DC K.O.: Superman vs. Captain Atom #1 (One Shot)
Scheduled to arrive in stores: December 3, 2025
Cover date: February 2026
“Round One: Superman vs. Captain Atom”
Writer: Joshua Williamson
Artist: Sean Izaakse, Trish Mulvihill, and HI-FI
Cover: Jorge Corona and Sarah Stern
Variant Covers: John Giang; Lucas Meyer; Sanford Greene; Sean Izaakse and Trish Mulvihill
Reviewed by: Tony Parker
Nathaniel Cristopher Adam (Captain Atom) recounts his origin, of taking to the skies to find freedom, of sacrificing that freedom for his country and people, and of his potential godhood. Perhaps now he is ready to seize it. However, what stands before him is a challenge no one would dare take: Superman, the Man of Steel.
Superman, from his side, is pissed with his ally, for having taken out his cousin, Supergirl, from the tournament. It was a case of friendly fire, but still. To Captain Atom, this is just how war is. You make sacrifices.
Superman is displeased with this and states they will have a talk once this is over. Little do both know they’re about to face off against each other. A best two out of three fight. Whoever wins this will most definitely be changed by the end.
Superman still tries to exercise caution, as he’s worried if they go too hard, they will make the wrong decisions. Atom knows he must be like DARKSEID if he wants to win, and so, he begins to smack Superman around, smashing him through a building, though it hurts him to hurt the hero like that.
Superman knows that the heart can manufacture realities. There could be real people in these buildings. Atom says that’s up for debate, and Superman heartily disagrees, grabbing his fist mid punch. Slamming him down on the ground, Superman starts getting more aggressive, which is exactly what Captain Atom wants. He hits him with an atomic blast, as Superman insists there’s another way.
Atom takes things up a notch, turning his fists into Kryptonite and Red Sun energy respectively. Superman is bleeding, but still tries to talk some sense into Atom. The furious captain (who feels almost abandoned by Superman) begins to drain him of all his atomic energy, until he fades away.
Atom gets the first K.O of the match, as he feels the Omega Energy in the air. The match is going to heat up. Superman regenerates, still lecturing him, as the combatants get to choose new forms, ones based on their past.
Captain Atom becomes Monarch, his form where he’s a god who controls time and space. Superman? Becomes Superman One-Million, Superman-Prime, the Superman of the 853rd century. Yes, really.
They are teleported to Atom’s boyhood hometown, and Superman sets off. Atom things he’s running away, but he’s not at all: He flies off to the sun and uses his now supercharged Freeze Breath to turn it into a frozen sun, which is enough to slow down even Monarch Captain Atom. Superman-Prime is slowed down too, but he can still outlast him after all the sun absorption.
Superman gets his K.O, and now the match is tied. It all comes down to this final round.
Superman feels the Omega Energy too, but still tries to restrain himself and Atom. Atom chooses no restraints: He now has all of the forms he has ever had. Meanwhile, Superman chooses his regular form, refusing to twist his soul. What hope does he have to win this bout? Atom’s power allows him to be the Heart’s equal, meaning he can assert control over the arena.
This attempt backfires, however, as the Heart strikes back. Atom is sent back through his timelines, and he still tries to fight Superman, who tries to talk some sense into him. Atom wants to create a world where soldiers like him aren’t needed, and he insists, like Lex, that Superman just wants to keep things the way they are. Superman says that no one, including him, get to tell the world what to be. Atom, furious, tries to use his history as a weapon, beating Superman with the fragments of his nuclear origin.
Atom is sure he won after a huge boom, and he cries out that he sacrificed his entire history for it, but there’s a caveat: Superman now has Captain Atom powers. Using them, he drains Atom and sends him somewhere else, somewhere potentially dangerous. He apologises, wondering that if the power can corrupt someone like Atom…
What will happen to him?
Meanwhile, “Booster Gold” (DARKSEID) throws Time Trapper out a window, while World Forager sneaks up on him…
To Be Continued…
Story – 5: Okay, NOW we’re back on track! This is a fight, one of the best I’ve seen in a comic book since… Well, since forever! Fight scenes in comics have become increasingly boring, and for good reason: You can only punch someone in so many different ways, and writers are far more interested in the story, which is good, but it means that action can be lacking. Not here: Joshua Williamson expertly weaves a tale that includes some of the most thrilling action in years (Superman One Million isn’t even the craziest part) and a great debate between Superman and Captain Atom, two similar but diametrically opposed characters. It’s basically like seeing Clark tackle a more active and angry Doc Manhattan, and it goes EXACTLY how it should, with Clark getting Captain Atom’s powers and sending him out. Whoever he fights next, it’s gonna be a good one! My excitement for this arc is now 100 times stronger!
Art – 4: It’s not exactly anything groundbreaking, very much in the house style of DC, but the art in this issue is good, at least for the action it must serve. The giant K.O’s are a nice, Mortal Kombat esque touch, and the design of Superman as Captain Atom is great. Huge shoutout to Atom using the panels of his origin as a weapon, that’s just brilliant.
Cover Art – 3: A little too grotesque for my tastes. Could have been cooler.
Variant Cover Art – 4: Far more gripping, considering what the issue is about.
Variant Cover Art – 3: Nice but a little too average.
Variant Cover Art – 5: DARKSEID IS… Sorry, I don’t know what came over me. Yeah, pretty good representation of him!
Variant Cover Art – 5: Best of the lot, the reflection of Superman in Captain Atom’s silver sheen is awesome. Why was THIS not the main cover?
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