Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Joshua Williamson
Artist: Dan Mora
Release Date: 5th November 2025

Considering that this was the fourth best-selling comic book of November 2025, it’s still somewhat difficult to imagine that all that many readers were completely won over by Joshua Williamson’s script for issue one of DC K.O. Knightfight. Indeed, this tie-in title to the Burbank-based publisher’s 2025-2026 crossover event likely had many a Bat-fan scratching their heads in utter bemusement as a beaten Caped Crusader inexplicably finds himself “trapped within an alternative timeline/possible future – in which Dick Grayson replaced him as Batman.”

Admittedly, this disconcerting plot taps so wonderfully well into the ever-popular “Elseworlds” vibe that Bruce Wayne’s desire to discover more about the decidedly different Gotham City initially quite cleverly mirrors the wishes of this mini-series’ audience too. However, by the time the billionaire industrialist finally encounters the protégé who replaced him as his birth-place’s protector, so many ‘wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey’ events have been thrown at the reader that it’s difficult to fully comprehend just how incredibly diverse this Robin Incorporated dominated world actually is; “I used the training you gave me and shared it with the world.”

Furthermore, the Dark Knight which Nightwing previously usurped in this bizarre dimension is completely unrecognisable from the mainstream cowled vigilante – having apparently slaughtered the likes of Jason Todd, Tim Drake and Damian Wayne for daring to challenge him. However, for some reason that doesn’t apparently stop Grayson from repeatedly offering his former mentor an opportunity to simply stand down, and even leads to Dick going so far as to untie the supposedly homicidal Batman when they first meet so he can provide anyone listening with plenty of brain-bamboozling exposition.

Much more convincing than this comic’s penmanship is its artwork, with Dan Mora doing a top job in imbuing all of the numerous Robins with the gracefulness one would expect from such acrobatic sidekicks. Of particular note has to be the artist’s ability to depict such a striking contrast between Grayson’s fighting style as opposed to that of Wayne, with Nightwing clearly appearing a much more fluid combatant over the older, and slightly slowing down crime-fighting veteran. In addition, Colorist Triona Farrell deserves a little kudos for making this publication’s futuristic metropolis such a vivid-looking concrete jungle, with the brightly-lit, neon-populated skyline appearing rather reminiscent of that seen in Joel Schumacher’s 1995 film “Batman Forever”.

The writer of this piece was: Simon Moore
Simon Tweets from @Blaxkleric ‏
You can read more of his reviews at The Brown Bag