DC Comics Just Announced 2026's Most Ambitious Release With Four Words

Published Mar 4, 2026, 12:00 PM EST

Robert Wood is a writer and editor based out of Cheshire, England. He is the author of 'The False Elephant: and 99 Other Unreasonably Short Stories' - 100 stories, each told in exactly 100 words.

Rob got into comics via Bendis' Ultimate Spider-Man and the UK anthology 'The Mighty World of Marvel,' which was running Frank Miller's Daredevil, Classic Hulk and Contest of Champions II.

Prior to journalism, he worked in copywriting and copyedited for Oxford University Press. He is on X as @PinchTwigs and Instagram as roobwoodjourno.

ABSOLUTE CRISIS Is Coming Soon from DC Comics

In today's DC K.O. #5 - from Scott Snyder, Joshua Williamson, Wes Craig, Xermánico, Javier Fernández and Alejandro Sánchez - Superman manages to defeat Darkseid, sharing his 'Omega King' powers with DC's other heroes. Driven back to the Absolute Universe, Darkseid broods, revealing his plans to kickstart "a Crisis of Absolute Proportions."

DC's Crisis events are its biggest event stories, typically bringing together the entire multiverse and often permanently changing established lore. Past stories like Zero Hour, Infinite Crisis and Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths have been game-changing stories that affect DC's entire line.

Now, Darkseid is teasing an event that fans know has to be titled Absolute Crisis. The name ties into DC's new Absolute Universe imprint - a new continuity launched in 2024, and currently a critical and commercial darling.

DC couldn't have been smarter in teasing a huge event in the universe that is currently on every DC fan's pull list. While DC's hasn't formally confirmed Absolute Crisis, it's hard to imagine it using any other title. The story will likely release at the end of 2026 or early 2027.

What Characters Will Appear in ABSOLUTE CRISIS?

It goes without saying that any Absolute Crisis will involve the Absolute Universe. That's exciting news because, so far, the heroes who make up this world haven't had many crossover adventures. While Batman recently had a mini-crossover with Wonder Woman, that's been about it, and there's no hint yet of a Justice League as fans understand the idea.

The Absolute Universe is an entire reality built on Darkseid's evil - one where evil wins, and the heroes are stripped of any and all advantages. Despite this, heroes like Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Green Lantern and the Martian Manhunter are fighting to improve their world.

Darkseid explains in DC K.O. that the event's tournament has been happening all over the multiverse, generating Omega Energy that makes him stronger than ever, and creating an army of heroes fighting for absolute power. That power is focused in the Absolute Universe, which Darkseid is using to generate an evil version of the Legion of Super-Heroes, creating a superhuman army who can conquer and subjugate the multiverse.

DC has promised fans a "Crisis of Absolute Proportions", hinting that DC's next big event will put the Absolute Universe front and center, with the fate of the entire multiverse at stake.

DC K.O. #5 is available now from DC Comics.