Challenge of the Super Sons #8 just sent Damian Wayne and Jon Kent into a Tron-esque virtual reality world to save a Justice League hero.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Challenge of the Super Sons #8 by Peter Tomasi, Max Raynor, Luis Guerrero, and Rob Leigh, on sale now.
Challenge of the Super Sons has been a showcase for how smart Damian Wayne can be on his own, outside of his usual adventures with the Bat-Family. In these flashback stories, Robin is getting to cut loose a bit more as he schools Jon Kent’s Superboy on what a hero really should be, serving up a few comedic tales with their unique dynamic.
And in Challenge of the Super Sons #08, Damian kicks it up a notch by showing Jon why he’s not the average genius by suiting up in armor that would make Tony Stark proud in a Tron-esque virtual reality world.
Using the Doom Scroll, the Super Sons have been jumping around the time stream, saving Justice League heroes without them knowing. They don’t want to mess with history, so bit by bit, they’re shutting down traps left by Vandal Savage and Felix Faust as their latest adventure taking them to the Detroit Hall of Science.
There, Cyborg’s plugged into the Pascaline, the world’s first computer, but it’s another trap that’s allowing his evil counterpart, Grid, to take over his body. The Grid is basically a self-aware virus with a personality, not unlike the MCU’s Ultron, that wants to use Cyborg as a host to decimate humanity. Now, it’s starting to succeed, which encourages Damian to hack into his mainframe using VR headsets.
And when he gets in, the Super Sons find a Tron-like scenario as they can outfit their digital avatars how they want. Jon picks a horse to ride, having grown up on a farm, while Damian dons a robotic virtual reality suit, not unlike some of Toyn Stark’s Iron Man suits around the Iron Man 2020 event.
Once they’re in Grid’s territory, the entity gets the upper hand, making it clear that no one can repogram what’s happening. But as the boys break free, though, Damian once more shows how deft he is in this digital realm by allowing Jon to dip into his mind and unleash a Super Sons virus, perging all of the harmful presences within Cyborg’s system.
Together, the Super Sons erase Grid for the moment and clear up Vic Stone’s circuitry in one of the few happy stories Damian has found himself in recently, especially since he spent his most recent days on the Titans coming up with lethal devices and prisons. While his tech skills leave Jon in awe, the fact he can outsmart Grid makes it clear that Damian is just as much of a genius as his father Batman.
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