The question of who would win a fight between Superman and Homelander has been the subject of some debate in recent years. Fans of both DC and The Boys were thrilled at the news that the fight would become canon. Unfortunately, the long awaited battle is a disappointment. So are the other fights making up DC K.O.: Boss Battle #1.
A quick summary for those who have not been following the DC K.O. event. The celestial tyrant Darkseid has been reborn and is fighting his way across the timestream to Earth. The only apparent hope for the DC Universe is for someone to bond with the same Omega Force that created Darkseid. However, this requires a cosmic tournament as the Omega Force can only be claimed through conquest.
As ‘Boss Battle’ opens, the tournament has been whittled down to four contenders; Superman, Wonder Woman, The Joker, and Lex Luthor. They are met in between rounds by a cosmic being called the World Forger. He fears the four contenders may not have the power to face the next challenge.
To that end, World Forger summons the champions of other realities to inspire more fights they can tap for Omega Force. He also briefly resurrects some of the fallen contenders so they can aid in this effort. This is all a roundabout way of justifying the unlikely death battles with whatever franchised characters DC Comics could license. Unfortunately, it is far more exciting on paper than it is in execution.
DC K.O.: Boss Battle has no point or purpose
Writer Jeremy Adams does a good job of capturing the personalities of all the characters involved. This is particularly impressive given the size of the ensemble and variety of characters. Unfortunately, this only serves to highlight how shallow and nonsensical this all is.
Most of the fights last all of two pages and go unresolved. This is true even in the much ballyhooed fight between Superman and Homelander. The action lasts all of two pages, preceded by two pages of the powerhouses just staring each other down.
There are some great ideas for lengthier crossovers. I’d deeply love to see a Wonder Woman and Red Sonja comic based on their interactions here. Unfortunately, there are too many fights to cycle through and most of them don’t make a lick of sense.
True, Joker having a tea party with the cursed doll Annabelle is good for a laugh. So is Lex Luthor being mauled by Samantha Strong from Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees. But even Star Sapphire and Sabrina the Teenage Witch seem confused as to what they are doing here.
The one saving grace to all this is the art, which manages a sense of gravitas the script never manages. Those who have been following the DC K.O. event can safely skip this without fear of missing anything. Those hoping for some amusing action or an answer to the Superman vs. Homelander question will be deeply disappointed.
Grade: 4/10
DC K.O.: Boss Battle #1 is now available at comic shops everywhere.
