Jon Kent and Damian Wayne are having a typically-boring day at school in the latest issue of Super Sons when Damian’s mother – Talia al Ghul, the daughter of the Demon’s Head – arrives on campus looking for her son’s help.
Super Sons 13
Written by Peter J. Tomasi
Pencils by Carlo Barberi
Inks by Art Thibert
Colors by Gabe Eltaeb and Alejandro Sanchez
With the recent announcement that Super Sons is ending in May, I guess I need to savor every issue I can. Under Tomasi’s pen, Jon Kent has become one of my favorite characters of the Rebirth era, and his relationship with Damian is one of the best friendships in comics. Damian’s refusal to acknowledge that he likes and trusts Jon as a partner more than he does his Teen Titans team is a nice touch, especially as the facade cracks now and then.
Here, we have the added quirk that Bruce Wayne has sent Damian to the same school as Jon, and the son of the billionaire arrives at the academy in a helicopter. Not at all surprisingly, Damian doesn’t seem to be all that well-liked by his new classmates, though Jon tries to help him fit in.
I would have loved a whole issue of Jon and Damian at school. I probably would kill for a whole three-issue arc of the pair learning to fit in with their normal classmates. Alas, that was not to be, as Damian’s mother comes to the school to recruit her son for a mission. The issue ties the book to the new series THE SILENCER, which also had an appearance by Talia al Ghul and some background on what she’s been doing.
Tomasi also adds a little bit of tension to Jon and Damian’s relationship, as Jon gets stuck on Damian being an assassin, though the youngest Wayne rightly tells Jon that he’s never hidden what he’s done in his past. Will that throw a wrench into the partnership as Talia drags them along on her mission? Or will the fact that Talia is set on killing Jon’s mother be enough tension for the next issue? I’m really looking forward to finding out.