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DC K.O. (2025) #1

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"Chapter One: Into the Ring": Clark and Lois have invited Bruce and Diana to their apartment to play a tabletop game created by Wayne Enterprises. Although Lois, Bruce and Diana are excited, Clark does not like playing games in which even a single person stands a chance at losing. They play fo

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Quote1 If there's a Heart of Apokolips forming at the center of our Earth, right now, could we use it to transform one of us into something like him? A "King Omega"? Quote2
— Batman (Bruce Wayne)

DC K.O. #1 is an issue of the series DC K.O. (Volume 1) with a cover date of December, 2025. It was published on October 8, 2025.

Synopsis for "Chapter One: Into the Ring"

Clark and Lois have invited Bruce and Diana to their apartment to play a tabletop game created by Wayne Enterprises. Although Lois, Bruce and Diana are excited, Clark does not like playing games in which even a single person stands a chance at losing. They play for a full hour, but suddenly, the sky turns red and fire starts to burn across Metropolis. The heroes stare outside the window and witness as Darkseid begins his warpath not just across Earth, but across all of reality. Darkseid's plan to achieve unlimited power has succeeded, for he is more than just a god now. He is godhood itself and exists in multiple locations of the universe at once, like Themyscira, the Rock of Eternity and Oa.

Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman join the battle but they do not last long against the Dark Lord of Apokolips. Batman and Wonder Woman are the first to fall, and Superman tries a desperate charge against Darkseid, only to be stopped by a terrible sound that distracts him from an attack from Darkseid that utterly annihilates him.

This was just a vision of future, however, granted to the Justice League by the Quantum Quorum, a collection of extratemporal entities like the Time Trapper, Alpheus the World Forger, Booster Gold and Gorilla Grodd. They have been observing Darkseid's multiversal conquest and the Trapper says that Darkseid has conquered the future and started to conquer other time periods. He does, however, suggest a solution: restart the timeline. The Quantum Quorum could use the last of their power to create a new timeline and let the inhabitants of the multiverse escape Darkseid's grasp, similar to what an entity as powerful as the Quantum Quorum did as an experiment. That timeline briefly existed as its own reality but it was ultimately reabsorbed into its original universe. The Justice Leaguers reject that solution, for they know it is temporary and even if it happened, they know that the people living in that timeline would lose their memories and be completely new people.

Alpheus explains that the two most primal energies in all of reality are Alpha and Omega. Alpha is the energy of creation and life and it exists within all planets that house life, while Omega is the energy of conquest and absorption. Omega only exists in heart of Apokolips, an infernal machine that chose Darkseid as its bearer. When Darkseid was touched by Omega, he became a walking singularity that transforms all around him and created a new universe as its absolute ruler, a King Omega. Darkseid is trying to conquer and assimilate the Earth because it is the biggest source of Alpha energy in the universe.

Over the past few weeks, Earth has been slowly becoming into a new Apokolips and a heart powered by Omega energy has been planted at its core. Batman thinks that one of the Leaguers could, in theory, absorb the heart's energy and become the Earth's King Omega, but the Trapper does not believe that is a good idea, for Omega energy obeys Darkseid alone. Even if one of the heroes could approach the heart, they would need to blast it with Omega energy they do not possess. The only one who does is Booster Gold and he does not want to dabble with a power he does not understand.

According to the Quantum Quorum, the heroes of Earth are unqualified to take the heart because they are too soft and the heart can only be controlled by a conqueror, not a hero. The heart is sentient and would attempt to defend itself from aggressors. Each level of defense would be more difficult than the last and the heroes would ultimately face off against each other to see who can hold the heart and become powerful enough to stop Darkseid. Against the Trapper's protests, Booster wants this solution to be implemented because he has spent a long time trapped in the "Absolute" universe and has come to believe that the only person who can stop Darkseid is someone like him. The Trapper asks the gathered heroes who is willing to undertake such an enormous challenge and Superman just departs from the gathering.

He walks to another part of the Watchtower to have some time to himself, only to be followed by Batman and Wonder Woman. Superman's friends try to convince him to partake in this game because it is the only solution they have, but the Man of Steel replies that this game will force them to fight each other to the death and their enemies will probably find a way to get involved. Batman reminds him that the benefits outweight the risks, at least in theory, and Wonder Woman says that, in this game, nobody has to lose. Superman reluctantly agrees to play, for he remembers the terrible sound he heard in that vision: the sound of every single living creature on Earth aligning to the rhythm of Darkseid.

