4) Superboy And Robin
Speaking of Superboy, Rebirth has seen a strong focus on young Jonathan Kent. Peter J. Tomasi and Richard Gleason have been working together on the popular Superman book, and it’s had a large family focus, culminating in an arc called “In The Name Of The Father.” This teamed up Jonathan Kent’s Superboy with Damian Wayne’s Robin, and built up a great friendship between the two characters – albeit one characterized by spats and arguments.
All that’s leading to a new book, Super Sons, which will star this dynamic duo and explore the legacies of Batman and Superman. In part, a focus on these two characters is DC’s answer to Marvel’s successful ‘Legacy Heroes’; over the past seven years, Marvel’s seen real success in shifting the focus on to the next generation, with popular heroes like Kamala Khan’s Ms. Marvel, Miles Morales’s Ultimate Spider-Man and Riri Williams’s new Ironheart. DC has to be hoping that Superboy and Robin will capture fans’ hearts in just the same kind of way.
I’m not actually expecting Super Sons to be critical to the overarching story of Rebirth, but without a doubt this is a book to watch. It’s a direct challenge to Marvel’s decades-long dominance, a sign of DC’s growing confidence, and a hint of a new direction that will – if successful – continue well beyond the Rebirth era.