DC K.O: Boss Battle #1
Scheduled to arrive in stores: February 4, 2026
Cover date: April 2026
“DC K.O: Boss Battle”
Writer: Jeremy Adams
Artist: Ronan Cliquet, Carmine Di Giandomenico, Kieran McKeown, Pablo M. Collar
Cover: Jamal Campbell
Variant Covers: Darick Robertson and Diego Rodriguez; Patrick Horvath; Frank Cho and Sabine Rich; Jeff Spokes; Gleb Melnikov
Reviewed by: Tony Parker
World Forager and Gorilla Grodd have just about managed to escape to Earth, though it’s barely recognizable. There, the crestfallen but adamant Forager and the understandably jaded Grodd see that the remaining fighters (Superman, Wonder Woman, Lex Luthor, and Joker) are about to face off against the corrupted versions of Absolute Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, plus “Booster Gold” (DARKSEID). Using his powers, World Forager freezes DARKSEID and his champions to give the remaining fighters a chance to strengthen. He also manages to return some fallen heroes to help: Jefferson Pierce/Black Lightning, Eel O’Brian/Plastic Man, Kate Kane/Batwoman and Carol Ferris/Star Sapphire. Then, Forager opens multiversal rifts, in order for new champions to find the current one and raise more omega energy… Perhaps enough to beat DARKSEID’s champions.
And so, a few battles commence: Plastic Man and Black Lightning take on Scorpion and Sub-Zero of Mortal Kombat, Wonder Woman takes on Red Sonja from, well, Red Sonja, Joker fights Annabelle from The Conjuring, Batwoman tangles with Vampirella, Star Sapphire encounters Sabrina Spellman of Archie Comics, Lex meets Samantha Strong from Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees, and Superman fights Homelander from The Boys
Plastic Man and Black Lightning struggle, but manage to work together anyway to take down the two warriors; Wonder Woman manages to beat Sonja with a blast from her bracelets; Joker can barely tell if Annabelle is doing anything or not, and loses it; Batwoman just deflects Vampirella; Star Sapphire attempts to save Sabrina after a spell gone wrong; Lex barely survives his encounter with Samantha; Superman and Homelander trade blows, but the Man of Steel easily takes down the pretender; and eventually, all the fights spill back into the arena, as Forager faints and all seems lost…
But with Grodd’s help, as he and Forager combine their powers, the battles are won and the remaining champions now have the strength to fight…
To Be Continued…
Story – 1: Wow… What a waste. I’m not saying there aren’t ANY good moments: I like that Superman was kicking Homelander to the curb, Lex getting beaten up by Samantha was funny, and anything with my girl Sabrina makes me happy. But… This was just a nothing burger. A whole issue just to give the heroes a power boost, with barely any meat to the story. No depth, no ideas, just a bunch of hype moments, most of which were meh. Can’t imagine being a diehard Vampirella fan and reading that a normal woman managed to kick her off. Just… Eh.
Art – 3: Some nice coloring moments, but that’s it. Sabrina looked good.
Cover Art – 3: Decent, I guess.
Variant Cover Art – 3: Solid.
Variant Cover Art – 5: Yeah, this one is kinda perfect, honestly.
Variant Cover Art – 3: Okay, but nothing special.
Variant Cover Art – 2: Whatever.
Variant Cover Art – 1: I hate AEW.
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