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• DC KO #4 explains how the Absolute Universe fits into the larger DC canon

Warning: spoilers for DC K.O. #4 are ahead!

The Absolute Universe in DC Comics kicked off in the fall of 2024, and it's been going strong ever since. But some questions have been bouncing around folks' heads ever since, notably, when or if the Absolute heroes would cross over with the heroes and villains of the mainline DC Universe, and what exactly the timeline is for, considering we knew that Darkseid had created an entirely new Earth called the Absolute Earth. But now, with the release of DC K.O. #4, we finally have some answers to how it all fits together. 

In the back-up story in DC K.O. #4 by Joshua Williamson, Xermánico, Alejandro Sánchez, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, it is revealed that the Absolute Superman, Absolute Batman, and Absolute Wonder Woman who appear in DC K.O. are the older versions of themselves as they currently exist in their respective ongoing series. That is, the "present" in the Absolute Batman, Absolute Superman, and Absolute Wonder Woman series is the "past" to the versions of those characters who have popped into DC K.O. 

(Yes, we said the back-up; don't worry though - the main story is still by series mainstays Scott Snyder and Javi Fernández, alongside Sánchez and Otsmane-Elhaou.)

It's worth noting that, according to Darkseid himself in the issue, the "present" time in the Absolute books is when Darkseid's influence is at its weakest. This has allowed the Absolute Trinity to, well, take up righteous causes because, again according to Darkseid, they "resist" his control and still "retain their free will from their destiny." And good on them for that, it makes me like Absolute Batman even more. 

And that's not all. Because Darkseid doesn't like doing anything himself, he got the evil Legion of Super-Heroes to go into the future of the Absolute Universe and kidnap the Absolute Trinity. All of this is to say that it looks like Darkseid's power grows the more that time progresses in the Absolute Universe. It also looks like the Absolute Trinity are safe within their respective series for the time being - since they eventually get kidnapped by the Legion of Super-Heroes gone bad in the future, then they'll survive whatever comes their way until then. If you've been hoping that one or all of the Absolute Trinity would buy it sometime soon (I wouldn't understand why you'd feel this way, to be honest)... I'm sorry?

DC K.O. #4 is available now wherever comics are sold. It features a couple of important firsts: the first official mainline DCU/Absolute Universe crossover, and the first full meeting of the Absolute DC trinity. Although that's first by our viewpoint - these are, after all, future versions of the characters. 

Need more? Here's our picks for the best DC Comics stories of all time, and here's a list of all the free DC comics you can look forward to as part of this year's Free Comic Book Day and Comics Giveaway Days.