DC K.O.: BOSS BATTLE (2026) #1 Review

DC K.O.: Boss Battle #1 is written by Jeremy Adams and published by DC. Artwork is by Carmine Di Giandomenico, Ronan Cliquet, Kieran McKeown, and Pablo M. Collar, with colours by Hi-Fi. Main cover art (left) is by Jamal Campbell.

DC K.O.: Boss Battle #1 is available from today, in comic book stores and on digital platforms where all good comic books are sold. Grab your physical copy from Forbidden Planet or digitally from Amazon Comixology UK.

Synopsis

Unexpected fighters from beyond the DC Comics enter the arena! Wait… What? WHO?! As the remaining champions in the K.O. tournament prepare for the final rounds, they discover that there isn’t enough Omega energy left to crown the winner a King Omega. To have any hope of stopping Darkseid, they’ll need to engage in combat with the champions of other worlds beyond our own, including Annabelle, Homelander, Sub-Zero and more!

Review

Many initially thought that the current DC K.O. event would be a crossover between DC brands that would stay pretty self-contained… well, that was until Boss Battle came along. This ambitious one-shot, courtesy of Jeremy Adams, sees our team of DC heroes and villains going up against fan favourite characters from IDW, Dynamite and Archie Comics, as well as film and video game studios such as New Line Cinema and Netherrealm.

Adams wastes no time at all when it comes to setting the scene and stressing the urgency of the situation. In literally 3 to 4 pages, he establishes the need to bring all these universes into one story, whilst playing off the cliffhanger left over from the previous DC K.O. comic.

From that initial setup, the comic throws us straight into the deep end, presenting some interesting match-ups in the process, some of which shouldn’t really work in concept but surprisingly do when put on the page. A few of these pairings seem like a no-brainer, like Wonder Woman against Red Sonja and Superman against Homelander, yet on the other hand, you have Lex Luthor going up against serial killer bear Samantha Strong from IDW’s Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees. For every encounter that makes sense, you also have a couple of curveball pairings that help mix up the variety of the brawls.

What makes the fights in Boss Battle so interesting, other than the very nature of these unlikely characters coming together in the first place, is how the artwork ever so slightly changes with each brawl to reflect the look and feel of the respective characters’ worlds. Thanks to artists Carmine Di Giandomenico, Ronan Cliquet, Kieran McKeown, and Pablo M. Collar, the whole story feels seamlessly cohesive from start to finish, whilst still having the breathing room to give every encounter its own personality.

Each of the individual fights have their moments to shine throughout the comic. Without spoiling their outcomes, some genuine highlights include Plastic Man attempting to entangle Sub-Zero and Scorpion, Samantha Strong pummeling Lex as soon as she sees him, Superman and Homelander trying to prove that their powers equally match one another, and the Joker proceeding to have a spot of tea with Annabelle, the haunted doll from The Conjuring films. Some interactions, such as Star Sapphire and Sabrina the Teenage Witch, actually subvert expectations by having them work together instead of being at each other’s throats.

The battles presented across the issue are visually striking and endlessly bombastic as one fight eventually starts to crash into the next and so on, leading to an all-out frenzy. This all results in a cliffhanger that will perfectly lead into DC K.O. #4 as our heroes face off against their Absolute universe counterparts.

Boss Battle does what it needs to do. It offers up a frantic dose of multiversal action on an epic scale but doesn’t outstay its welcome. It gives fans of both DC and the wider characters involved enough to keep them satisfied, whilst still wanting a little bit more. For a massive one-off event such as this, it certainly delivers in its spectacle and ambition.

Verdict

Whether you’ve been following the DC K.O. event from day one or you’re jumping in just for this colossal mashup, you will certainly find something to love in Boss Battle. This one-shot from Jeremy Adams is an explosive and ridiculously fun read that presents some truly satisfying brawls, all complemented by a team of artists that bring their A-game to their respective parts.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

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