Even midway into issue #1, I was pretty certain that Sinister Sons was going to be a hit. Writer Peter J. Tomasi did have a track record with Super-Sons, and there was some solid evidence that the burgeoning partnership between Lor-Zod and Sinson would follow suit.
The issue, then, was that across issue #1, the duo didn’t technically meet — what we got was some solid world-building and individual character development (and a solid tease, of course). And as good as all of that genuinely proved to be, there could have been a complete lack of chemistry once the duo actually met face-to-face.
I’m happy to report, however, that sparks did indeed fly — even if there’s still work for these Sinister Sons to meet their larger villainous potential.
The bulk of this issue takes place as Lor and Sinson battle it out on the former’s ship. It’s sort of like a superpowered bottle episode, where the emotional revelations are replaced with pretty solid superhero action (and pre-teen angst). And, from a visual standpoint, the art team (artists Vasco Georgiev and David Lafuente and colorist Tamra Bonvillain) did a truly splendid job of making the action work toward extending this still-young book.
This chapter, especially, had a slightly more joyous and cartoonish tinge/quality (likely thanks to the addition of Georgiev), and that really added some new layers and emotionality to the boys’ back-and-forth. Specifically, it found a balance between the sweet and endearing and the decidedly intense and serious, and that middle ground was really important in playing up the joy that’s inherent to this book while still respecting these junior baddies as proper characters in their own book. Each of the Sons also has their own fighting style and general “stance” in this world that’s more firmly established in #2, and that just lends more weight to them both individually and collectively.
Courtesy of DC Comics.
At the same time, I think the storyline itself, while still quite effective, was maybe a little iffy in some places. I’d made clear in my review of issue #1 that the Lor-Sinson dynamic wasn’t going to be like that of Damian Wayne and Jon Kent, and that’s made all the more clear in issue #2. Lor and Sinsin both blur the line between playing the jokester and the straight man in ways that the Kent-Wayne dynamic could never reach — it shows a kind of versatility and multifaceted functionality to their pairing. Plus, they both seem equally capable and still very much underwater in terms of their current predicament; the gives them credibility but leaves us with plenty of hilarity and maybe even some endearing moments to further explore.
The issue, then, is that so much of this issue is, as mentioned earlier, a bottle episode in that in takes place between the two in rather tight quarters. It’s a great approach, but I think what worked in issue #1 was that Lor and Sinson interacted with others, and we got to see a more full range of their personalities and perspectives. But so far, up against one another, there’s still not really enough of that variety and texture on display. There’s a spark, sure, but it still lacks something more concrete and weighty.
Courtesy of DC Comics.
We get a pretty solid understanding or idea of their dynamic, but it needs to happen outside of this ship, and in the context of even more travelers, to really inform the grander extent of how these two will eventually work together (or, hilariously enough, not work together). There’s lot of great instances and potential in their ship battle royale, but I do wonder if they’ll have the room and time to fully test themselves and their new unit in a way that feels less isolated and altogether more contextually rich. Because in just that one “room,” there’s still more hijinks than serious emoting and/or maturation.
But the thing that gives me a larger sense of optimism for this series (beyond the fact that both Lor and Sinson are just really interesting and well-developed characters) lies in the rest of the issue. Without revealing too much, their bickering is set against a backdrop of a rather large space animal. It’s not just an interesting enough device and visual, but the design in general speaks to both how alluring this book is becoming as it develops, with a kind of robust magic and vaguely Jack Kirby-esque bent. And from that design (and a teaser for some unknown stranger) we get what this book needs the most: more people, more stakes, and the room to really push this tag team o’tyrannical tykes into third gear.
Sinister Sons has already proven itself to be separate from and still just as intriguing as the Super-Sons. If the creators can really delve into the Lor-Sinson dynamic with even more depth and honesty, and give the lads some added room to play, then the universe truly is the limits for this feel-good, wholly thoughtful piece of pure comics fun.
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