DC Comics January 2026 comic book solicitations are here! As DC Comics starts the new year DC K.O. looks to continue dominating the early part of the new year. As dominant as DC K.O. will be there are still other things throughout DC Comics’ publishing line-up to look forward to. Let’s look at the ten biggest takeaways were from DC Comics January 2026 solicitations.
10) MERA COULD BE THE DC K.O. WILD CARD
With Aquaman busy dealing with DC K.O. it provides other characters related to him to take the chance to shine. That is what we are seeing in Aquaman #13 as Mera will be taking over as the lead. This is coming at a time when Earth is being reshaped into the new Apokolips. So Mera’s help will certainly be needed.
Mera taking over as the lead of Aquaman also comes at a time when Black Manta is looking to make his big return. Jeremy Adams has a big opportunity to give Black Manta new life as a major threat. That is not something Black Manta has been in a long time. He not only has the ability to be Aquaman #1 villain but also on the level with other members of the Legion of Doom. If this new story is done right the Legion of Doom could certainly benefit with Black Manta’s return.
9) BLUDHAVEN CHANGING AROUND NIGHTWING
Nightwing has been on a bit of a reset point with Dan Watters setting the foundation for his run during this beginning part of his run. A big part of that is Watters using what Tom Taylor did to push Blüdhaven forward. Though Blüdhaven moving forward does not mean things are going in a positive direction. If anything the power vacuum created by the death of Blockbuster has left things wide open for any villain or group takeover. Which we are seeing with Cirque du Sin getting involved in Blüdhaven’s politics and police department.
From the looks of it Cirque du Sin will be what lead to the bigger things going on in Blüdhaven for 2026. That’s at least what Nightwing #134 is teasing as even if Dick Grayson defeats the Cirque du Sin he won’t be able to stop whatever Blüdhaven changes into. Whatever Blüdhaven changes into it could lead to a bigger storyline in the new year.
8) BRUCE WAYNE GETS NEW DEADLY GIRLFRIEND
It was only a matter of time before Bruce Wayne finally got a new love interest. For the last decade the focus has been mostly on the Bat-Cat connection between Bruce and Selina Kyle. The last couple years we’ve seen how as much as Bruce and Selina love each other their respective lives are very different. Maybe they can eventually be together but neither is in a spot to revisit that again.
That’s why it is actually refreshing that Matt Fraction and Jorge Jimenez are possibly introducing a new love interest. Though like most other love interests, this won’t be one without problems. The solicitation for Batman #5 teases that Dr. Annika Zeller is involved with a gang and a new villain, Lady Death Man. But hey, Bruce is attracted to woman with a dangerous streak to them. So maybe Annika will be the person to finally lock down Bruce.
7) HAL JORDAN & BARRY ALLEN GREEN & RED REUNION
Hal Jordan continues his world tour in Green Lantern #31 as he finally reunites with Barry Allen. Its been a while since we saw Barry Allen, who was stuck being the narrator for the History of the DC Universe series. These team-ups with his Justice League teammates is a nice change for the series that is also helped by the fact the Green Lantern series is not involved in DC K.O. right now. The event is actually helping this team-up direction be where we are finding heroes do something else than be involved in the latest DC event.
Seeing how the new these team-ups that Hal is having is due to the new chapter in the Book of Oa there’s the question as to why its happening. This new chapter in the Book of Oa could end up being connected to the bigger things going on in the DC Universe. Specifically, with what’s going on with Darkseid. These team-ups with the Justice League members could be a clue in how the Emotional Spectrum will factor into the plans Darkseid has in 2026 and beyond.
6) WONDER WOMAN: BLACK & GOLD RETURNS
Some of my favorite comic books DC Comics has produced the last decade have been their anthology comics. They have provided creative teams a chance to tell quick, one-shot stories in a collection format. That is something that gets both editorial and creators out of the normal comic book storytelling format of multi-part stories. Which is why it was exciting to see that Wonder Woman: Black & Gold is coming back for a 2026 special.
DC Comics is certainly getting big name creators to work on the Wonder Woman: Black & Gold 2026 Special. That includes Tom King, who is taking a break from the main Wonder Woman series to start the year, and Mitch Gerads reuniting for a Wonder Woman story. The black and gold artwork will help each story stand out. Between this and the Superman: Red & Blue special we got in 2025 we will hopefully see more anthology special for other characters throughout the year.
5) ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN DEALS WITH WAR AFTERMATH
While his Absolute Batman and Wonder Woman are busy teaming up Absolute Superman will continue doing his own thing. He has plenty to keep himself busy as Absolute Superman #15 will feature the aftermath of the Battle of Kansas. This battle was the big fight that the series has been building towards.
