(Image Source: DC / Doug Mahnke)
Death is not uncommon in big comic book events. Indeed, many of them start off with a shocking death to establish the stakes of the battle to come. Such is the case in DC K.O. – the lates DC Comics‘ crossover. However, the death in this case involved a Justice League member whose end at the hands of The Joker was honestly surprising for several reasons.
Written by Scott Snyder, with art by Javi Fernandez, DC K.O. centers around a cosmic combat tournament. The Justice League were informed of the approaching doom heralded by a resurrected Darkseid. The New Gods tyrant was working his way backward through time, destroying any resistance that might rise against him. He was also drawing power from an variant Earth corrupted by the Omega Energy that fueled his powers.
(Image Source: DC / Javi Fernandez)
The only solution the Justice League had was to try and draw upon this Omega Energy themselves and try to fight Darkseid. However, the Omega Energy required a certain psychic resonance born of conquest and control. It also could not be shared. To that end, the heroes of the DC Universe agreed to a contest to see who among them was most worthy to claim the power and the title of King Omega.
Who did the Joker kill to kick off DC K.O.?
Before starting this contest, the Justice League took steps to neutralize their enemies. This would hopefully keep the world safe in their absence. However, several of the villains defied this effort and learned of the prize at hand. This lead to a surprising first casualty, as The Joker managed to kill a distracted Batman with a bazooka as the villains entered the field of battle.
(Image Source: DC / Javi Fernandez)
This was surprising for several reasons. On a metatextual level, it’s impossible to believe that Batman could ever die, despite being the most mortal of DC’s main trinity of superheroes. He is too popular for any such death to be lasting.
Conversely, on a textual level, it has been suggested more than once that The Joker won’t really kill Batman for fear of ending the game between them. (A good example of this is the Batman story ‘Going Sane,’ where Joker reformed after honestly believing he had killed Batman.) In any case, Batman being the first casualty of the fight to the death in DC K.O. was an effective way to show the usual rules are not in play anymore.
DC K.O. #1 is now available at comic shops everywhere.
