[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Peter J. Tomasi
Artist: Scott Godlewski
Colours: Protobunker
Letters: Rob Leigh
Reviewed By: Derek McNeil
Summary
The Super Sons are lost in time and space! On the run from the Gang and trapped on the Planet of Secrets and Mystery, Superboy and Robin have lost everything and gotten a glimpse of how their tomorrows may end. When the planet’s mysterious creator returns for his broken creation, the boys find out that tomorrow sucks as much as yesterday!
Positives
Tomasi loves making use of characters and concepts from DC’s long comics history, and this issue is no exception. First, there is the return of Silver Age spaceman Tommy Tomorrow, who captures Superboy, Robin, and Rex Luthor for destroying his Miracle Machine last issue. Tomorrow’s adventures mostly took place in the DCU’s future, so this seems to indicate that the boys have been propelled into the future.
This seems to be backed up by the fact that Tomorrow’s outfit seems to be made up of remnants of the JLA’s costumes: a fragment of Superman’s cape, Batman’s utility belt, and others. However, Tomorrow doesn’t seem to recognize Robin or Superboy. Presumably, these are historical artifacts, but the records of the present day DCU aren’t very complete.
Also, Tomorrow has a pet Hukka, which is a callback to the 80s series Atari Force, where another Hukka appeared. It is unlikely that we will ever see a return of Atari Force due to licensing issues, but at least some of its spirit lives on in the comics.
Also, in their interaction with Hukka, we get to see the fondness for animals that the Super Sons share – especially Damian. It is good to see that there are commonalities that the two boys can bond over beyond their lives as superheroes.
Negatives
I haven’t really read a lot of Tommy Tomorrow stories, but he seems somewhat more abrasive a character than I remember him being. Is he always like this, or has something happened to put him in a sour mood. It would be nice to see the story expound on his story, but I’m not sure he’s going to be sticking around any longer than his appearance this issue. Perhaps we might get to see more of him in his own miniseries someday.
Verdict
It seems somewhat strange that this issue is appearing the same week as the debut of Young Justice, a title that features a different Superboy and Robin (Conner and Tim). DC hasn’t made clear if and how both these duos can co-exist, but I hope that DC somehow finds a way that allows Jon and Damian to continue their adventures as the Super Sons, as this is one of DC’s best books of the post-Flashpoint era.
