If you thought the first issue of DC: Ready Player One…oh sorry, I mean DC K.O. #1 was merely a setup for the mayhem to come, then buckle up - because DC K.O. #2 well and truly dives head (and fist) first into chaos and carnage. Following the shocking loss of fan favorites like Batman last issues, the remaining 32 of DC’s mightiest heroes and nastiest villains find themselves thrown into a no-holds-barred battle royale to fight for survival and scramble for control of the 16 most powerful McGuffins in the universe. The prize? Advancement to the next round of the tournament and, ultimately, one step closer to a shot at becoming King Omega – the great cosmic monarch who can face down a returning and omnipotent Darkseid.
With those stakes firmly in mind, this latest issue swings wildly between savage battles and self-reflective hero moments: a violent funhouse mirror that gleefully brings DC’s biggest icons together while asking the ever-present question: just how far are our heroes willing to go to win this? While some of the introspective moments can feel weirdly out of place or just straight up head scratchingly redundant, it’s the unapologetically loud, ugly and messy free for all fight fest that will keep readers on the edge of their seats throughout this issue, with one hell of a cliffhanger that’s sure to rattle the course of the event going forward.
The Scavenger Hunt to End All Scavenger Hunts
This issue marks the true beginning of Round 2 of the tournament. After issue #1 laid the groundwork, this chapter throws everyone into the fire: 32 chosen champions are dropped into the arena — a hellish, eldritch wasteland filled with relics and artifacts scattered amidst the time worn corpses of long murdered ancient gods However, this isn’t a series of classic 1-on-1 fights (despite what DC’s marketing department has been trying to convince people of since the event was announced). Instead, it’s a chaotic scramble of a scavenger hunt. The competitors must race to claim one of 16 powerful “items of power.” Whoever obtains one of these relics advances; and whoever doesn’t…well they simply don’t progress. In short, it’s a free for all where everyone else risks elimination where even though fan favorite weapons of war, cosmic artifacts, and legendary gear level the playing field, but chaos is the only guarantee.
From the word go, chaos erupts. Heroes, villains — and occasionally both at once — charge, clash, scramble, and scheme. But the central tension of this issue remains with two characters: the psychological and ideological conflict between Superman and Lex Luthor. Superman questions the morality of the entire contest, while Lex sees opportunity. Their decades long rivalry becomes a focal point as they both reach for ultimate power in their own ways. Amidst all the cosmic carnage, Superman’s soft-spoken and selfless heroism shines through, contrasting sharply with Luthor’s cold and primal ambition – showing the real future each envisions as King Omega even as the battle roars around them in the graveyard of the gods.
Hulk…er, I mean…Superfriends SMASH!
With any semblance of tournament brackets or structure long since abandoned, DC K.O. #2 instead delivers on the unfiltered mayhem. If issue 1 was about setting the stage, this issue proceeds tears it down all down. The issue thrives on unpredictability; you never really know who’s going to end up with an artifact - or even alive by the end of the round. In that unpredictability lies its greatest strength, something Scott Snyder plays to great effect because even the readers know that any deaths in this event are far from permanent, so leaning on the hard fast nature of the action is where Snyder chooses to play his energy to its most effective outcomes.
In fact, the lack of any major traditional tournament structure is one of the smartest moves Snyder could have gone with. Instead of rigid one-on-one matches ala the whole Injustice universe shtick – a method that often favor those with raw strength or power unless some god-tier levels of plot contrivance or deus ex machinas are involved - the story instead introduces chaos through the most diabolical scavenger hunt ever devised by man (or New God). This levels the playing field, allowing huge cosmic heavyweights and scrappy villains alike a chance to shine. It’s a clever bit of narrative design: sudden power-ups, frenetic competition, shifting alliances, and betrayals: all of these keep readers on the edge of their seats. Many of the best moments come about not from pre-planned fights but from improvisation and desperation when our favorite heroes and villains get a hold of some of the most famous artefacts in DC’s long and storied history. Joker using Atom’s size-changing belt to literally stomp out the competition? Lobo ripping Starro to bits with Venom-infused strength? Luthor using a Black Lantern ring to turn the graveyard of the gods into something far from dead? All of our schoolyard fantasy battles somehow come to brutal fruition in these pages, exemplifies the outrageous, “ it only happens in comics” absurdity that Snyder seems to revel in. And of course, the humor remains on point, with every character getting an appropriate one-liner moment in where they can. Unless you’re Starro. Then you get the lion’s share of the funnies, because he’s Snyder’s favorite ooey gooey special child, after all.
