The second chapter of DC K.O. is here. This is a key chapter as it has the big job of selling all the DC K.O. tie-ins that will be releasing in December. That is the month were the main series will take a break so that eight different one-shots can tell the story of the Sweet 16 round the tournament. How will the next round of the tournament to decide who will be the King Omega of the DC Universe? Let’s find out with DC K.O #2.
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Scott Snyder (Main Story); Joshua Williamson (Interlude)
Artist: Javi Fernandez (Main Story); Xermanico (Interlude)
Colorist: Alejandro Sanchez
Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
DC K.O. #2 SOLICITATIONS
“The tournament is in full swing. Heroes have fallen. Darkseid is near. The 32 champions have been chosen, and now they must compete to earn the Heart of Apokolips. The first challenge? Battling across a deadly arena to acquire new weapons of war. The greatest powers of the DC Universe are up for grabs, and whoever holds them will advance to the next level.
Superman has his doubts that the Justice League is doing the right thing, but there are others who have no problem killing to get what they want…” – DC Comics
HIGHLIGHTS FROM DC K.O. #2
Brutality of King Omega Tournament Opening Round
DC K.O. #2 certainly shows that the King Omega Tournament is a no holds bar fight to crown the winner. There is no holding back in this fight. Adding in the tournament’s opening round being about who can find the 16 powerful DC Universe items spread across the battlefield added create immediate wild card elements. All 32 heroes and villains felt like they were on an even playing field because of this. That was proven true by how quickly and brutally things changed each time someone got one of the 16 powerful items.
Legion of Doom Most Prepared for Start of Tournament
With the set-up for this round of 32 it was shown that the villains were the most prepared to thrive in this situation. We see that with how Joker brutally used the Atom Belt to get the first elimination of the tournament. The villains taking advantage first added to the fast paced nature of this round of the tournament. It also left you wondering which of the heroes morals would possibly be broken and if they could maintain any sort of teamwork.
Superman Finding Another Approach
Superman was certainly the standout alone with Lex Luthor. Both of them were the clear main characters for this round of the tournament. Their rivalry was really spotlighted with how Lex Luthor knew Superman would try to focus on him but also help his friends. This split focus was the opening Lex knew he would have and got across why he was made for this King Omega Tournament. At the same time, by putting Superman out of commission Lex gave his rival the chance to understand all the words from the announcement for this round. Superman seeing through the words of what made Darkseid be the King Omega of the Absolute Universe made for a cool moment of him claiming the Omega Sanction.
Darkseid Always Has a Plan
With the chaos of the King Omega Tournament going on you almost forget that the Quantum Quarum’s role in the story. Forgetting that made the development at the end with Darkseid revealing he was posing as Booster Gold the entire time a great hook ending. Darkseid obviously knew that the DC Universe would try to answer what he’s done with the Absolute Universe. His response adds a whole knew level of intensity to what we could see go down the deeper we get in the DC K.O. event.
WHAT DIDN’T WORK IN DC K.O. #2
A Lot of Noise Hurts the Impact of the Losers Tournament Exit
For as much as DC K.O. #2 nails the chaos that comes with a no holds bar battle between heroes and villains there is a certain punch lacking. That comes from the fact that it was way to easy to forget who were the 32 participants in the tournament. Other than Superman, Lex Luthor, Wonder Woman, Joker, Guy Gardner, Carol Ferris, and Starro all other participants fade into the background. That is the difficulty with having such a massive cast to try to focus on. But because you can’t keep track of everyone you end up feeling nothing for the 16 that end up losing. When we get the shot of the 16 who move on to the next round you instantly forget the 16 who lost and were “killed off.”
Interlude Flashback Still Needs Time to Cook
The scenes involving Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, Diana Prince, and Lois Lane does its job of acting as an interlude. Unfortunately, this interlude doesn’t have the same punch as the scene had in the first issue. It is a sub-plot that is clearly something Scott Snyder and Joshua Williamson are committed to telling. While we can trust they have a plan that will pay off by the end it just didn’t work here as was likely intended.
Not Enough Done to Sell December’s Round of 16
For all the hype that is built for the King Omega Tournament not enough was done to buy the 8 comics that’ll make up the Round of 16. That is way to big of a commitment to cut into an already set pull list in order to make room. Instead DC K.O. simply made me remember how glad I am to have a DC Universe Infinite subscription and can wait till those comics go up to read there before DC K.O. #3 releases.
FINAL THOUGHTS
DC K.O. #2 certainly delivers on showcasing how chaotic the King Omega Tournament is. Every participant involved made for a reading experience where you were wondering how quickly things could turn when one of the most powerful DC Universe items was claimed. That said, this does not sell the “requirement” to add 8 comics to your pull list to read the Sweet 16 round of this tournament in December. A big reason for that is the lack of impact of what happens to the 16 that we lost in this tournament. If that was sold better maybe there would be more of a consideration to pick up all the December tie-ins. But that’s why it’s good to have something like DC Universe Infinite to be able to wait until DC K.O. #3 releases.
Story Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 7Night Girls out of 10
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