly, complex and conceptual - a strong ending would have saved it but instead half the issue acts as a launchpad for some relatively mediocre new series and plot lines in existing runs - it all feels like a disappointing anti climax.

[Drew Canole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Apparently every comic I read hasn't been released yet... but here we are - everyone can get their hands on DC K.O. 1-5!

A pretty satisfying ending. I tried reading all the tie-ins, but eventually just stuck to the main storyline. It's big, bombastic - doesn't really make too much sense... but it stuck the ending in my opinion.

I'm interested to see how the DC universe and the Absolute books crossover.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read as single issues in tandem with a bunch of the tie-ins. I think my favourite one of those was Knightfight, which was really just an Elseworlds type thing with minimal connection to the overarching story. As for the rest of it, what can I say, it really appealed to the 12 year old in me

[Donavon · Rating 3 out of 5]

collects issues #1-5

I thought this had strong start, but ultimately was just fight-twist-repeat.

I did not read All In event books, but didn't that end with Darkseid creating Absolute universe and Superman creating All In universe??? did they do same thing twice?

[Daniel Hoare · Rating 2 out of 5]

somehow they found a way to make "what if all your favourite action figures had a big boxing tournament" overcomplicated and boring

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best DC events I've read in over 20 years.

[Skylier Lehmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s wild and entertaining. 3.8

[Dean · Rating 3 out of 5]

read as single issues.

this has been a fairly good event.
it feels important. the tie ins have been crap but they do expand the story which a lot of the time they never do.

art was really good.