Superman #38

Super Sons of Tomorrow Part 4 Into the Light

Peter J. Tomasi & Patrick Gleason Writers
Sergio Davila Penciller
Vicente Cifuentes Inker
Gabe Eltaeb Colorist
Rob Leigh Letterer
Ivan Reis, Oclair Albert & Hi-Fi Cover
Jonboy Meyers Variant Cover
Holzherr/Chen Associate Editors
Antone/Kaminski Editors
Cunningham Group Editor
Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
Superboy created by Jerry Siegel.
By special arrangement with the Jerry Siegel family.

Unfortunately, Francis Manapul didn't finish all the covers for this crossover (he only had two more!).  Fortunately, Ivan Reis is a solid artist, so I can't be too sad. This cover implies that Savior has taken care of a whole host of heroes and the last one on his list is Superboy. However, nothing like this happens or has happened in the story. Yes, Savior did make sure Superman and Batman were incapacitated before he moved against Superboy, but he hasn't (and won't) do anything to any of the Teen Titans — especially Raven, who mostly agreed with Savior.

Our variant is by one of my favorite artists, Jonboy Meyers. But this is a sad, symbolic cover, showing the trauma of Jon's out-of-control powers. Can I just say how great it is to finally have competent artists on this blog? That last run of the Will Pfeifer/Scot Lobdell Teen Titans really wore me down.

Our story picks up with Aqualad, Kid Flash and Starfire locating Superboy and Robin in their underwater lair. After a brief fight, all the Titans agree to go to the Fortress of Solitude. Damian strongly objects to this plan, but everyone else thinks it's the only place to keep Jon safe from Savior.

We then cut to the Titans of Tomorrow — Superman, Wonder Woman and the Flash — being dragged through hypertime by the severed hand of Tim Drake. Conner, Cassie and Bart are confident the hand will eventually lead them back to Tim, but first it takes them through all the stops Tim made through his obsessive mission to the past.

When the current Teen Titans reach the Fortress of Solitude, they're shocked to find the place in a wreck, suggesting a big fight had recently taken place there. And to Jon's horror, he finds his dad trapped in a cage of red kryptonite just outside the fortress. Superman warns his son to stay back, since the red kryptonite will mess with his emotions, but he's too late. Superboy loses control once again, falling into some sort of enraged trance, while a sphere of energy grows around him.

This emotional spike was enough for Raven to locate him, and she teleports herself, Beast Boy and Savior up to the Fortress. Aqualad is able to help Superman break free easy enough, and the Man of Steel immediately goes after Drake, demanding to know what he did to his son. Future Tim explains that since Jon's half-Kryptonian, he doesn't have control of his solar flare ability. And, naturally, Tim argues that Jon has to die today so millions will be saved in the future.

Suddenly, the Titans of Tomorrow arrive in a portal of blue lightning, and they announce their intentions to bring back their teammate. But when they spot Jon in trouble, Cassie immediately jumps to action, throwing her lasso around the growing sphere of golden energy coming from Jon. Beast Boy decides to help, too, by turning into a giant octopus and perching himself on top of the sphere. Cassie order Raven to use her powers to contain the energy, and Superman gets both the Flashes running around the sphere to try to reverse its polarity. Wallace West is surprised that Cassie and Bart know Raven, and Bart casually explains that they know everyone here.

Savior's hand reattaches itself to his body, but then the chronal energy begins attacking the rest of him, and he realizes he only has a few moments before the time-void pulls him out of this era for good. Conner tells Clark he failed Jon once, and he won't fail him again, as the two Supermen fly into the growing sphere of energy. Damian then jumps on Tim's shoulders and begins beating him up, rightfully accusing him of causing this whole mess. But Savior was inspired by the heroes' sacrifice, and he realizes all their efforts at containment aren't working.

Drake tosses Damian off him and tells the Flashes to generate a circulating funnel aimed directly at himself. He announces his plans to save everyone and take all the power with him, as he directs Raven, Beast Boy and Cassie to release the energy. The Flashes' whirlwind worked perfectly and the surge of power blasted Tim, who disappears in a flash of light. Everything quickly falls back to normal and Jon is alright, asking his dad what happened. Superman says, "Someone made things right ... by giving all he had ... to save us!" And on the last page, we see a smiling Savior being flung through the hypertime, past images of all the major DC events.




What a fun story. Future Tim Drake may have been insane, and a little murderous, but he never was fully evil. At the end of the day, all he wanted was to save the world, and he got to do just that. And, of course, we found out the Titans of Tomorrow weren't evil, either. They knew Tim was mentally unstable and they just wanted to help him. Unfortunately, future Bart didn't get to do anything more interesting than run around in a bunch of circles, but it's still nice to see him — especially drawn by Sergio Davila. I hadn't heard of him before this, but now he's one of my favorites. This was a gorgeous comic.

Let's wrap up with the new ads:

Cold as Hell. Swamp Thing: Winter Special.

We then get an eight-page preview of Damage, part of The New Age of DC Heroes.

The DC All Access page is an interview with Justin Jordan, co-writer of Sideways.

To be concluded in Super Sons #12.