2025 was a great year to be a fan of DC Comics. The Absolute books came into their own after debuting in 2024, becoming an unstoppable juggernaut, with issues easily selling in the six figures. The main line of books also did pretty well, as fans and critics alike lovde books like Justice League Unlimited, Superman, Action Comics, Detective Comics, Green Lantern, and many more. The Black Label put out some excellent series, and the announced return of Vertigo has fans in a tizzy. Capping all of it off is the event book DC K.O., a story that was set-up by DC All-In #1, ending the year with style and panache.
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2025 saw numerous event books published (mostly by Marvel) and some of them were very good. However, DC K.O. is on another level. DC has always been amazing at events, and this one is yet another example of DC’s event superiority. It’s easily the best event of last year and these five reasons are why.
5) Excellent Main Series
Every event story lives and dies by its main book and DC K.O. is no different. The main book, by Scott Snyder, Javi Fernandez, and Xermanico, has been excellent since it started. While there are some complaints about the first fight in the book not following the brackets for round one, no one has tried to say the issues themselves are bad. Snyder is a writer who understands how to set up a big, fun event, and that’s DC K.O. in a nutshell. Meanwhile, the art from Fernandez and Xermanico does a great job of making everything look perfect. Fernandez doesn’t skimp on the detail, and it makes every issue a joy to read. It’s also a very different kind of Darkseid story; this isn’t yet another story where he’s looking for the Anti-Life Equation, and that makes a lot of difference. The book hasn’t gone in the directions you expect, and that’s a huge feather in its cap.
4) Character Development
I think one of my favorite things about the story so far is how well it develops the characters. Superman and Lex so far have been the focuses and readers have learned interesting things about both of them, as well as seeing their relationship start to deteriorate after several years of working together, setting up the future for both. The Superman/Captain Atom fight developed Atom’s character in new ways, and the Harley Quinn/Zatanna one showed Zatanna getting over her fears and reaching a new level. The Red Hood/Joker issue was outstanding, digging into Jason Todd and finally giving him a measure of closure. Each issue I’ve read so far has said something interesting about the characters, and that’s made reading it even better. It’s not just a cool story, it’s a cool story that serves the characters.
3) Fight Month
DC K.O. is a tournament arc, and that means readers are going to get a lot of fights. This led to Fight Month, which consisted of numerous one-shots and issues of Aquaman, Superman, and The Flash. DC K.O.‘s Fight Month was amazing. Each part felt like the creators were using the fights to talk about who each character is, all while giving fans sensational battles. The way the various issues used the mechanics and ideas behind fighting video games is icing on an already delicious cake. DC’s tie-in game has always been strong and Fight Month is a perfect example of that. Every issue is a fun romp for fans, and it’s helped make the story even better.
2) Great Build-Up
DC’s All-In publishing initiative has been outstanding, starting with summer 2024’s DC All-In #1. Ever since then, the publisher has been building up to DC K.O., and it’s been just about flawless. Event build-up is very important, and DC K.O has been given a perfect build-up. Books like Superman, Justice League Unlimited, Batman/Superman: World’s Finest, and The Flash have all played a role in building the event, with stories like “We Are Yesterday”, “Darkseid Legion”, and “Bad Moon Rising” setting everything we need to know up. There have been several Justice League one-shots, like Justice League: The Omega Act and Justice League: Dark Tomorrow, each of them fleshing out the story. DC put their best creators, like Mark Waid and Joshua Williamson, to set up this event up perfectly and it’s made a huge difference.
1) Engaging Main Plot
One of the reasons that DC has been doing so well lately is just how compelling their stories have been in the last year and DC K.O. is no different. Darkseid stories can get kind of cliche, because most of them follow the same road, but this one doesn’t. This is an entirely new kind of Darkseid story, and it’s given readers something special. The main plot of DC K.O. gets more and more interesting with every issue. It’s an extremely simple idea — the heroes having to fight to gain ultimate power to defeat Darkseid, who has already won in the future — but it’s worked so well because Snyder, Williamson, Waid, and the others are all putting all of their power into making the event compelling and surprising readers. Each issue has a cool little surprise to it (even the Fight Month issues have an epilogue that helps build the main plot), and it feels like each one completely changes the story for the next chapter. It’s all killer and no filler.
What do you think of DC K.O.? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
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images courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
