Get over here! DC Comics is putting its heroes in a Mortal Kombat-esque tournament starting fall 2026. The publisher announced Wednesday that a new “slugfest event of the century” kicks off in October with the five-issue limited series DC K.O. Co-created by Joshua Williamson and Scott Snyder, DC K.O. pits 36 heroes a tournament with the fate of the universe on the line.
“DC K.O. is a knock-down, drag-out fight between all your favorite DC Super Heroes in a cosmic tournament to save the universe from Darkseid,” said Snyder in a news release. Snyder will be writing the main series, with art by Javi Fernández. Snyder is no stranger to big-time DC events; he wrote Dark Knights: Metal and its sequel, and is currently penning Absolute Batman.
Based on the main cover for DC K.O. #1, Superman, Firestorm, Plastic Man, Power Girl, Vixen, and Black Lightning are all joining the fray. They, and many more DC superheroes, will be will be fighting in a “universe-shaking five-level gladiatorial arena [that] emerges from the Earth itself, each descending level testing the heroes in brutal and symbolic ways. The goal? Generate enough Omega Energy to rival Darkseid—and crown a new King Omega,” according to the press release. Williamson promises “unexpected heroes—some you won’t believe will go really far in the fights.”
Darkseid, ruler of the planet Apokolips, is a classic DC villain and often clashes with Superman. It’s fitting he’s at the center of DC K.O. as Williamson states K.O. is very much a “Superman story.” “It’s a very personal story wrapped in nine layers of candy exploding in your face,” as Snyder put it.
The 48-page DC K.O. #1 goes on sale Oct. 8 and the series will continue into early 2026. It’ll be preceded by the one-shot Justice League: The Omega Act #1 a week earlier, which will lead in to the main event. Some DC series, like Williamson’s Superman #31, will tie in to DC K.O., because it ain’t a comics event if there aren’t line-wide tie-ins. Here’s a quick look at the variant covers and crossover issues coming down the pike:
