Superman is even more powerful than ever before, but that still might not be enough to earn him a rematch against Darkseid.
After three rounds of grueling combat in the pages of DC K.O.: Superman vs. Captain Atom #1 (by Joshua Williamson, Sean Izaakse, Trish Mulvihill, Hi-Fi, and Dave Sharp), Captain Atom lands what seems like the ultimate final blow against the Man of Steel by quite literally blowing up his entire origin story. Surprisingly, this doesn’t eradicate Superman, but rather imbues him with the powers of both combatants.
This includes the power of the Heart of Apokalips that Captain Atom previously claimed for himself. With that, it takes no effort for Superman to send Captain Atom packing to places unknown. More importantly, this secures Superman another round in the most important fighting tournament in the history of the DC Universe, although there is no guarantee that the Man of Steel is strong enough to knock Darkseid off his throne as King Omega.
DC K.O.: Superman vs Captain Atom #1
Written by JOSHUA WILLIAMSON
Art by SEAN IZAAKSE and TRISH MULVIHILL
Colors by HI-FI
Letters by DAVE SHARPE
Main cover art by JORGE CORONA & SARAH STERN
Variant covers by JOHN GIANG; LUCAS MEYER; SANFORD GREEN; and SEAN IZAAKSE & TRISH MULVIHILL
DC K.O. ALL FIGHT MONTH: ROUND 1 OF 8! A fight so explosive it you won’t want to miss it!
DC K.O. has brought together 32 (now 16) of the strongest and most capable heroes and villains in the entire DC Universe for a tournament to determine who among them is worthy of facing off against Darkseid for the fate of the Multiverse. In the first round of combat, all 32 champions were left to race against one another in pursuit of powerful artifacts from across the DC Universe, with those who ended up empty-handed being immediately culled from the event.
Captain Atom himself claimed the Heart of Apokolips in DC K.O. #2 (by Scott Snyder, Joshua Williamson, Javi Fernández, Xermánico, Alejandro Sánchez, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou), giving him access to every ounce of Omega Energy it could tap into. Unsurprisingly, Superman one-upped Captain Atom by claiming the Omega Sanction, the very power that Darkseid wields as ruler of Apokolips, as his own, giving the Man of Steel just a slight edge against his superpowered competition.
While the winner of the overarching DC K.O. event is ostensibly set to take on Darkseid in a head-to-head brawl in the hopes of preventing yet another Multiversal Crisis, things may not actually get that far. As it was recently revealed, Darkseid is far closer than anyone expected, specifically by taking on the guise of the very same Booster Gold who joined the rest of the Quantum Quarum in reaching out for help with the matter in the first place.
Not only does his position as “Booster Gold” give Darkseid an inside scoop as to what the heroes of the DC Universe are up to and how the competition is faring in the ongoing tournament, but it has also given him the chance to cut down other members of the Quantum Quarum before they can pose any further threat to his reign.
DC K.O.: Superman vs. Captain Atom #1 is on sale now from DC Comics.
NAME
Kal-El, Clark Kent
Alias
Superman
FIRST APP
Action Comics #1, 1938
Created By
Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster
POWERS
Superhuman strength, speed, stamina, reflexes. Heat vision, X-ray Vision. Ice breath. Flight
TEAM
Justice League
Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book Action Comics #1.