Written by Joshua Williamson and Scott Snyder and illustrated by Javi Fernandez and Alejandro Sánchez, DC K.O. and its various tie-ins go deep into DC lore. Not only do we see unlikely battles (Hawkman vs Aquaman) and surprising team-ups (Lex Luthor and Supergirl), but we also see variations of the characters from across comic history. That means everyone from Electric Blue Superman to 1960s Captain Atom to Guy Gardner: Warrior gets a little attention in the series. And yet, as dense and weird as it is, DC K.O. is fundamentally a simple fighting story. It feels like a kid taking his toys and smashing them together until one falls over.
Because of the haphazard nature of the overall storyline, DC K.O.: Boss Battle made certain sense. The issue begins with those responsible for sending the mainline heroes into the tournament—Booster Gold, Doomsday as the Time Trapper, and the World Forger—experiencing ruptures in the multiverse. The ruptures send six mainline characters into alternate realities, where they meet the issue’s special guest stars.
Plastic Man and Black Lightning arrive in a different tournament, and find themselves fighting Scorpion and Sub-Zero from Mortal Kombat. Lex Luthor meets Samantha Strong, the sweet serial killer bear from IDW‘s Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees. Batgirl encounters the classic alien bloodsucker Vampirella. Star Sapphire lands in Sabrina’s hometown Greendale, while the Joker arrives at the Warrens’s house to meet Annabelle. Wonder Woman clashes with sword and sorcery character Red Sonja and Superman fights Homelander.
Or rather, we think that’s what happens, because we only get a few looks at each meet-up, leaving most the action off-screen.
Too Much is Too Little
In most cases, the excess of D.C. KO has been a good thing. The series has been a logic-free romp, one that celebrates even the goofiest parts of comic book storytelling while still staying true to the main characters. But Boss Battle‘s story exceeds the limits of its 31 pages. Writer Jeremy Adams, who has been one of the most reliable storytellers in DC’s current era, simply cannot find enough room to do justice for the 16 characters. The team of artists—Ronan Cliquet, Carmine Di Giandomenico, Kieran McKeown, Pablo M. Collar—do their best to make the scenes distinctive, but they can do little more than create splash pages.
In some cases, that’s fine. Wonder Woman and Red Sonja look cool facing off with one another, and it’s not like there’s thematic resonance to be gained by watching Plastic Man shout “You get over here!” while throwing Scorpion into Sub-Zero. These are fan debates on Reddit come to life in official form. And Adams does try to get creative where he can, as in the case of Annabelle vs. the Joker. Because Annabelle doesn’t actually do anything in The Conjuring movies, other than look creepy while scary things happen around her, the Joker just has a tea party with the doll, babbling about how he knows something weird is happening while staring at her.