That’s not to say that the issue doesn’t have its emotionally weighty character moments. An interlude by Joshua Williamson where Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman sit around a table playing a tabletop RPG and considering who they’d be without their powers provides a necessary contrast to the chaos unfolding in the arena. It humanizes the stakes: these are people who once worried about their relatively normal superhero duties – rather than the cosmic defining consequences of facing not just their enemies but themselves in the current predicament. That brief, quiet moment grounds the horrors to come. The confrontation between Superman and Lex — forced to fight not just physically but morally — becomes the emotional crux of this issue. And when Superman is pushed to go farther and use the unexpected tools of the very madness he seeks to overcome, the stakes are simply cannot get higher than this when you hear the words “Superman is”.
However, the issue isn’t without its hiccups. With so many combatants involved in the fray, it’s challenging to keep track of everyone. Aside from the heavy hitter fan favorites, most of the heroes and villains seemingly get taken out either off panel, or so quickly that it hardly matters. This reduces the emotional weight of their losses, with only one page showing the final cast of survivors who made it Round 3. And while it can be argued that deaths for shock value’s sake might not be ideal, a glorious end on panel would certainly have more value than one off-screen. Furthermore, while the interlude is meaningful, it doesn’t have the same impact as in the first issue’s setup, where the emotional contrast felt more significant. Here, the shift from tabletop RPG to a blood-soaked battleground feels a little jarring and almost formulaic. Additionally, Lex’s entire conceit for wanting to best Superman in this tournament (that he now feels that Superman does too little and won’t go far enough to save humanity) simply undermines Luthor’s entire character, because what do you mean you’re doing this because you think Superman is underachieving?!
An Art Attack of Epic Proportions
The real punch of the issue (pun intended) is the compelling art that backs up the writing. Javi Fernandez guides the main story with a style that effectively captures the chaos, scale, and sheer insanity of a cosmic knockout drag down tournament. The panels are dense, frantic, and often brutal, but they convey the message with each fist, energy bolt and alien starfish thrown.
The tournament’s arena, the ever-ominous graveyard of the gods is depicted in morbid, necrotic detail - featuring twisted skeletal remains, purple and green alien energies, and a whole plethora of appropriately and instantly recognizable cosmic artifacts scattered across the deadening landscape. This grimdark, gothic environment is perfectly visually realized as the arena for mayhem. And even in comedic moments, such as the Joker misusing Atom’s belt, the Fernandez’s art maintains the perfect balance between tension, absurdity and violence that brings a maddening yet fulfilling energy to every encounter.
Interestingly enough, the interlude drawn by Xermanico shifts from smash-and-grab action to quieter character moments and feels visually more conventional: almost tame by comparison. While it effectively serves as a calm before the storm, it may not linger in the memory as strongly.
Colorist Alejandro Sánchez also brings the heat, enhancing the visuals with a palette dominated by dark purples, toxic greens, and eerie eldritch cosmic hues that reinforce the grim, unnatural atmosphere. Occasional flashes of anger, power, or alien energy in a kaleidoscope of neon colors punch through the chaos, making certain panels stand out with terrifying intensity. In short, if the writing invites readers to the fight, the visuals splendor of the art and colors truly puts them in the arena, allowing them to feel every moment of the combatants’ desperate pursuit for victory.
1v1 Me? Nah, We Ain’t Playing that Game!
DC K.O. #2 is, in many ways, what an all out fan boy battle royale should be: brutal, chaotic, unpredictable, and thoroughly entertaining. Snyder, Fernandez and co. fully embrace the concept’s most violent and absurd potential while still carving out emotional space for core characters like Superman and Lex Luthor. The narrative sacrifices some clarity and emotional depth in favor of mayhem, but for readers seeking thrills and cosmic stakes, that’s more than enough. And with the shocking twists at the end of the issue promising even more thrills, chills and spills ahead, you know there’s a…booster dose (wink wink) of insanity just waiting around the corner.
Despite its flaws, it’s hard not to feel somewhat excited about what’s to come. Darkseid’s presence looms evermore, heroes and villains find themselves making decisions that will shock and shudder all, and the survivors are now armed with the knowledge and weapons that could alter the fate of entire universes. If this issue is any indication, the next rounds to come could be real slobber-knockers of epic proportions – provided the action is all on the page and not off-screen or spread across 20+ different tie-ins (famous last words anyone?).
Score: 8/10.
An absurdly, brutal and messy affair that is nothing short of gloriously fun, deeply chaotic, and over-the-top cosmic blood sport.
