Review: Super Sons of Tomorrow

July 24, 2020 ComicBookWire

Quick Summary

Pros: The main storyline is exciting and the main villain is great, especially in the first chapter. Superboy and Robin shine throughout the event and their character growth is fantastic to see. The artwork looks great in some places.

Cons: Not all of the comic’s action is that exciting. Some of this comic’s logistics are left frustratingly unexplained. The artwork is unappealing in some places.

Overall: This is an entertaining crossover event that places a great spotlight on the Super Sons. The main narrative has plenty of action and excitement, with only a few minor flaws balancing out these positives. Plus, the characters are consistently well-written and provide plenty of entertainment. Fans of the Super Sons should definitely check this book out and fans of the other comics involved in this crossover should consider it as well.

Story

Super Sons of Tomorrow, by Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason, has a few problems but is generally a solid read. The volume centers around an exciting battle with a powerful enemy paired with an intense threat from within. It also continues the general sense of fun and charm that is present in all of the Super Sons appearances. Some of the plot points are poorly explained and cause a bit of confusion but these points never become too detrimental to the comic as a whole. In the end, the Super Sons and their exploits are as entertaining as ever.

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About half of Super Sons of Tomorrow is a wonderfully exciting battle to protect Superboy from a potentially evil, future Batman, who is trying to kill him. This is kicked off with a spectacular fight between the present Batman and this future Batman, a fight that is so exciting to see play out that it honestly stands well on its own. Then more conflict arises as the evil Batman, now going by Savior, attacks Superboy and Superboy’s powers start flaring out of control. Not all of this action is great, as the Super Sons’ quick battle against a few of the Teen Titans feels more like a distraction than anything worthwhile, but the vast majority of the book is satisfyingly exciting.

The other half of this book focuses on the human element. Readers see Superboy wrestle with the thought that he might one day pose a threat to the world he is so dedicated to protect and see Robin leap to Superboy’s defense. The bond between these two is approached well throughout this comic and reaches some of its greatest moments as Robin suggests Superboy join the Teen Titans, which helps reaffirm these two are truly friends. Though Superboy is rejected by the rest of the Teen Titans, the conclusion is a bittersweet look at their collective journey together.

The places where Super Sons of Tomorrow fails is in properly providing justification for what is going on in the story. The entire event begins when the future Tim Drake decides Damian must live for the future to survive yet does not explain how this is any different from the previous times he has tried to solve problems with the future. Later on, at the event’s conclusion, Tim is suddenly able to absorb Damian’s excess power and save the group while dooming himself, though it is entirely unclear how any of this is possible. I found these points of poor justification hurt my reading experience but I can also understand simply looking past them in order to enjoy what is otherwise a solid read.

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Art

The quality of the artwork in Super Sons of Tomorrow is strong in a few places but fluctuates wildly throughout the read. The first chapter, featuring artwork from Jorge Jiménez, looks incredible and helps make the event’s opening fight the perfect way to kick things off. The following chapter is far worse and ends up being pretty disappointing, as it depicts characters with unnatural body proportions and a general drop in the level of quality. Later the quality picks back up again and the visuals end up looking either average or just slightly above average. Then, the final chapter dramatically shifts up the visual style, a change that I found to be a bit jarring. Because of this mix of quality, this collection ends up falling somewhere in the middle when it comes to artistic appeal, not downright bad but not that great either.

Continuity

Super Sons of Tomorrow continues the story of the villain from the “A Lonely Place of Living” storyline, detailed across Detective Comics #965-968 and collected in Detective Comics Vol. 5: A Lonely Place of Living (Review). It also generally continues the story from Super Sons Vol. 2: Planet of the Capes (Review), the first half of Superman Vol. 6: Imperius Lex (Review), and the first half of Teen Titans Vol. 3: The Return of Kid Flash (Review).

The story here does not directly continue in any specific comic but generally continues in each series that formed this crossover. This means it continues in Super Sons Vol. 3: Parent Trap, the second half of Superman Vol. 6: Imperius Lex (Review), and the second half of Teen Titans Vol. 3: The Return of Kid Flash (Review).

This volume also references stories from other comic books, detailed below: