Super-Sons

The Super-Sons are a pair of fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The characters were created by Bob Haney and Dick Dillin and first appeared in World's Finest Comics #215 (January 1973).[1] The characters were featured in stories about the sons of Superman and Batman.[2]

Super Sons
Cover of World's Finest Comics #215 (January 1973).
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceWorld's Finest Comics #215 (January 1973)
Created byBob Haney
Dick Dillin
In-story information
Alter egoClark Kent Jr.
Bruce Wayne Jr.
SpeciesHuman/Kryptonian
Human
Place of originEarth-One (Pre-Crisis computer simulations)
Earth-216
Earth-154 (Infinite Crisis)
Earth-16 (Post-Infinite Crisis)
AbilitiesClark Kent Jr.:
Abilities equivalent to those of Superman, but at half the power level
Bruce Wayne Jr.:
No superhuman powers; highly trained fighter and athlete, armed with Batman-type gadgets

In 2017, DC Comics launched a Super Sons monthly comic book series featuring new versions of the characters, going by the names Superboy (Jonathan Kent, the son of Superman and Lois Lane), and Robin (Damian Wayne, the son of Batman and Talia al Ghul).

Publication history

The Super-Sons first appeared together in World's Finest Comics #154 (December 1965). Batman's imaginary son was seen first in Batman #131 (April 1960), Batman #145 (February 1962) and Batman #163 (May 1964). The Super-Sons, Superman Jr. (Clark Kent Jr.) and Batman Jr. (Bruce Wayne Jr.), were college-aged versions of their superhero fathers. Their mothers are never referred to by name, nor are their faces ever shown, though Superman's wife is dark-haired and Batman's wife is a redhead. The Super-Sons look almost exactly like their fathers and wear identical costumes. The characters spoke with a slightly exaggerated version of the slang popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. They regard each other as brothers since both understand the pressures involved in being the son of a living legend. Like his father, Batman Jr. has no superhuman powers and relies on athletic prowess and gadgets. Superman Jr., who is only half-Kryptonian, has powers levels of only half that of Superman, Sr.

Although the very first Super-Sons appearance stated that these were actual stories in the lives of Superman and Batman, the final story in World's Finest #263, "Final Secret of the Super-Sons", written by Dennis O'Neil, revealed that the Sons had never really existed — they were merely computer simulations of what might have been, created by Superman and Batman on the Man of Steel's computer in his Fortress of Solitude.

They later inspired the characters Joel Kent and Bruce Wayne Jr. in the three Superman & Batman: Generations comic book series.

It was thought that the events of the Crisis on Infinite Earths limited series had erased Superman Jr. and Batman Jr. from DC continuity, but this assumption was later shown to be incorrect.[3]

A Super-Sons story by Bob Haney was published in the comic special Elseworlds 80-Page Giant (1999). In "Elseworlds" tales, "heroes are taken from their usual settings and put into strange times and places – some that have existed, and others that can't, couldn't or shouldn't exist". Eventually, the Super-Sons reality would be named Earth-216 and designated a Hypertime reality unaffected by the Crisis.[4]

The Earth-154 variant of the Super-Sons (and their fathers) appear briefly during the Infinite Crisis limited series, during which time Alexander Luthor, Jr. of Earth-Three warps reality in an attempt to restore the DC Multiverse. Their planet and countless other Earths later contract into a single "New Earth".[5] In the limited series 52, it is revealed that 52 identical parallel universes were created. During his subsequent attempt to consume the multiverse, the evil Venusian worm Mister Mind altered each of the parallel worlds, creating distinct histories for each.[6] According to DC Nation #89, one of those worlds is Earth-16, home of the Super-Sons.[7]

In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, the Super-Sons (Chris Kent as Superman and Damian Wayne as Batman) reside on Earth-16 as members of the Just—the sons and daughters of the classic JLA who have inherited a crimeless, utopian universe and so live as idle celebrities.[8]

The Super-Sons stories

The titles of the individual 'Parts' of the stories are presented here as they were written in the comic books; in other words, that of Part Two of Little Town With A Big Secret was actually shown in quotation marks and the number of The Angel With A Dirty Name Part 3 was in numerical form rather than being spelled out, as were the previous two parts. These variations have thus been reflected below and are not mistakes.

Unlike the other stories, Saga of the Super Sons and Final Secret of the Super Sons were not divided into parts.

It should also be pointed out that 'Super Sons' was spelled both on the story titles and on the cover of DC Comics' trade-paperback collection without a hyphen, as here.

In World's Finest Comics, the title of the series as given on the stories themselves tended to vary from issue to issue, i.e., Superman and Batman, Superman, Batman and their Super-Sons etc. These variations have been mentioned where they occur. Cry Not For My Forsaken Son bore only its story title and no series title was given to it at all.

