Since it was launched, the promise of DC K.O. has been that one DC Comics hero or villain would be crowned King Omega, the only being capable of challenging Darkseid… And as a bonus, that person could reshape Earth to their liking. Well, spoilers on for DC K.O. #4 past this point as we’ve got a tournament winner by the end of the issue. And not only is it not who you think, that’s only half the story.
In the issue, as will the previous three, there’s a clear set-up and then writer Scott Snyder keeps pulling the rug out, over and over. First, you’ve got the Final Four — Superman, Wonder Woman, Joker, and Lex Luthor — facing down the Absolute Universe trinity of Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman. It seems like Booster Gold, whose body has been inhabited and corrupted by Darkseid, is the fourth in that bad guy team. But nope, instead Joker defects to the Absolute Universe side.
With only three on the side of good, they’re at a severe disadvantage… Until who rockets in but Batman. If you haven’t been reading DC K.O.: Knightfight, you probably don’t know what’s happening here. The short version is that Batman cheated, giving himself a way to reenter the tournament if he got knocked out. And in the first issue of DC K.O., sure enough he was “killed” by The Joker. Instead, the Heart of Apocalypse, which is narrating and controlling the tournament, took Batman to several different simulations where he was forced to fight grown-up versions of the Robins, who had taken on the mantle of Batman. The last one was Damien Wayne, Batman ostensibly won, and rocketed back into the main tournament. Oh, and Batman kills The Joker.
With his help, they’re able to hold back the Absolute Trinity long enough for Superman to punch out Booster Gold, breaking Darkseid’s concentration. Then the real Darkseid shows up, massive and ready for battle, and takes everyone down except for Superman and Lex Luthor.
Who Wins DC K.O.?
…and that’s when we get our almost final twist. Superman tries to rally, but Lex realizes that the same thing they’ve always been working towards is true: Darkseid, and the Heart of Apocalypse, are waiting for a winner. So Lex kills Superman. And wins.
Yep, that’s right: Lex Luthor is King Omega, winner of the DC K.O. tournament. He’s still got one more fight to go next issue, a one on one with Darkseid. But after four issues and multiple spinoffs, Lex is the new god of the DC Universe.
…But wait, there’s more. In a flashback that seems to take place the same time as the beginning of the series, aka a week ago, we find out that Bouncing Boy died after talking to Darkseid. Okay, fine, we do find that out, but that’s not the important part. The important part is Saturn Girl of Darkseid’s corrupted Legion converses with the massive Darkseid, as we find out how he captured the Absolute Trinity (they sort of just “did it”), how he corrupted Booster Gold (he kind of just “did it”), and why he let the tournament happen at all (because it doesn’t matter to him).
The last twist? Saturn Girl looks into Darkseid’s mind as sees Nothing, capital “N,” as Darkseid becomes the past, present, future, all things and turns them into emptiness. Except for one thing; or rather, one being.
“But for a moment, she saw a glimpse of something else,” the Heart of Apocalypse explains. “A light that shined… A creation of a different kind…”
That creation, in case you can’t tell, is The Time Trapper, the far future, enormously evolved and very chatty form of Doomsday.
The final pages of the issue tease that in DC K.O. #5 Darkseid rules over all, and the tournament bracket shows Lex Luthor versus Darkseid. But the implication of that final panel sure seems to be that there may be one, final challenger entering the arena. Will we see a three-way fight between Superman’s biggest villains, Darkseid, Lex Luthor and Doomsday? Or will Doomsday take on Darkseid, mano a mano?
We’ll have to find out when DC K.O. #5 hits stores on March 4, 2026.
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