DC Comics has been on fire for the last year, thanks to the “All-In” publishing initiative. The new arc has revolved around Darkseid, who has pulled the godly move of snaring two universes — the Prime Earth and the Absolute Earth — in his grasp. Darkseid was able to trick the Justice League into destroying him, allowing his body to become pure Omega energy and a part of the universe’s fabric. In the new comic DC K.O. #1, the heroes put together the clues they’ve gotten in Superman and Justice League Unlimited, revealing that Darkseid has suffused the core of the Earth with Omega energy. The only way to stop him is to take control of that energy through a tournament that only the strongest, most ruthless hero can win.
Of course, DC K.O. #1 has some twists to it, because Darkseid isn’t just going to let the heroes be victorious. Justice League Unlimited has introduced readers to the Quantum Quorum, a group consisting of the Time Trapper, Gorilla Grodd, the World-Forger, and Booster Gold, but everything is not as it seems. One of them — or another member of the Justice League — is actually Darkseid, leading the heroes around by their nose. Two candidates might actually be Darkseid in disguise: one who is the obvious choice and another who’s something of a dark horse pick.
The last page of DC K.O. #1 drops a bombshell on readers, and it seems like it’s pretty clear that Booster Gold has been taken over by Darkseid. This has been building up since DC All-In #1: After the Justice League “defeated” Darkseid, Booster Gold volunteered to enter the rift formed after Darkseid exploded. He immediately fell into another universe and was attacked by an evil version of the Legion of Superheroes. It wouldn’t be until the “Darkseid Legion” arc in Superman that we saw him again.
The Time Trapper had been working with Superman to save the universe from Darkseid, and sent Superman and Superboy-Prime to the future to find Booster Gold. Booster had been exposed to Omega energy and was integral to the Time Trapper’s plan to stop Darkseid from taking over the universe. Superman and Prime were able to defeat the Darkseid Legion, and Superman was able to take Booster back to the present, which led to Justice League: The Omega Act #1 and DC K.O. #1.
So, going by the last page, it seems pretty obvious that Darkseid has taken Booster Gold’s place. Booster has become inundated with Omega energy, the power of Darkseid, after going through the rift and being chased by the Darkseid Legion. The same thing happened to Gorilla Grodd when he went into the rift in “We Are Yesterday”, so as far as we’ve been told, this is plausible. In “Darkseid Legion”, we learned that Booster has been on the run from Darkseid and his Legion for years, so there’s a possibility that he became a source of Omega energy — enough to be able to reset the heart of Omega energy at the center of the planet — but it is also plausible that it’s a trap set by Darkseid.
However, Justice League Unlimited #11 showed Power Girl leading a group of Justice Leaguers into the core of the Earth, where they were attacked by members of the Darkseid Legion. The Leaguers were able to escape, but after they escaped, Power Girl was possessed by something and started speaking in the same font as the Omega heart of the Earth in DC K.O. #1. Add to the fact that she also has blonde hair, like the person in the last panel, and many readers believe that Booster Gold may be a red herring.
DC K.O., since its announcement, has seemed like a pretty straightforward event, a tournament to get ultimate power and stop Darkseid. However, the first issue showed that Darkseid has been engineering the conflict from the beginning, using one of the Quantum Quorum or a member of the League to ensure his victory. It definitely seems like Booster Gold is the person Darkseid is using, but Power Girl could also be part of it, as she was also seemingly inundated with Omega energy in Justice League Unlimited #11.
This event could still be pretty straightforward, but that has never been DC K.O. writer Scott Snyder’s MO. Snyder is great at giving readers twists, which is why a lot of readers don’t exactly believe that the final page reveal of this issue is the whole thing. Power Girl could be Darkseid as well — since he’s already shown that he can be in multiple places at once — or something else entirely. DC K.O. is just starting, and has readers guessing what’s coming next.
DC K.O. #1 is on sale now.
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