Within the next seven days, the heroes of Earth work tirelessly to prepare for the biggest fight in their lives. The first step involves asking Mister Terrific to do something he does not want to do: imprison every last villain on Earth. Terrific reluctantly modifies his T-Spheres and sends them out to find criminals and imprison them without due process. Even Lex Luthor, who has been trying hard to earn redemption after losing his memories of his previous life, is not spared from this fate. Lex, angry at the loss of his freedom, promises revenge.

In the second step, the Justice League informs the governments of Earth of their plan to evacuate the planet's inhabitants. For that, companies like Wayne Enterprises and Lexcorp will collaborate to build spaceships that can house millions of people, while heroes like the Titans and Mr. Terrific remain behind to ensure the Earth remains protected.

The heroes take the time to visit their friends and families as a form of respite. Clark takes Lois, Kara and Jon to a walk in the park and takes a look at the park's lush fields just to remind himself of what he is fighting for. Lois encourages Clark and professes her faith in him.

The third step has the heroes chooses their weapons for the upcoming fight. Batman, focusing on offense, prepares a Justice Buster suit. Wonder Woman specializes in strategy awakens her Godkiller armor. Cyborg upgrades his Father Box technology for defensive measures. Superman puts on a pair of brass knuckles powered by miniature yellow suns because they feel right to him. He wanted to call them "Dawnsday" but Lois thought the name was ridiculous.

With preprations complete, the heroes travel to the Skartaris Nexus, a passage to the center of Earth, where the heart of Apokolips now beats. Booster unleashes a blast of Omega energy to clear a path for his friends and the heroes pass through the nexus, only to be covered by a vast red light. Once the light vanishes, Superman finds himself in a large colliseum guarded by three towering demons who await the arrival of all the contestants. Superman turns around and finds that the other heroes have arrived and are already brandishing their own weapons.

According to the demons, the contestants must cross the gauntlet and reach the line on the other side of the arena to qualify for the next stage of the tournament. Anyone who fails to do so will be eliminated. The contest begins when one of the demons drops his mace above Billy Batson, killing him before he can even transform. Outraged, Superman punches the demon in the face, only to be blasted in the back by Batman, who reminds him to stay focused in the game. In the initial run, Green Arrow, Damage and Adam Strange are eliminated and Jay Garrick accidentally triggers a trap in the arena which summons Omegademons, created from all species in the universe, to attack the other contestants.

The fight with the Omegademons does not bother Superman as much as the fight with his own conscience. Even in a fight to the death, Superman cannot overcome his own better nature, for he is too focused on clearing a path for his friends instead of trying to cross the line. He takes a moment to notice that Batman is not close to the line and when he tries to help Batman, his chest is pierced by a spear with a flag, which only says "Bang". The Joker has arrived, and he has brought friends. As his body vanishes, Batman reminds his friend to stay focused on the game.

Superman does not have time to think about how the villains escaped or even to grieve for Batman's death. Instead, he fights with all his strength and ultimately crosses the line. The line-up for the tournament is decided. Alongside Superman, the fighters will be Joker, Carol Ferris, Jay, Vixen, Connor Hawke, Etrigan, Cheetah, Hawkman, Lobo, Zatanna, Power Girl, Plastic Man, Batwoman, Starro, Big Barda, Lex, King Shark, Harley Quinn, Aquaman, Black Lightning, Supergirl, Damian Wayne, Black Canary, Firestorm, Captain Atom, Swamp Thing, Red Hood, Metamorpho and Wonder Woman.

The heart of Apokolips, beating deep beneath the Earth, is aware of the tournament and the fighters that will try to obtain its power. It is also aware that Darkseid's champions, the Horsemen, will be involved, as well, but ultimately these efforts will amount to nothing. There is one last champion hiding among the Quantum Quorum: Darkseid himself. He has possessed Booster's body and is observing the tournament from the shadows. The tournament is already over before it even had a chance and Darkseid has won.

Appearing in "Chapter One: Into the Ring"

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