Hope has come back to the DC Universe.
James Gunn has officially revealed his slate of upcoming movies and television shows for the first stage of his new universe, dubbed Chapter One: Gods and Monsters. Among those projects were films featuring two of DC’s big three, Batman and Superman.
For Superman, a younger version of the character will be featured in Superman: Legacy, while Batman — and this is separate from The Batman – Part II — will star in The Brave and the Bold. That flick will follow Batman and his assassin-raised son, Damian Wayne. With both films set in the main DCU continuity, it leads to some intriguing possibilities.
Since we are getting a Batman movie with Damian, will Superman: Legacy lead to a Super Sons movie?
Who are the Super Sons?
The Super Sons were created in 1973 by Bob Haney and Dick Dillin, in World’s Finest Comics #215. However, these versions of the characters were Clark Kent Jr. and Bruce Wayne Jr., the imaginary sons of Batman and Superman. They were later reintroduced in the ill-fated DC Comics relaunch, The New 52. This time they were Damian and Chris Kent, the adoptive son of Clark and Lois and the biological son of General Zod and Ursa.
The modern version of the Super Sons, and arguably the most popular version of the partnership, was introduced in 2017 by Peter J. Tomasi and Jorge Jimenez under yet another relaunch, DC Rebirth. This version consisted of Damian again, but this time he was joined by Jonathan Kent. You already know Damian, aka Robin, the son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al-Ghul. While Jon, the other half of the Super Sons, is Superboy, the son of Clark Kent and Lois Lane. At some points in the source material, both Jon and Damian have taken over their fathers’ mantles, becoming Superman and Batman respectively.
As you can imagine, since 1973 there have been more than a few comic book runs featuring the pair, usually in books named Super Sons or in World’s Finest, the classic Batman and Superman team-up comic book series. Both Robin and Superboy fight crime together, so the Super Sons are the younger equivalent of the World’s Finest. You might already be familiar with the partnership from their appearance in the 2022 animated film, Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons.
It begs the question, is James Gunn attempting to form a live-action Super Sons team by having Superman and Batman movies in a shared universe? He very well could be. One of the benefits of a shared universe is that you can get different characters to interact with each other once in a while. Instead of rushing to another Justice League movie, it might be a better approach to grow these characters in their own films, whether it be something like World’s Finest or Super Sons.
There is one major issue with introducing the Super Sons into the DCU. Gunn has already stated in the past that Superman in Superman: Legacy will be a younger Superman, which seems to be one of the main reasons that he won’t be played by Henry Cavill. If Superman is going to be younger, it does not seem like he will be old enough to have a child. Therefore, if they do eventually introduce Jon Kent as a baby, he and Damian won’t be close enough in age for the Super Sons concept to work.
What could occur instead is that Superman: Legacy introduces Lois’s pregnancy, and then the next entry in the Superman series features Jon at the same age as Damian, balancing out for a future Super Sons film. Starting a DCU with a muddled timeline would probably not be the best thing for the blossoming franchise. Instead, the plot could follow Jon Kent’s story in the books, and he could go to a distant planet to come back aged up. That would allow for a young Superman, and a slightly older Batman, with both Jon and Damian as children the same age.
If you ask Superboy fans, most of them will tell you that storyline was not exactly well-received. There is another possibility as well. What could be happening is that Gunn is throwing us all for a loop, and Superman: Legacy won’t be focused on Clark Kent’s Superman at all, but on a younger Superman, Jon Kent. This would make sense, especially seeing as Cavill was not brought back.
Of course, this is just speculation, and we are not saying that Gunn has cast aside Clark Kent in favor of his son. Still, with a name like Superman: Legacy, it is a natural conclusion to draw. After all, one of the first things that comes to mind when you think of a legacy is children. Because it is the beginning of the new DCU, it does seem unlikely that Gunn will start by introducing legacy characters. There is always the possibility that Clark won’t be as young as we think, and he and Lois will have already had Jon by the time the film begins. Even though that would solve the aging problem, it doesn’t quite fit with the Superman: Legacy that Gunn has described.
Ultimately, this new DCU could be leading to a Super Sons team-up project, whether it is in the shape of a movie, series, animated project, or video game. Because of the timeline as it has been laid out, it seems unlikely that a sequel to Superman: Legacy will be a Super Sons movie. That does not mean that a sequel could not incorporate the children in some way. For example, what might make the most sense is having Lois pregnant with Jon in Superman: Legacy, with The Brave and the Bold introducing a child Jon as a way of grounding the timeline. Then a spinoff to The Brave and the Bold could be a Super Sons movie while the sequel to Superman: Legacy could be a story about Lois and Clark raising their baby, set before The Brave and the Bold.
However this shakes out, it’s good to see that the DCU has a plan. Even if we don’t know exactly what is in store for us over the next decade, it seems like it’s going to be a fun ride. We should find out more about the prospect of a Super Sons project after Superman: Legacy releases on July 11, 2025.
