[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers.]
Writer: Peter J. Tomasi
Artists: Carlo Barberi, Art Thibert
Reviewed By: Derek McNeil
Summary
“Mother’s Day” part one! Talia al Ghul returns for her son Damian, whom she trained from birth to be an assassin. With the evil in Robin’s past finally revealed to Superboy, it might be too much for the Sons’ partnership to survive…especially when the boys find out her next victim is one of the most important people in their lives!
Positives
Jon and Damian are settling into their new school. Although Damian seems to be performing much better than Jon academically, Jon is much more adept socially, having made several friends, while Damian is alienating his classmates.
The name of the school, the West-Reeve School is a nice nod to the actors that portrayed the boys’ fathers – Adam West and Christopher Reeve. Also, I like how the school uniform’s blue blazer and red tie resemble the classic Clark Kent outfit. With this and his glasses, Jon looks very much like a junior version of his father.
Also, Jon’s natural exuberance is a joy to read. Despite the fact that he can fly under his own power and has witnessed many amazing sights, he still can’t help but be impressed that Damian arrives at school in a helicopter.
Both boys very much appear to be their fathers’ sons. Jon revels in the company of the people around him, but Damian keeps himself aloof from others – and Jon can’t help but to reach out to his friend.
Despite their apparent similarities to their fathers, this story arc involves their mothers. First they face Damian’s mother Talia Al Ghul, who once again unsuccessfully attempts to convince Damian to rejoin her and the League of Assassins. After investigating Talia’s activities in Metropolis, they discover that she has been hired to kill Jon’s mother, Lois Lane.
Also, it seems that Jon is starting to discover about Damian’s background with the League of Assassin’s and is quite put off by the idea that his 13-year-old friend has killed. This is likely to place a serious strain on their friendship.
Negatives
Just prior to writing this news, I learned from Peter J. Tomasi’s Twitter feed that DC is cancelling this, which I feel is a serious mistake. When I heard that Tomasi and Patrick Gleason’s stellar run on Superman was coming to an end, I thought that at least we would still have Super Sons. However, Tomasi is assuring his followers that the title hasn’t been cancelled due to bad sales and that there are “plans afoot that [he] can’t share at this early juncture but you will be happy with the results – Super Sons lives!”
Verdict
Whether the title is coming to a close or not, this issue is fantastic. The friendship between Superboy and Robin continues to develop. Hopefully we won’t have to wait long for their adventures to continue.
