What happens when an angry Tim Drake comes back in time to kill his former allies? Would he dawn the Bat-cowl, use guns, and take down most of the Bat-family in no time at all? Why yes, yes he would. Catch the whole story in Super Sons of Tomorrow.
Super Sons #11
Authors: Peter J. Tomasi & Patrick Gleason
Penciler: Ryan Benjamin
Inker: Richard Friend
Color: Gabe Eltaeb
Publisher: DC Comics
What You Need to Know:
During the events of “A Lonely Place of Living” our Tim Drake gets help to escape Mr. Oz’s prison by a Batman that seems familiar yet new at the same time. When Tim finds out that this Batman is him from an alternate timeline he confronts his future self about helping him escape and why he is here in the first place. Future Batman explains that a terrible disaster has occurred in his timeline and he is here to correct it any way he can. What is his plan? Kill Batwoman before she can cause the events that will destroy Tim’s life forever. Ultimately future Tim is beaten by a deus ex machina when he is sucked up by the Hypertime and imprisoned by time and space itself.
“The Super Sons of Tomorrow” story (Superman #37) starts when Future Tim Drake comes back to our time once again, attacking Bruce in the middle of the night. After an amazingly drawn fight erupts in Wayne Manor Bruce is shot in the chest by the angry Tim Drake, as he searches the bat cave Tim uncovers Bruce’s contingency plans against the entire League before he heads to the Arctic for his biggest battle yet.
Meanwhile, Superman is fixing up his Fortress of Solitude after the events of “The Oz Effect”. Superman is confused by recent events, after finally having the chance to meet his Kryptonian father Jor-El just to find out he is an evil man being controlled by an unknown force, working against the people of earth. Kal can’t even think before future Tim crashes into the fortress with everything he’s got. Shooting Kal right out of the door gives away the fact it isn’t the real Batman.
Superman comes to this conclusion quickly, but can’t act quick enough as Tim finds a set of Kryptonian battle armor made for Bruce. After launching Kal out into the snow, Tim traps him in a red kryptonite container rendering Superman powerless. With no one else to take him on, Tim admits to Superman that it isn’t him that he is after. It’s his son, Superboy, who is the target.
What You’ll Find Out:
Like a predator stalking its prey, Tim Drake’s Future Batman is perched high up in the streets of our Metropolis city.
We learn that the hypertime he was recently entrapped by is attempting to pull him back in, but Tim wills it away as he goes after Jon Kent, Superboy of today and a member of the super sidekick duo “Super Sons”. Tim’s inner monologue explains that in his timeline Jon will become a bomb that destroys Metropolis and that he will do whatever it takes to stop these events, even if that means killing Superboy.
After sneaking into the Kent apartment and incapacitating Lois Lane Tim learns that Jon is on a mission, not only with Damian Wayne but the entire Teen Titans! The Teen Titans are off on a mission against “The Hangmen” who appear to be giving the team a run for their money. Until kid flash shows up and takes down all the villains in one quick flash (pun very intended). Was Wally the one who took down all those gang members though? Damian isn’t as convinced when he shoots a smoke grenade in the air bringing Jon down to street level. Damian doesn’t believe Jon is ready for the responsibility of the Titans just yet, but Jon thinks he is more than ready in a comedic immature argument that fits these characters so well.
Before the team can kick back and enjoy themselves, or quit bickering long enough to, The older Tim takes over all of the security in the Teen Titans Tower. Tim explains who he is, shocking the team down to their core, but Damian has no time for emotions as he tries to get the teams heads in the game, but it’s too late, as the evil Tim has rendered most of our heroes powers useless. He explains that in his timeline Jon will accidentally kill thousands, and even has Raven read his mind to confirm his terrors to the entire team.
Scared, the team tries to act, but not before Tim traps Jon in a black goo that covers him the more he struggles. Jon struggles more and more as he grows frightened by the lack of control he has. In a last attempt to save everyone from his unstable powers Jon flies high into the sky apologizing to his friends. Unfortunately, Tim’s plans go up in smoke when he realizes he has just caused the same explosion he was trying to prevent.
After these events we see an unfamiliar computer screen trying to locate Tim’s exact location after the explosion. We learn that Tim is not alone, that there are others from his timeline, wondering where Tim went. Connor Kent, Cassandra Sandsmark, and Bart Allen, three members of the titans of tomorrow decide they need to find their Batman. They will travel to the same time as all our heroes to save their friend and ally, together.
What Just Happened?
Part two of the “Super Sons of Tomorrow” story ties right in with the end of part one like they were one big book. Both of these titles dropped in the same week which made this read convenient and fun while throwing some real cliffhangers in there to keep you waiting for the next ones. Tomasi and Gleason, two writers who can do almost anything with the super-family mythos and almost always make a great story out of it, give us a bat-family, super-family and titans centered story that uses all of its characters equally well.
Part one of this story seemed a little lackluster on content, as I found that the fight scenes carried that issue. Part two is a thick, meaty part of the story with a lot of information to read into. It’s a little too obvious to not point out, but once again Tims downfall will probably be the hypertime sucking him back in, but hopefully, that will get fixed before the climax of the story so our antagonist isn’t beaten the same way twice.
The artistic team did an incredible job on this issue. The small details on Tim’s Batman and the rest of the Titans of tomorrow are used well to bring the team back after almost a decade (Read Geoff Johns Titans of Tomorrow run for the story on the characters coming up in part 3). Even without Jose Luis, the art on Damian and Jon still looks familiar, the consistency in the art for Super Sons has been one of the best parts of this title, giving the duo a look that will be hard to stray from.
Side note: not sure if anyone remembers the intermezzo from Super Sons #10 with the future Batman bringing the apocalypse. This is Damian Wayne’s Batman established by Grant Morrison. He hasn’t been seen by anyone other than the readers so far so it will be interesting to see where he fits into the story.
Rating: 8.5/10
Final Thoughts: Reusing a villain we just met a month ago probably wasn’t the best idea for this four-part crossover series, but the characters that will be joining the roster make the repeat villain necessary and surprising. The collaboration from Tomasi and Gleason are creating an entire world for our younger heroes, and even with such a large group of characters, the ambiance is thrilling while also fun. The fact alone that the Titans of tomorrow will be returning is enough to sell any DC or titans fan on this story.