Title Issue Date Writer Artist(s)
Superman and Batman:
Saga of the Super Sons
World’s Finest Comics #215 January 1973 Bob Haney Dick Dillin,
Henry Scarpelli
Superman, Batman and their Super-Sons:
Little Town with a Big Secret
World’s Finest Comics #216 March 1973 Bob Haney Dick Dillin,
Murphy Anderson
(Part One is untitled)
Part Two: "The People Without Shadows"
Part Three: Children of the Universe
Cry Not For My Forsaken Son World’s Finest Comics #221 February 1974 Bob Haney Dick Dillin,
Murphy Anderson
Part 1: Sharper Than A Serpent’s Tooth
Part 2: Rendezvous on Massacre Island
Part 3: Just an Ordinary Hero
Superman Junior and Batman Junior:
Evil in Paradise
World’s Finest Comics #222 April 1974 Bob Haney Dick Dillin,
Vince Colletta
(Part 1 is untitled)
Part 2: The Human Test Tube
Part 3: Who the Killer, Who the Prey?
Superman and Batman:
The Shocking Switch of the Super Sons
World’s Finest Comics #224 June/July 1974 Bob Haney Dick Dillin,
Vince Colletta
Part 1: A Chasm So Wide...!
Part 2: The Mighty Marauder
Part 3: The Breath of Death
Superman, Batman and their Sons, co-starring Robin:
Crown for a New Batman
World’s Finest Comics #228 March 1975 Bob Haney Dick Dillin,
Tex Blaisdell
Part 1: Avenge Thy Father
Part 2: The Riddle of Smoke Island
Part 3: Tomb of Ice
Superman and Batman and their Sons:
The Girl Whom Time Forgot
World’s Finest Comics #230 May 1975 Bob Haney Curt Swan,
Tex Blaisdell
Part 1: What the Satellite Saw
Part 2: The Silent City
Part 3: Sins of the Fathers
Superman, Batman and their Super Sons:
Hero is a Dirty Name
World’s Finest Comics #231 July 1975 Bob Haney Dick Dillin,
Tex Blaisdell
Part 1: Fathers on Trial
Part 2: Unwelcome Allies
Part 3: The Weather Bomb
Superman & Batman and their Super-Sons:
World Without Men
World’s Finest Comics #233 October 1975 Bob Haney Dick Dillin,
John Calnan
Part 1: Big Sister is Watching You
Part 2: The Greatest Hate
Superman, Batman and their Super Sons:
The Angel with a Dirty Name
World’s Finest Comics #238 June 1976 Bob Haney Dick Dillin,
John Calnan
Part One: Those Who Play the Puppets
Part Two: The Plague Giants
Part 3: Between Two Worlds
The Super Sons of Superman and Batman:
Town of the Timeless Killers
World’s Finest Comics #242 December 1976 Bob Haney Ernie Chan,
John Calnan
Part 1: Trio of Fear
Part 2: He Whom Evil Fights
Part 3: The Epitaph that Saved a Superman
Superman and Batman:
Final Secret of the Super Sons
World’s Finest Comics #263 July 1980 Dennis O'Neil Rich Buckler,
Dick Giordano
Superman Jr. is no More! Elseworlds 80-Page Giant #1 June 1999 Bob Haney Kieron Dwyer

Collected edition

In December 2007, DC Comics published a trade paperback collection of the series entitled Superman/Batman: Saga of the Super Sons. It collects the stories from: World's Finest Comics #215–216, 221–222, 224, 228, 230, 231, 233, 238, 242, and 263 and Elseworlds 80-Page Giant #1. The story in World's Finest Comics #263 is written by Dennis O'Neil, all the others by Bob Haney.ISBN 1-4012-1502-5

Super Sons (2017)

Superboy and Robin on the cover of Super Sons #10, art by Jorge Jimenez.

DC Comics presented a new version of the Super Sons in 2017. The two central characters are Damian Wayne, son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul, and Jonathan Kent, son of Clark Kent and Lois Lane. The former is 13 years of age in this version (as of the 80-page DC Rebirth Holiday Special #1), while the latter is 10 years old. The advance releases describe them as "best frenemies forever" who will save the world together "if they don't kill each other first".[9] The series was launched in February 2017 and ended in May 2018 with 16 issues and one Annual.

Adventures of the Super Sons, a 12-issue miniseries serves as a continuation of the Super Sons series, with Peter J. Tomasi as the writer and art by Carlo Barberi and Art Thibert.[10] The first issue was released in August 2018, while the final issue was released in July 2019.

DC Comics released a digital-first series, Challenge of the Super Sons, from December 2020 to April 2021.

