Writer: Joshua Williamson
Artist: Dan Mora
Colorist: Tríona Farrell
Letterer: Tom Napolitano
Cover Artists: Dan Mora, Ludo Lullabi, Riley Rossmo & Jeff Spokes
Editors: James Reid & Rob Levin
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $3.99/$4.99 Card Stock
Release Date: January 7, 2025
Bruce Wayne takes pride in his sidekicks. He loves Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, and Tim Drake as fiercely as he does his son Damian. While he risks his life for Gotham, Bruce fears letting his sons and Gotham down. Instead, Batman lets the Earth down when the Joker shoots him before he can enter the tournament to become King Omega.
So, the Heart of Apokolips creates another challenge to test him. But this contest isn't like battling his foes to protect Gotham. Nor is it like battling his friends to save the world. Can Batman follow in Darkseid's footsteps and sacrifice his family to become King Omega? Or is the Heart of Apokolips playing another game with Batman? Let’s grab our batarangs, leap into DC K.O. Knightfight #3, and see!
Story
Being a mentor is tough, particularly when you’re putting your life on the line to protect others. Bruce Wayne poured everything he had into giving Dick Grayson a better future. It hurts when Dick believes Bruce is insane and cares only about retaining his power. Then, the Heart of Apokolips hurls Bruce into the clutches of another former sidekick. But while Jason Todd also thinks Bruce is insane, he believes he is confronting Clayface.
Bruce couldn't prevent the Joker from reaching the Earth's core. Nor could Bruce defend himself when the Joker shot him before he could enter the tournament. In Joshua Williamson's story, the Heart of Apokolips forces Bruce to confront another reality in which the Joker defeated him. When Bruce fell, he left Jason Todd alone, watching over a silent Gotham for twenty years.
Others may see Batman as a solitary hero. But Batman always works with others. And there's no one he'd rather work with than Dick, Jason, Tim, Damian, and his other protégés. But this is the problem in DC K.O. Knightfight #3. The Heart of Apokolips doesn’t want Batman to work with others. It may talk tough. But like a needy Robin, the Heart is jealous of Batman's love for others and yearns to submit to a worthy master. First, Batman must demonstrate that he can do what he pledged to do on the Justice League Watchtower. Batman must sacrifice everything and everyone else in his life and devote his sole focus to reshaping reality with the Heart of Apokolips.
Art
After transporting Batman to a technological future, the Heart of Apokolips turned Gotham into a haunted version of Kandor. Batman has spent his life protecting people from monsters and trying to prevent people from becoming monsters. In DC K.O. Knightfight #3, Bruce embraces the abomination. As Clayface, he wrestles with Jason Todd. He hurls his protégé off a building. But as he sees the red and black Batman fall to his death, Clayface’s arm stretches out and hauls Jason back. Dan Mora shows Clayface resolve into Batman. After Jason takes off his mask, the anger drains from his face as understanding dawns in his eyes. Then Jason races toward his former foe as a black storm envelops Batman.
Tríona Farrell adorned Dick Grayson's high-tech world with electrifying colors before immersing us into the red, gray, and brown of Jason's prison. In DC K.O. Knightfight #3, she transports readers to a world filled with color. Batman confronts his next former apprentice amid a palette dominated by yellow, blue, and gray. Green serves as a reminder of how each of Bruce's "sons" began his tutelage. But Bruce's sole reality now is that he inhabits a heart of darkness.
While Batman’s thoughts appear as uppercase white letters in black boxes with yellow outlines, the Heart of Apokolips speaks in larger uppercase letters in black fields. Tom Napolitano fills white and colored dialogue balloons with uppercase and lowercase letters of varying size. As sound effects heighten a battle, they accompany one protégé in solving the cold case of his career. Yet the Heart’s outraged shouts loom largest as the Heart of Apokolips urges Batman to understand what it needs from him. Thanks to DC Comics for sharing this story with us.
Final Thoughts
Before, the Heart was just a thing, a means to an end. But conversation is the first step toward understanding. And the Heart of Apokolips wants Batman to accept the role he has undertaken. No tricks. No half-measures. The Heart demands nothing more or less than what Batman pledged to give it. The only question in DC K.O. Knightfight #3 is whether Bruce Wayne can do what it takes to become a god.
Rating 9.4/10
To look inside see my preview of DC K.O. Knightfight #3.
To catch up, see my review of DC K.O. Knightfight #1
and my review of DC K.O. Knightfight #2.
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