Watch out, Wonder Woman - DC has a worrying new trend for its biggest heroes
The events of DC K.O. #2 have changed the status quo of the DC Universe
Warning: Spoilers for DC K.O. #2 are ahead!
Part of the fun of reading superhero books from DC is seeing how our favorite characters change over time. Just look at Harley Quinn, for example. Today, she's a fully liberated and complex anti-hero within the DC Universe, but it wasn't that long ago that she was still within the clutches of the Joker. And, before that, who could forget Aquaman's hook hand era in the 1990s?
Now, there's been a pretty seismic shift in the current status quo for Superman in DC Comics. No, he hasn't been de-powered, nor is he a pacifist. In DC K.O. #2, Superman gets his right hand cut off by Lex Luthor! Now, I know that Superman uses chopsticks with his right hand in DC canon, and I couldn't definitively find evidence that he uses his right hand to write. But! In any event, regardless of whether Superman is a lefty, righty, or ambidextrous, losing the hand he holds chopsticks in would traditionally have some huge repercussions for him. Take a gander at the moment from DC K.O. #2 by Scott Snyder and Javi Fernandez below.
Image credit: DC Comics
Now, to put this in context, this isn't the first time in recent memory that a marquee superhero in the DC pantheon has lost part of a limb. In fact, back in 2023's Batman #134 by Chip Zdarsky and Mike Hawthorne, Batman also got his right hand chopped off while he was stuck in an alternate universe. Of course, like Batman, Superman gets a replacement right hand pretty quickly - he actually has one by the end of the issue, although it's unclear whether or not it's a permanent solution, or even what the replacement hand actually is. Further spoilers: Superman uncovers the issue's 'mystery item' in the scavenger hunt portion of K.O. and it's the power of Darkseid himself. As a result, he seems to have a phantom hand made of pure energy. Will Superman's future appearances be one-handed? Will he have an energy hand? Will the rules of K.O. just reset him to his physical form at the start of the contest for the next round? We'll have to wait and see.
For those wondering: Batman got himself a temporary replacement robot hand for awhile after losing his own hand, and then replaced it with the severed hand of a clone. Look, weird things happen in superhero comics. But now we're wondering: this happening twice in two years to two of DC's biggest heroes is either a very odd coincidence, or a sign of an unfortunate new trend in the DCU. Now, the question remains: who is next? Could it be Wonder Woman?
Obviously, Diana isn't just anyone. However, she hasn't had the opportunity to have a status quo-changing bodily incident that she's had to live with, like Batman and now Superman. It's worth noting, still, that before Diana was resurrected back to the realm of the living in Becky Cloonan, Michael W. Conrad, and Travis Moore's Wonder Woman run, Diana had a scar on one of her cheekbones. It was a great detail that helped capture the cost of being a warrior for her, but it didn't stick around once she rejoined everyone in the land of the living. So we'll just have to wait and see what happens. In the meantime, Diana's newest villain, Matriarch, wields a huge sword. Let's hope Diana keeps a watchful eye out.
DC K.O. #2 is available in stores now.
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