From the solicitation from Absolute Superman #15 we can expect some changes to the status quo for all the characters who’ve appeared in this series. There is even a tease of a costume change for Absolute Superman. A change would fit in with the fact that Absolute Superman’s costume is nanobot-based suit.
The choice to also showcase the everyday life of Kal-El is an interesting one. We see that Absolute Superman hasn’t had a chance to have a normal life. He is in superhero mode 24/7. What this look at his daily shows us with the weight he carries and that it may be time to adopt a Clark Kent-like persona so he doesn’t give into the darker aspects of the Absolute Universe.
4) RAMIFICATIONS OF ABSOLUTE BATMAN & WONDER WOMAN CROSSOVER
Based on one of the covers for Absolute Batman #16 the crossover with Absolute Wonder Woman will be following the usual superhero team-up route. We won’t be seeing Absolute Batman and Wonder Woman immediately be friendly with one another. They will be at odds due to their very different personalities. Though it looks like the hostility will come more from Absolute Batman’s side of this crossover.
Given that one of the motivating factors of this crossover being Absolute Batman trying to find a cure for Waylon Jones transformation into Killer Croc. Batman going to the literal depths of hell in order to find a cure is certainly extreme. Going to that extent does call on someone like Absolute Wonder Woman to help out.
How things go between Absolute Batman and Wonder Woman could dictate how other future team-ups between that Absolute Universe heroes will go. The Absolute Universe has not been kind to any of them so their may be Grand Canyon size trust issued between them. Which would play into the Absolute Justice League’s hands.
3) HEROES DEAL WITH EARTH BECOMING NEW APOKOLIPS
While the tournament is the main event for DC K.O. it does not mean it is the only thing going on in the event. As we see with all the tie-in comic books, while the heavy hitters are busy deciding the new King or Queen Omega of the DC Universe, Earth is still under thread. DC Comics January 2026 solicitations show that the remaining heroes will be unsuccessful in stopping Earth’s transformation into the new Apokolips.
Earth becoming the new Apokolips will be see in Superman #34, Justice League Unlimited #15, Titans #31, Flash #29 and Green Lantern Galactic Slam. These four titles will show us what is going on beyond the tournament. Which should set the stage for what the King or Queen Omega will be up against after they are crowned. Hopefully the heroes who stayed back at least put up a good fight and aren’t just being feed to Darkseid during these tie-in issues.
2) ZATANNA UNLEASHED ON THE ABSOLUTE UNIVERSE
Absolute Wonder Woman #12 featured our first glimpse at the Absolute Universe version of Zatanna. And like all other Absolute Universe counterparts to classic DC Comics characters she is very different. Unlike her DC Universe counterpart, Absolute Zatanna is being set-up to be the counter to Absolute Wonder Woman.
Absolute Zatanna possibly positioned as Absolute Wonder Woman’s greatest foe is something that does make sense. Absolute Wonder Woman has shown to be a powerful magic user on top of her natural fighting talent and raw power. In order to counter her there needs to be a powerful magic user to combat her. Absolute Zatanna can easily be just that.
Also, like with other Absolute Universe designs, I do like the punk rock look that Absolute Zatanna is rocking. She looks like she can kick ass and can represent the opposite end of the spectrum from Absolute Wonder Woman. The black and blue color choice for Absolute Zatanna costume also is a nice touch to Absolute Wonder Woman’s red and silver costume.
1) DC K.O. TOURNAMENT FINAL 4 DECIDED
DC K.O. will continue to dominate the early part of 2026 for DC Comics. We see that a big part of DC Comics January 2026 solicitations are DC K.O. related. And after spending two months with tie-in issues to tell the Round of 32 and Sweet 16 we will be getting back to the main series. When we get to DC K.O. #3 in January we will be where we will see the Fina 4 decided.
As has happened in the past it looks like one of the variant covers for the event gave away the Elite 8 will be. That is because on the Dan Mora variant cover for DC K.O. #3 we see Superman, Wonder Woman, Lex Luthor, Aquaman, Joker, Cyborg, Guy Gardner, and Zatanna in Select Your Fighter boxes. If this is in fact the Elite 8 the only character you could say is a surprise is Guy Gardner. But even then as a veteran Green Lantern it is not that surprising.
Now it is disappointing if this is truly the Elite 8 that we didn’t get some wild card surprise. It seems that when it comes to wild card DC is going to be positioning Batman for that role after he finishes dealing with the Dark Knights from across the Multiverse. If that is the case all roads seem to lead to a combination of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman deciding things. But hey maybe Guy Gardner can shock the world.
Full DC Comics January 2026 Solicitations: AIPT Comics
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