Review by Frank Plowright

Despite Robin’s ultra-snotty attitude, over the previous two collections Super Sons was a relatively light and optimistic series. This crossover with Superman and Teen Titans completely switches the tone to the dark, the gritty and the unpleasant. It’s a mistake, as it removes almost everything that made Super Sons stand out, and replaces that with standard superhero angst.

Someone turning up in the present day from the future has happened so often in superhero comics that some eras surely have queues to access the technology. Here it’s an adult Tim Drake, once Robin himself, now Batman, and convinced he has to kill someone in order to prevent his future coming to pass. Again, it’s hardly a novel plot, and certainly not an idea for which it’s worth sacrificing the cultivated mood of the series to date, never mind sidelining the title characters for most of the opening two chapters (of five).

If you’re prepared to accept a greater focus on Drake and the Teen Titans in your Super Sons graphic novel, and aren’t concerned about the different approach, then Super Sons of Tomorrow supplies a standard superhero adventure. Co-writers Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason keep accelerating the threats, throwing in some extra characters, and in the finale make a decent point, but overall this is below average.

The artist changes with every chapter, but there’s a consistency to the approaches of Ryan Benajmin, Ed Benes, Sergio Davila, and Tyler Kirkham, who’s good with faces, but draws a horribly muscled Superman. What’s surprising on the opening chapter is how completely regular series artist Jorge Jimenez (sample page) changes his style to fit the more serious plot.

Next is Parent Trap, or alternatively the entire series is collected in the Super Sons Omnibus.