DC K.O.

by Scott Snyder, Javier Fernández (Illustrator)

The end of everything begins here. The heroes of Earth enter a tournament forged by gods, where victory means survival, and corruption claims the soul. From Eisner Award–winning writer Scott Snyder and artist Javi Fernández comes the explosive event redefining the DC Universe.

The Heart of Apokolips has transformed Earth into a twisted battlefield as Darkseid prepares for resurrection. To stop him, the Justice League and their greatest allies must enter an impossible tournament—one that pits hero against hero and friend against friend.
Each victory brings the survivors closer to the Heart…but the closer they come, the more its dark power consumes them.
A fight for the fate of the universe. A test of every hero’s will. DC K.O. is the ultimate clash of power, sacrifice, and corruption.

Collects DC K.O. #1–5.

Genres: Dc Comics, Comics

208 pages, Hardcover

Published 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

[Khurram · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good book. I wanted to rate this 4.4 stars. I liked the artwork and the story, the fights did seem a little rushed for me that was the only reason I did not give it 5 stars. I think if they made this book 7 issues instead of 5 they would have had more space for the battles in more detail.

Since his "death" the DC universe has been feeling the effect and presence of Darkseid more than ever. What is secrets of the Absolute universe and what is growing at the centre of the Earth. The heroes of the DC universe must battle it out for the power to stop Darkseid. Superman for all his power is still the best hope but is he up to the task mentally, or will someone else step up? However is the game already rigged?

I enjoyed this book, but i did feel a bit rushed, and by the end of this it felt like a bit of a prelude. I am going to read through the other books in the KO series to see if the fill out the series. The book finishes with a varient cover gallery with a couple of warp around cover.

[Murphy C · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yet another waste of time, money, and talent brought to you by the plot- and punctuation-challenged Scott Snyder. This thing is SO asinine, SO juvenile, SO ugly. It's also really, really stupid on a foundational level.

PLEASE, stop letting this man derail the entire line for six months at a time, DC!! 🤬

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.6 stars

[Keegan Schueler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Might be recency bias but this is my favorite DC comic event I’ve read. It is just hype issues after hype issue with not a lot of context needed to understand. It’s fun and while it doesn’t cap off what Darkseid is doing it still is a great part of the DC universe overall story.

[Dbrar · Rating 2.5 out of 5]

I like everyone involved, and the art has some stellar moments, but overall this was a slog to get through. It’s not enough to have a hundred pages of people hitting each other, a story needs to be about something. This is a story full of moments but no meat.

[Belfry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating: 4.5 stars

[Ian Skolarus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really big fan of the art in this one AND the font. Was a treat! Always knew how it’d end but it was still fun to get there. Not excited for what the end teases… but whatever.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was alright. It was also not what I imagined it to be. I was anticipating DC K.O. being set in its own universe where there would be 1v1 battles, which was not the case.

[Straw Boy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy peak