Adventures of the Super-Sons #8 – Peter J. Tomasi, Writer; Carlo Barberi, Penciller; Matt Santorelli, Inker; Protobunker, Colorist
Ratings:
Ray – 6/10
As Jon and Damian’s cosmic road trip enters its final arc, they begin a dramatic escape from Takron-Galtos in Adventures of the Super-Sons #8. How they wound up on a notorious prison planet is still a bit vague – they encountered a random new antihero and he rounded them up for…minor property damage and theft? And that was enough to get them sent to cosmic supermax with Jon in solitary confinement? Okay.
But now Jon’s been rescued, and they just have to figure out how to get off the most heavily guarded place in the universe and find their way back home. Of course, Rex Luthor isn’t going to make it easy on them – he immediately gets on the planet’s communication system and summons an army of wannabe supervillains, turning routine alien criminals into costumed maniacs. Rex’s supervillain fanboy streak is really his only defining characteristic as a villain, which is why he really doesn’t work for me.
Joker Jr., meanwhile, continues his whiplash-inducing back and forth between hero and villain. His betrayal of Jon and Damian was what landed them in this situation in the first place, but now he’s scared enough of Rex to want to switch sides again. Jon doesn’t trust him and the audience probably doesn’t either.
There are a few amusing lines in this issue, like Damian supposedly being able to sleep when awake. I’ve been pretty harsh on how most writers handle Damian lately – veering between abusive bully and psychotic torturer – and while I still think Tomasi’s take lately leans towards too caustic, those little moments of random comedy help to remind us he’s still a weird kid who’s growing up way too fast. I also dug a little subplot involving a kid Green Lantern who is much older than they look. The overall plot, though, is very thin – it’s just Damian and Jon in a constant state of running from one threat or another, and it lacks a compelling thread to take it through twelve issues.
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Disclaimer: GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
