The ending to DC K.O. is here! This event dominated the end of 2025 and beginning of 2026 for DC Comics. The event has taken many chances as they’ve kept us on our toes of who exactly will win the King Omega Tournament. Things took a turn with Absolute Darkseid making a statement of no one being in his power class in the penultimate issue. That left us in a spot wondering how things will end. Let’s find out with DC K.O. #5.
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Scott Snyder and Joshua Williamson
Artist: Javi Fernandez, Xermanico, and Wes Craig
Colorist: Alejandro Sanchez
Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
DC K.O. #5 SOLICITATION
“THE FINAL BATTLE FOR THE HEART OF APOKOLIPS! In the melee that started with dozens of heroes and villains vying for their chance to win the ultimate power in the universe, now only one remains! But to truly be crowned the King Omega, you must battle more than the obstacles in your path… you must battle yourself.
It’s the finale to end all finales as the one true champion is crowned, the fate of all that lives hangs in the balance, and a shocking decision will bring the DC Universe to the next level. We would type more, but honestly, anything else is a spoiler — so suit up, get ready, and leap into the final round!” – DC Comics
REVIEW
Last we left off DC K.O. we saw Lex Luthor claim victory of the King Omega tournament. That seemingly set the stage for Lex Luthor and Darkseid to clash to find out who is the true King Omega of the Multiverse. It is an answer we don’t end up getting as Lex Luthor’s only won the final round but not the actual King Omega tournament. The fake out led to the true final clash between the two most powerful DC Universe characters in Superman and Darkseid. This clash led to an end to DC Comics latest big event that spanned the history of the DC Universe.
Connecting DC K.O. Interlude with the Main Story
The fake out was not something that Scott Snyder and Joshua Williamson did not treat as something that was supposed to shock the reader. Instead they used this twist to show why the interlude sub-plot Williamson wrote was a key to this finale. It was to show there was a long-term plan that was told in front of the reader.
Does this make all the cut aways to the interlude sub-plot work? Not completely. The interludes in previous issues were written in a way that did not always add to the story. Most of these interlude scenes came across as recycling the same content we saw in the first issue of DC K.O. This led to creating feeling of filler content in many instances that paused the momentum of the main story.
That said, it did not take way from how well Snyder and Williamson told Time Trapper’s explanation of this contingency story. It does show that Darkseid isn’t in complete control of what is going in DC All In. Yes, he is by far the most powerful character around. But there are clearly ways to overcome Darkseid. That possibility is something that’s important to establish given how things ended in DC K.O. #5.
Superman vs Darkseid Historic Clash
When it comes to what was the greatest strength of DC K.O. #5 it is the scale of Superman vs Darkseid’s clash. Javi Fernandez, along with Xermanico for the interlude, went all out with how creative he was with this final fight. Seeing them breaking through all of the panels took things to a different level.
Going with this direction for the final fight was a great callback to the first issue where we saw Darkseid doing the same thing when he attacked the entire DCU. It got over how Darkseid and Superman were on similar power levels in this fight. The big difference was that Superman’s Omega and Alpha powers were new to him. Meanwhile, Darkseid has had plenty of time to become a true master of the Omega Energy he wielded.
That experience level shined through with successive page. Superman and Darkseid breaking through time and space helped with this. It showed that a pure fight was not something Superman could win. If that is all he tried to do the Multiverse would truly be lost to Darkseid.
Power of the DC Universe
Which made the set-up for Superman being able to bring back the DC Universe and have everyone help him defeat Darkseid a fitting end. Even if Time Trapper put over how Superman was the center of the DCU he isn’t what makes it the DCU. It is all the characters that exist in it that make it a special place.
This ending lead in well into the revelation that almost every existing Elseworld was having their own King Omega Tournament. The entire concept played right into Darkseid’s true plan of gathering all the Omega Energy that exist to create the next Crisis event.
That logically plays into the whole reason Darkseid created his own Absolute Universe. Darkseid has yet to show his complete hand to anyone. He is keeping everything close to his chest. That includes his long-term plans with the Absolute Universe.
Which also gets into why the main DC Universe is special. DC K.O. #5 ending emphasizes this as they are seemingly the only universe that overcame Darkseid. In turn, it puts over why Earth-Prime is always going to be an important thing to exist in the DC Multiverse.
FINAL THOUGHTS
DC K.O. #5 effectively provides a conclusion to the first act of the DC All In era. Things close out in a way that both the DC Universe heroes and Darkseid win. This is accomplished with a comic book that is filled with epic visuals that show why this event was so important. And because of the result in this finale, we get a whole new foundation that DC Comics can build their future on top of.
Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
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