‘DC K.O.’ #5 Review: A Knockout Issue After Being Down For The Count

I must admit, I’ve always been a sucker for any grand finale of a DC crossover event that has Superman at its centre, going back to the classic and unbeatable Crisis on Infinite Earths, and so I was always going to be persuaded by DC K.O. #5, even if the series as a whole did dip for me as it settled into a rather formulaic hero-versus-hero-versus-super-villain beat-em-up. But at the last, and in the final round, writer Scott Snyder pulls it out of the bag, and in doing so sets up the next phase of their All-In titles. 

And so we get the re-emergence of Doomsday as the Time Trapper and Superman’s re-entry into the game after Lex Luthor seemed to have claimed the crown of King Omega last issue. And while the whole premise of this series was to showcase bombastic, cosmic-level battles, this final battle is presented as something spectacular, thanks to artists Javi Fernández, Xermánico and Wes Craig, who deliver page after page of inspiring art, playing with layouts and panel borders in the most creative of ways to better express the emotion, drama and scale of this Battle Royale. The choice of a deep red colour palette by colourist Alejandro Sánchez only helps capture the heat of this clash of titans. 

And as the dust settles, we are once more reminded of Superman’s importance in the DC Universe. A force for good, as we all know, but a force in the DC Universe that shows, through his deeds, that he is more than that. Not just the sum of his powers, but the very heart of a universe he helped create the moment of his inception in Action Comics #1 (1938). And it’s good to remind the world of this every now and again. Darkseid is, but Superman definitely is!

DC K.O. #5 is out now from DC Comics