At the beginning of DC K.O., readers learn that winning the Heart of Apokalips Tournament would give them the opportunity to fight Darkseid and get the opportunity to change the world. A lot of the fighters talked about what they would do if they could remake the universe in their image. Meanwhile, Superman wouldn’t change anything.
Clark Kent wants people to have the freedom to make their own decisions, even if they’re bad ones. Sure, this means people like Joker and Lobo are around to make life horrific. But removing people’s freedom of choice (no matter how deplorable) seems like an evil thing to do. That’s why, instead of defeating Darkseid himself, Superman releases all of the fallen tournament competitors at Darkseid so they (in one coordinated attack) can take out Darkseid.
"No one should hold that much power, because, when one person wins, none of us do. What we need is not one hand to save us…but many. Every hand. Their hands. And yours too."Superman
After Darkseid’s defeat, everything seems great. The heroes won, the universe is back to normal, and DC Comics can start their newest era, DC Next Level. Sadly, no one is aware that things are still grim. Darkseid’s loss wasn’t a big one. Apparently, the Heart of Apokalips Tournament was happening throughout the multiverse, with each of them empowering Darkseid with Omega Energy. And, on the final two pages of DC K.O. No. 4, Darkseid says, “Once the infinite Earths fall…there will be a crisis of absolute proportions.”
What does this mean? Well, DC Comics fans all know and fear anything involving the word "crisis" (Identity Crisis, Infinite Crisis, Final Crisis). And with Barry Allen being shown before Darkseid makes his declaration, that could mean that another Crisis is coming and that a Flash will die or disappear. But it may not be Wally West, Barry Allen, or any of the Flashes of Earth-Prime. It could be the one from the DC Comics Absolute Universe.
DC Comics released the first Absolute Universe comic book back in late 2024. Rather than have a crossover within the first year, they waited. This gave the creators time to build up their characters and for fans to love them (let’s be honest, I know you do). Then, Absolute Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman were used in DC K.O. No. 4. Now it’s time for DC’s newest universe to step into the big time. Unfortunately, their first crisis will probably involve Absolute Wally West’s death.
Is there a guarantee that Absolute Wally West will die? Of course not. The easy guess is Prime Earth’s Barry Allen. He was shown towards the end of DC K.O. No. 5, and something reached out to him and started tearing the world apart. Also, with this being the Absolute Universe’s first Crisis, maybe the first Flash should be the one to sacrifice himself. Stay tuned to Bam Smack Pow to find out how right (or wrong) I am.
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