Darkseid Vs. The World #1 Puts Absolute Batman Back at the Center of DC All In

Minor story spoilers follow for DC All In Saga: Darkseid Vs. The World #1.

DC’s next All In Saga one-shot, DC All In Saga: Darkseid Vs. The World #1, is positioned as more than a villain spotlight. The $5.99 issue, dated October 28, 2026, brings Darkseid’s past, present and future into focus—and reportedly includes Absolute Batman, returning the character to the story surrounding the Absolute Universe.

That makes the special potentially important for readers following the broad DC All In narrative rather than only those looking for a Darkseid origin. Absolute Batman, along with Absolute Superman and Absolute Wonder Woman, first appeared in the earlier DC All-In Special. The three characters belong to the Absolute Universe, described as a reality Darkseid created out of himself. An appearance by Absolute Batman therefore connects the new one-shot directly to one of the line’s central mysteries: what Darkseid’s relationship to that universe means for its heroes and for the larger conflict.

Scott Snyder and Joshua Williamson are credited as writers on the issue, with Sanford Greene and Yasmine Putri on art. Greene also provides the cover.

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What the one-shot is set to cover

The official setup presents the comic as a look at Uxus, the being who became Darkseid, and traces his descent into the ruler associated with Anti-Life. It also frames the story as looking forward: the King Omega battle may have been won by the forces opposing Darkseid, but the wider war is explicitly not over.

That distinction is important. A one-shot is a self-contained single issue, but “self-contained” does not necessarily mean “disconnected.” In shared-universe comics, a one-shot can deliver a complete dramatic subject—here, Darkseid’s history and agenda—while also depositing story developments that matter to continuing titles. The reported Absolute Batman involvement suggests Darkseid Vs. The World #1 is intended to do both.

Darkseid’s place in the premise also explains why the Absolute line is relevant. The Absolute Universe is not merely being treated as a separate shelf of alternate versions of familiar heroes. Its stated origin links it to Darkseid himself. A book about the villain’s plans for all creation has an immediate reason to revisit one of the universe’s flagship characters, especially Batman.

Why Absolute Batman’s return matters

The initial DC All-In Special established the context in which Absolute Batman, Absolute Superman and Absolute Wonder Woman entered the picture. With Darkseid Vs. The World #1, Absolute Batman’s reported return places at least one of those new heroes back inside a Darkseid-centered event narrative.

For readers, that is a more useful signal than treating the issue solely as backstory. The comic may offer information about Uxus and Darkseid, but it also appears to advance an active thread involving the Absolute Universe. Anyone keeping up with Absolute Batman specifically may want to view this as adjacent to that character’s ongoing story, even though the title is not numbered as an issue of Absolute Batman.

It also creates a clear reading connection between the earlier special and this new one-shot. The first established the Absolute heroes’ arrival; the later story returns to the villain whose existence is tied to their world. That does not reveal the exact nature of Absolute Batman’s role, nor does it establish how much page time the character receives. It does, however, make the issue relevant to the wider premise behind the Absolute line.

Darkseid, Uxus and “Anti-Life” explained

The solicitation’s reference to Uxus is central to the issue’s apparent mission. Uxus is the name used for Darkseid before his transformation, so a story about Uxus’s descent promises an origin-focused lens on a character usually encountered as an already-formed cosmic threat. In practical terms, it means the book can explore the person before the persona while still dealing with Darkseid’s current ambitions.

The description also calls Darkseid “the ultimate anti-life in the universe.” Within the language of the solicitation, Anti-Life represents the scale of his threat: not simply a personal grudge with one hero, but a danger bound up with domination and the fate of creation itself. Readers should not mistake that grand language for confirmation of every plot development in the issue; it is a statement of the stakes DC is attaching to Darkseid’s role in All In.

The King Omega reference provides another piece of the immediate status quo. A major battle has ended in the heroes’ favor, but it has not ended Darkseid’s war. This is a familiar serial-comics structure, but it has a practical narrative function here: it gives the one-shot room to examine an apparent defeat without removing the villain as a future driver of events.

A key issue for story readers, with collecting context

There is also some collecting attention around the earlier DC All-In Special, which introduced the Absolute versions of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. One raw copy was reported sold for $135. “Raw” means an ungraded comic: it has not been assigned a numerical condition grade by a third-party grading service.

That sale is a single data point, not a universal value. It does not establish what every copy is worth, nor does it prove a sustained market level. Condition, edition, timing and buyer interest can all affect an individual transaction. Still, the reported price illustrates why first appearances and foundational universe-launch issues can draw attention after later stories make their significance clearer.

For collectors considering the earlier special, the relevant takeaway is not to assume that one sale guarantees comparable results. It is to identify what the book represents: the first appearance of the three Absolute heroes and the beginning of a storyline now returning to Darkseid and Absolute Batman. The new one-shot may add narrative context to that issue, but readers and collectors should keep story importance, scarcity and market price as separate questions.

DC All In Saga: Darkseid Vs. The World #1 is scheduled for October 28, 2026. Its credited creative team—Snyder, Williamson, Greene and Putri—will tackle a book designed to expand Darkseid’s history while keeping his future threat alive. With Absolute Batman reportedly in the issue, the special looks set to matter not just to Darkseid devotees, but to readers tracking where the Absolute Universe fits within DC All In.