The Super Sons reunite in DC Comics’ Robin Special to fight crime at the Fortress of Solitude and prevent time’s speedy curse from ruining their get-together. Superboy (now Superman) and Robin battle against Nazis and alien creatures while dealing with their own issues from the past when they realize time is a double-edged sword.
During the Rebirth era, fans loved the complimentary dynamic between Superman’s son, Jon Kent, and Batman’s son, Damian Wayne. While their relationship started off rocky, Jon Kent and Damian Wayne grew into close friends. They understood each other since both kids have two of the biggest DC superhero names as their fathers. Sadly, the two grew apart in the last several years because Jon aged up and now bears the responsibility and mantle of Superman. Their team-ups together have not been the same.
The Super Sons special highlights how Superboy’s age change is not just upsetting for fans but also for characters in the DC Universe. In Superman & Robin Special #1, written by Peter J. Tomasi and penciled by Viktor Bogdanovic, Jon enjoys watching children’s cartoons and eating cereal for dinner when Lois interrupts him and calls it childish. The two sit down and discuss their life changes when Lois its she tries to forget how her and Clark missed out on watching their son grow up. Jon agrees with Lois and mentions how he feels robbed that he had to miss out on a normal childhood.
Additionally, the comic's focus on time shows how growing up too fast is a problem. Jon and Robin discover an alien creature roaming about the Fortress of Solitude. They notice that the creature is aging and growing bigger by the second so they “need to get the creature back to its home environment, or it’ll keep aging and die.” Once they send the creature home, Damian says “he liked hanging out with Jon again” and “misses his friend” because there are few people who genuinely understand him. This problem is an example of how growing up too fast can harm someone’s well-being.
Damian’s emotional confession indicates that Jon’s aging makes it hard for those around him to adjust, causing his family to miss the younger, more relatable version of Superboy. Although the two superheroes have gone their separate ways, Superman & Robin Special #1 highlights how DC Comics creators continue making an effort to show the Super Sons dynamic between Robin and Superboy remains the same after all these years.
