Rex Luthor is on the verge of conquering the universe. Heck, he’s on the verge of remaking it, having appropriated a cube holding ultimate cosmic power. Accompanied by a gang of kid versions of Earth’s supervillains he’s going to strike out, and his enemies the Super Sons are in no position to stop him, being trapped inside said cube.
As it turns out, they’re not alone.
Meet Cube. As old as creation, over time it gained sentience and a desire to be no longer a tool for ambitious beings, but a part of ‘the story’. To, as it were, create their own adventure.
Things have careered out of control but with the aid of the Super Sons, Cube has a chance to end Rex’s insidious plans. Soon, Damian and Jon are back in the real world, and ready to put their experiences to good use.
What a brilliant way to end a story. Writer Peter J Tomasi wraps up the Super Sons’ ‘extra time’ maxi-series by making all their previous adventures count towards the ultimate victory. What’s more, he gives us an epilogue that not only calls back to the end of the ongoing series last year, but reminds us that while the delightful tween teaming of Robin and Superboy is over so far as DC’s publishing slate is concerned, the adventures will continue somewhere. And who knows, we may even get to hear about one or two of them someday.
As ever, the dialogue and team dynamics of our heroes is a joy from start to finish. Cube is pure plot device in the most literal way, the previously unseen engineer behind the entire Adventures of the Super Sons’ Summer of Super. I’ve wondered why we couldn’t get rid of Rex and his Gang, who debuted in the first issue – now it all makes sense.
And everything is brought to gorgeous visual life by penciller Carlo Barberi, inker Matt Santorelli, colourist Protobunker and letterer Rob Leigh. The compositions barrel the story forward like a freight train, the characters are madly expressive and the action scenes are masterfully choreographed. As for the final image – just perfect.
Dan Mora captures the spirit of the World’s Finest Offspring on a terrific cover, it’s really nice to see the good guys come out on top.
So goodbye again, Super Sons. Last time I wrote a ‘final issue’ review I knew this limited run was coming; this time there’s no such certainty. Events in the Superman books make an in-current-continuity sequel unlikely, but who says we can’t have more untold tales, or ‘imaginary’ ones? Tomasi, Barberi, alternate artist Scott Godlewski and friends know how to create hugely enjoyable comics – why would DC waste these gifts?
So I’m taking on the lesson of Damian and Jon, and choosing to hope that the Super Sons will be back soon. Good grief, we’ve never even seen a Christmas adventure with those kids…
Too Dangerous For a Girl 2 
I love the Super-Sons so much. I was so unhappy with the way Bendis screwed over Jon, but at least we may be seeing him be the lynchpin of the Legion of Superheroes, which I think would be fantastic.
I love the relationship between Jon and Damian and I hope we at least get to see Teen Jon interact with Damian in a way similar to this in the future, assuming Jon’s sojourn into the 32nd Century is not permanent.
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I think I saw a Superman solicitation with older Jon and younger Damo meeting up, their previous roles reversed. That could be fun.
Actually, I’m sure I heard Bendis mention it on John Siuntres’s superb Word Balloon podcast, too.
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Dear Mart, I’m still high from NZ beating India in the world cup semifinal so I thought I could be cheeky again and suggest perhaps you could do a complete review of the series as a whole. I’m still on the fence about buying the inevitable collected edition as it seems like it was very much up and down.
Hoping you can clear up if it’s worth getting and reading to my wee one
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I still owe you a Legion post, I am ashamed.
I’m not sure I could manage an overview of the whole series, but I did review pretty much every one. Overall, I’d put this firmly in the Read category, as a done-in-one it should be quite the read. Go on, read it to the little ‘un!
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This was a great wrap-up to the series… and I certainly hope we get more.
(Actually, I *will* get more, since I wasn’t a regular of the original series. The Walmart Titans Giant is reprinting that series, so once the “Super Sons of Tomorrow” crossover wraps up — a story I did drop in for — the rest of the run will be all new to me!)
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You’re in for a treat, Rob!
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