*This article contains spoilers for Superboy: Man of Tomorrow #2 (2023)*
It’s Superboy vs The Cosmoteers vs. The Dominators! For a story that exists only because it won a contest, also known as DC’s Round Robin 2022 competition, this is a fantastic story. It builds on Superboy’s genetic lore and proves there are more like him in the DC Universe. Though these new clones are byproducts of the Dominators, they will soon be like family to the boy of steel.
The Cosmoteers have caused the Dominators to retreat—apparently, the war between these two groups has been long lasting and Superboy just so happened to wind up in the middle. Believing Superboy to be a Dominator clone, the Cosmoteers consider killing Superboy—this comes after killing a host of other Dominator killer clones. Superboy, being as big a boy scout as his DNA donor is (Superman), demands that the killing stop. He recognizes the recklessness and danger the Cosmoteers present after they Cosmoteers kill a giant clone and allow it to fall and kill innocent civilians—or at least they would have if not for Superboy catching the giant clone corpse before squashing the civilians.
After the battle, the Cosmoteers place a collar on Superboy and drag him away with their ship.
The backstory of the Cosmoteers: The Dominators tried creating bio-warriors, soldiers who could conquer the universe. Though this process was not fast and efficient enough. So, the move toward cloning was made. Travv, Pira, and Rotur-Za, were cloned to be “planet-disrupting super-soldier”, but they defected and started an anti-dominator campaign—freeing clones across the cosmos!
The Cosmoteers then face a regenerating monster, and lucky for them, Superboy frees himself of his collar with his tactile telekinesis. And instead of killing the beast, as the Cosmoteers were trying, they knock it unconscious and trap it in a test tube. All thanks to Superboy!
The issue ends with the Dominators returning to the Cosmoteers with a small fleet. While they fire at Superboy and the Cosmoteers, Superboy slips outside the ship and uses his tactile telekinesis to save the ship. It looks like he may have found his new team.
Superboy has come a distance from the 1990s. It has been about 20 years since the character first appeared in Reign of the Supermen, and though he had a long comic run in the 1990s, he hasn’t been in the spotlight for a while. However, this comic series is a perfect revival; a great way to examine the character with a microscope. Superboy has never really found himself before, yet here he is building his own way along with the rest of DC in the Dawn of DC initiative. I highly recommend this series.
Rating: 4.5/5 Stars. This comic has our current highest rating at 4.5 —it’s a space adventure and love letter to the clone of steel. The author’s love for this character and for story shows. A well paced and naturally progressing story, DC is nailing it.
Suggested reading: Reign of the Supermen (1993) is a great storyline which reveals the original origins of Kon-El.
Superboy (1994), is a fun series which will get you familiar with Kon-El and his time being the hero of Hawaii.
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