Super Sons #2 review

Superboy and Robin have some 'splainin' to do. They've been caught trying to break into Lexcorp by the man who would be Superman himself, Lex Luthor. 

Of course, Robin has a plan

I didn't say it was a nice plan. This is not the way to stoke the fires of a burgeoning friendship. Still, it helps the Super Sons escape Luthor without him learning who Jon is, and Robin - Damian Wayne - gets information he's after on recent break-ins  at the company. 

This is another excellent look at how a partnership is formed. Their dads may be the World's Finest Team, but they weren't always. They had to get to know one another and that means misunderstandings, accidental slights, bad assumptions... and lots of fun. Watching Jon learn to enjoy point scoring without abandoning his essential sweetness makes for an entertaining ride. 

But that's not all there is. The LexCorp burglar turns out to be Reggie, the sinister kid we met in last issue's prologue. And he's shown to be not just a future foil for Damian and Jon, but a murderer. 

Now, I try to review books for what they are, not what I want them to be. So I must praise writer Peter J Tomasi and artist Jorge Jimenez for the craft on display. The choreography of the slaughter scene is pure Hitchcock. We don't see the killings in graphic detail, it's a matter of before and after - the set-up for the blows, the reactions of a terrified young girl, and the corpses, blood gathering in pools around them. But it really wasn't what I was expecting in a series about a couple of kid superheroes, one not even a teenager. And the fact that this is a young boy revelling in slaying his family somehow makes it all the worse; I guess DC don't want this to be an all-ages books, and to be fair, it is rated T for Teen on the cover. The thing is, though, Tomasi's Damian and Jon are so appealing, it's a shame their stories aren't suitable for younger kids who might imagine their way into their adventures. 

Moving on... Tomasi's dialogue for the young heroes is a delight, underlining the individual characters as it builds their relationship. The encounter with Lex is a fine romp, and family annihilation apart, Reggie - aka Kid Amazo - has potential. Jimenez once more supplies dazzlingly liquid artwork, filling the cast members with life as he demonstrates a real flair for storytelling. Colourist Alejandro Sanchez adds to the vibrancy, with the moody splash page showing what a knack he has for lighting. Every page has something to like, but my favourite has to be that bound-to-be-historic first meeting of Lex and Damian. I do hope Lex has skulked back to his lab to develop a Bald That Boy Wonder spray...

The main cover by Jimenez and Sanchez, and variant by Dustin Nguyen, are both decent, if not classics. 

Super Sons #2 is another issue almost guaranteed to put a smile on your face; before it does that, though, prepare for a grim beginning.