They were also featured in four one-shot stories: Superman & Robin Special (2022), "Back to School" (DC's Saved by Belle Reve anthology) (2022), "Trick or Treat" (DC's Terrors Through Time anthology) (2022), and Flash #797 (2023). They also appeared as adults in Tom King's Wonder Woman (2023), in a back up story that takes place many years in the future.[11]

An alternate version of the Super Sons named the Bizarro Boyz appeared in the four-part story "Boyzarro Re-Death".[12] Robzarro was a member of the Bizarro Boyz, along with Boyzarro. Both the team name and character names were influenced by fans on social media.[13]

Another alternate version appeared in the DCeased comic book series, in a world where a corrupted version of the Anti-Life Equation has infected most of Earth's inhabitants with a zombie-like virus.[14]

Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent also featured a version of the Super Sons, where Prime Earth's Jon Kent teamed up with Damian Wayne from the world of Injustice.[15]

Collected editions

Title Material collected Pages Publication date ISBN
Super Sons Vol. 1: When I Grow Up Super Sons #1–5 128 October 17, 2017 978-1401274016
Super Sons Vol. 2: Planet of the Capes Super Sons #6–10 121 March 13, 2018 978-1401278465
Super Sons of Tomorrow Super Sons #11–12, Superman (vol. 4) #37–38, Teen Titans (vol. 6) #15 124 July 3, 2018 978-1401282394
Super Sons Vol. 3: Parent Trap Super Sons #13–16, Annual #1 135 October 2, 2018 978-1401284466
Super Sons Omnibus Super Sons #1–16, Annual #1; Superman (vol. 4) #10–11, 37–38; Teen Titans (vol. 6) #15; DC Rebirth Holiday Special #1 608 December 24, 2018 978-1401285579
Adventures of the Super Sons Vol. 1: Action Detectives Adventures of the Super Sons #1–6 144 April 16, 2019 978-1401290580
Adventures of the Super Sons Vol. 2: Little Monsters Adventures of the Super Sons #7–12 144 November 26, 2019 978-1401295073
Super Sons Omnibus: Expanded Edition Super Sons #1–16, Annual #1; Superman (vol. 4) #10–11, 37–38; Teen Titans (vol. 6) #15; DC Rebirth Holiday Special #1; Adventures of the Super Sons #1–12 888 November 24, 2020 978-1779506665
Challenge of the Super Sons Challenge of the Super Sons #1-7 168 March 29, 2022 978-1779515100
Super Sons Omnibus Super Duper Edition Super Sons #1-16, Super Sons Annual #1; Super Sons/Dynomutt Special #1; Adventures of the Super Sons #1-12; Challenge of the Super Sons #1-7; Superman (vol. 4) #10–11; Teen Titans (vol. 6) #15; and "My Best Friend" from Robin 80th Anniversary Super Spectacular #1 1056 October 31, 2023 978-1779524065

Graphic novel

The Super Sons, Jon Kent and Damian "Ian" Wayne, are featured in a three-part graphic novel series by author Ridley Pearson and artist Ile Gonzalez. The first book, Super Sons: The Polarshield Project was released in April 2019.[16] Book two, Super Sons: The Foxglove Mission was released in November 2019.[17] The third book Super Sons: Escape to Landis was released in October 2020.

In other media

References

  1. "1970s". DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. Dorling Kindersley. 2010. p. 157. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9. Scribe Bob Haney and artist Dick Dillin introduced the DC Universe to an alternate timeline starring the World's Finest offspring in January's World's Finest Comics #215.
  2. Sacks, Jason; Dallas, Keith (2014). American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1970s. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 82. ISBN 978-1605490564.
  3. The Kingdom #2
  4. Crisis on Infinite Earths: Absolute Edition
  5. Infinite Crisis #6 (May 2006)
  6. 52 #52 (May 2, 2007)
  7. DC Nation #89 appears in comics published on November 28, 2007, such as Countdown to Final Crisis #22.
  8. The Multiversity #3
  9. Johnston, Rich (April 11, 2016). "Jorge Jimenez' Sketches For Super Sons – Damian Wayne And Jonathan Kent". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
  10. Foxe, Steve (May 21, 2016). "Get the Exclusive Scoop on Adventures of the Super Sons From Writer Peter J. Tomasi". Paste Magazine.
  11. Brooke, David (September 15, 2023). "Full December 2023 DC Comics solicitations: 'Beast World' busts out". AIPT Comics.
  12. Patrick Gleason, Peter J. Tomasi (w), Patrick Gleason, Doug Mahnke (p). "Boyzarro Re-Death" Superman, vol. 4, no. 42–45 (2018).
  13. "Patrick Gleason – Boyzarro". Twitter. November 22, 2017.
  14. Quaintance, Zack (May 19, 2020). "Surprise! You can read a new digital DCeased series today". Comic Beats.
  15. Terror, Jude (July 1, 2023). "Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #5 Preview: Against the World". Bleeding Cool.
  16. "WATCH THE FIRST TRAILER FOR 'SUPER SONS: THE POLARSHIELD PROJECT'". DC Comics. March 18, 2019.
  17. "Ridley Pearson's Super Son Sequel – The Foxglove Mission". Bleeding Cool. March 9, 2019.
  18. Andreeva, Nellie (February 5, 2020). "Superman & Lois Casts Couple's Sons As Jordan Elsass & Alexander Garfin Join the CW Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
  19. ""Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons" Coming October 18". Superman Homepage. June 30, 2022.
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