Ever since his introduction 55 years ago, Darkseid has been one of the biggest evils in the DC Universe. Over time, Superman came to be one of his most hated enemies. It was only natural: the God of Evil and the living embodiment of hope were natural opposites, and thus were destined to give everything they had into taking the other down. So far, Superman has beaten Darkseid at every turn, but the New God has upped his game. He’s combined with the Absolute Universe and become King Omega. Not only has this granted him a new level of power, but it set up a partnership that nobody ever saw coming.
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Darkseid is intent on winning this time, no matter what, and to do that, he’s willing to drive Superman towards a moment darker than he’s ever had, even in the infamously grim Snyder movies. To ensure his victory in the tournament in the pages of DC K.O., Darkseid recruited three champions to be his secret weapons. They’re the Absolute versions of DC’s heroic Trinity: Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman.
DC’s Trinity Just Became A Knightmare Given Form
The DC K.O. tournament is meant to give the heroes of the Prime Universe a fighting chance against King Omega Darkseid, but he’s set it up so that nobody but him could be the victor. Merging with the Absolute Universe has granted him immeasurable power and permanently altered that Earth. The Absolute Universe is designed to be dark and push heroes to the edge, forcing them to fight harder than ever before to keep and inspire hope. They’ve been successful so far, but the final pages of DC K.O. #1 showed that the Absolute Trinity has been captured by Darkseid, and were called his Horsemen. They’re frozen statues, waiting to be unleashed.
The idea of the Trinity ever willingly working alongside Darkseid is preposterous, obviously. There have been a few alternate universes where they turned to his side, and Darkseid has occasionally worked alongside them to save the multiverse, but never like this. The most famous example is probably the Zach Snyder DC movies, where the Knightmare version of Superman helped Darkseid conquer and subjugate the world. Then, this was a painfully surprising change because enslaving the universe is the last thing Superman would ever do.
The Justice League Are Now Keys to Darkseid’s Absolute Victory
DC K.O. #1 just gave us a moment that is at least three times as impactful as an evil Superman, because it shows the entire Trinity being Darkseid’s Horsemen. They’ve spent the entire length of the Absolute Universe so far fighting to do the right thing in a world that wants them to be monsters, yet here they are. This moment is infinitely darker than Knightmare Superman’s turn, because it not only has turned the three most important characters in DC evil, but also what it promises for the future of the Absolute and Prime Universes.
If the Absolute Trinity works for Darkseid, then that means the Absolute Justice League wins, and the heroes fail to bring about any meaningful change in their world. They will cross the lines and throw out the compassion that once separated them from the people they fought, and bring death where hope was meant to be. It shows us that the Absolute Universe is in for a very painful future, and how Darkseid’s Legion was able to form. They are the evil Legion of Super-Heroes that were inspired by Darkseid instead of Superman, and would naturally only follow Darkseid if Superman and the rest of the Trinity broke, which they clearly will, at some point, if nothing changes.
Where the Snyder version of Superman turning evil still offered some hope in the possibility that they could change the timeline and restore everything, and that our Superman wouldn’t break like that, the Absolute Universe has no such promises. The Absolute heroes try their hardest to be better than the world around them, but this event promises that no matter how hard they fight, they will lose in the end and join Darkseid in conquering everything. At least, that’s what will happen unless something drastic changes, like the true Justice League saving the day, or the heroes defying their own absolute fate.
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