[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Peter J. Tomasi
Artist: Carlo Barberi, Matt Santorelli
Colours: Protobunker
Letters: Rob Leigh
Reviewed By: Derek McNeil
Summary
Locked in an intergalactic juvenile detention facility, Superboy and Robin meet the youngest…and meanest…Green Lantern ever! Well, sort of a GL. Mostly a GL. Really more of a trainee, but don’t tell the bad guys, okay? Plus, Joker Jr. returns…the clown who may be the boys’ last, best hope to stop the Gang!
Positives
Robin and Damian, along with Rex Luthor and Joker Jr., have been imprisoned on Takron-Galtos. In the future of the Legion of Super-Heroes, this planet is a full-blown prison planet, but in the current DCU, it’s more of a cosmic Juvenile Detention facility. Tommy Tomorrow describes it as “a dead planet reconstructed by the Planeteers for some of the worst kids in the universe.”
Unfortunately, the boys are split apart, with Jon kept isolated from sunlight until his solar-based powers fade. This leaves Damian with the task of tracking his friend down, while dealing with Rex Luthor. Rex is out for revenge on Joker Jr. and the Super Sons. Also, he has been creating new members of the Gang by turning the inmates of Takron-Galtos into younger versions of Earth supervillains.
One of these Gang members, called Al-X and dressed as Sinestro, claims to be a Green Lantern in training. He goes on to claim that the Guardians have assigned him the task of monitoring the prison, but without a Green Lantern ring. The situation sounds somewhat questionable, but it raises some interesting questions if true. Do the Guardians of the Universe typically place underage trainees in such perilous situations? Or are there special circumstances that prompted them to do so in Al-X’s case?
It is also rather fun looking at the various new members of the Gang and trying to figure out what villain each is based on of. While some are rather obvious, there are some are based on some rather obscure villains. Rex Luthor seems to be quite the student of DC history.
Negatives
Oddly enough, Jon is absent for much of the issue. While it is a change of pace to see Damian in solo action, the main draw of this title is the interaction between the title characters. With a limited number of issues left, and their future past the end of this miniseries uncertain, it feels a bit like we’re being robbed of precious time spent with the one of the best duos in comics. However, Jon and Damian are reunited by the issue’s end, making their separation mercifully brief.
Verdict
Tomasi’s Super Sons has been one of the best things to come out of Rebirth, and it would be a shame to see it end with the final issue of this miniseries. Hopefully their adventures will continue in some form regardless of whatever changes DC has in store for Jon and Damian. In any case, I will savor each issue of this series while it lasts.
