DC All In: Challengers of the Unknown #1 - 5

Some time back, I had said to myself that I was going to move towards wholly trades, as a way of saving myself space.

Well, it appears that I'm not as patient as I thought I was.

Since the beginning of 2025, I've found myself going (somewhat) all in on DC All In. Four titles have made their way onto my pull list either due to an enticing concept (Black Canary: Best of the Best), an awesome cover (The Atom Project) or something either historically or personally nostalgic (Challengers of the Unknown, The Question All Along the Watchtower).

Well, now they've all finished releasing issues (and I've finally reached the end of a more turbulent time in my life), I figured I'd read each series in full ...

... Starting with Challengers of the Unknown #1-5

Challengers of the Unknown, by Chrisptoher Cantwell, Sean Izaakse and Romulo Fajardo Jr., sees the eponymous team serving as the Justice League's elite investigative team aboard the Watchtower in the wake of Darkseid's (apparent) death. When the League discovers a number of anomalies that could somehow be connected to Darkseid, the core team of Prof, Ace, Red, Rocky and June are sent to investigate with a Superhero partner. However, when each member starts to experience differing, unusual situations when reaching these various anomalies, it becomes apparent that the Challengers, once having cheated death, are now becoming connected to Darkseid and his Omega energy.

Quite the unusual plot breakdown, huh? To be honest, the story itself is quite a convuluted tale, so much so that it's difficult to break it down without going too in depth and spoiling it. That said, this difficulty shouldn't be marked against the series, when it has plenty other good (and bad) points.

As mentioned, I picked this series up due to the name, as Challengers of the Unknown are something of a concept precursor to the Fantastic Four. In fact, so much was the series a character only draw, that as I write this I've realised that the great Chris Cantwell (Star Wars: Obi-Wan, but also Fantastic Four: Road Trip) and the tremendous Sean Izaakse (Fantastic Four. Other stuff too, I'm sure, but predominantly FF) created it.

And, for the most part, this wonder team certainly lives up to its reputation. I felt that Chris Cantwell has written a truly engrossing mystery, making it all the more interesting by finding a subtle connection between the Challengers and Darkseid. Cantwell has really made the Challengers feel like a major player in the DC universe with this story, especially by bringing in other, smaller teams like the Sea Devils and many other non-powered characters under their umbrella to make the Challengers a multi-layered, multi-talented operations unit.

Meanwhile, Sean Isaakze and Romulo Fajardo Jr. knock it out of the park on art duties, giving Challengers of the Unknown this colourful, adventurous vibe which doesn't feel too over the top for this mystery-esque tale. Everything about the panels here are beautifully rendered and perfectly coloured, giving the whole thing this Ed Benes look (from when he was on Birds of Prey) or even a Paco Medina or R.B. Silva vibe (which given the all worked concurrently on Fantastic Four and I'm pretty sure I've said previously that their styles look so identical, certainly makes sense).

However, this Challengers story is ruined for me by two things. First, to a lesser extent, is the depiction of Mr Terrific and (maybe the Justice League as a whole). While this is a Challengers story and they are the heroes, it makes sense for an 'ally' to be the antagonist during an event where there is no real villain. However, it really felt that Terrific was almost intentionally trying to destroy the Challengers and obstruct their mission every which way, to the extent that I kept turning pages expecting a panel of some villain ripping off a Terrific mask, Mission Impossible style.

For me though, the biggest issue I had was the ending, or rather the story's lack of same. While the rest of Cantwell's story feels like it has been fully fleshed out, the story ends like there is still an issue or two left in the tank. However, rather than giving us those issues, we are directed to elsewhere under the 'All In' banner, a tactic which reeks of corporate meddling to make an extra buck and annoys me no end.

So, as a result of the last page revelation, the sour taste left in my mouth makes this an ok read in my book (though only barely). I do feel Cantwell, Izaakse and Fajardo Jr. Have poured some tremendous work into this series, but the non-end really puts a dampener on what came before it.

Ok, rant over. Now onto something (hopefully) a little more positive; The Question All Along the Watchtower.