REVIEW: DC K.O. #5
DC K.O. #5, “The King Omega” is the jaw-dropping, senses shattering conclusion to the epic DCU event. This one takes a drastic turn and plays out in unexpected ways. In a series that’s been delightfully over-the-top, this finale delivers on so many levels.
The standard cover is by Javi Fernández and Alejandro Sánchez. Past the black signature design of DC K.O. we get a colorful depiction of Darkseid literally bringing Apokolips down on a decimated Earth. If you look close enough, the energy swirls within Apokolips hints at what’s inside, but it’s subtle enough to keep you guessing.
Daniel Warren Johnson and Mike Spicer’s variant plays into the professional wrestling aspect of the event by having Batman suplexing Superman from the top rope. The elimination style fighting tournament has been loads of fun and wrestling has that colorful comic book element that makes this cover great.
The variant by Mike Del Mundo is a fairly symbolic piece of Darkseid “hatching” from Earth. From the beginning this story has suggested defying Darkseid was futile and this cover shows why. If Earth at its core was already corrupted, then what chance did the heroes ever have?
As with every issue in this event, there is an impressive amount of variants. Javi Fernández and Alejandro Sánchez’s work gets the foil treatment. Dan Mora produces two different variants, including the AEW cameo. All other variants are by Jerome Opeña, Ian Bertram, Ben Oliver, Steve Skroce & Dave Stewart, and Mahmud Asrar & Alejandro Sánchez.
Javi Fernández does the bulk of the art while Xermánico and Wes Craig lend a hand on various sequences. Alejandro Sánchez does all the coloring which helps tie it all together. This team pulls out all the stops for this finale. The main conflict runs through time, space, and multiple realities for the title of King Omega. With the action being fast paced, it’s easy to gloss over some of the artistic nods to DC’s vast history. It’s well worth slowing down or rereading to get the full visual scope of the battle. The art team really sells the weight of what’s at stake for the victor which makes this one of the most epic battles in modern comics.
Scott Snyder and Joshua Williamson team up and both get lettered by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou in ‘DC K.O.’ #5. This one is really challenging to review without major spoilers, but one interesting aspect is the narrator being the Heart of Omega. Also, it’s pretty safe to say you can throw out whatever you thought was going to happen as this issue takes the most unexpected turns and still manages a satisfying ending. This entire event has been a fever dream of match-ups and no-holds-barred mayhem but this issue puts all the others to shame on that scale. When the dust settles, we get a peek as to what’s in store for the future of the main DCU as well as a teaser that may unifiy the stories of the Absolute DCU.
(9/10) As far as finales go, this one was fantastically well done. My only quibble is the vagueness as to why a certain character goes missing, but I’m sure that story will reveal itself in time. Otherwise I felt this was a great ending to the DC Event that will ultimately shape future stories without completely needing to start from scratch as other events have attempted.
