Superman: Red Son

For the 2020 film based on the mini series, seeSuperman: Red Son (film).

Superman: Red Sonis a three-issueprestige formatcomic bookmini-seriespublished byDC Comicsthat was released under theirElseworldsimprint in 2003.AuthorMark Millarcreated the comic with the premise "What ifSupermanhad been raised in theSoviet Union?"It received critical acclaim and was nominated for the 2004Eisner Awardfor best limited series.

Superman: Red Son
Cover art from theSuperman: Red Sontrade paperback.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
Schedule	Monthly
Format	Limited series
Genre	Superhero
Publication date	2003
No.of issues	3
Main character(s)	Superman Batman Wonder Woman Lex Luthor Brainiac
Creative team
Written by	Mark Millar
Penciller(s)	Dave Johnson Andrew Robinson Walden Wong Killian Plunkett
Letterer(s)	Ken Lopez
Colorist(s)	Paul Mounts
Editor(s)	Anton Kawasaki Mike McAvennie Maureen McTigue Tom Palmer Jr.
Collected editions
Red Son	ISBN1-4012-0191-1
Deluxe Edition	ISBN1-4012-2425-3

The story mixes alternate versions of DC super-heroes with alternate-reality versions of real political figures such asJoseph StalinandJohn F. Kennedy.The series spans approximately 1953–2001, save for a futuristic epilogue.

InRed Son,Superman's rocket ship lands on aUkrainiancollective farmrather than inKansas.As an adult he becomes a state-sponsored superhero whose civilian identity is kept a state secret, and who in Soviet radio broadcasts, is described not as fighting for "truth, justice, and the American Way", but as "the Champion of the common worker who fights a never-ending battle forStalin,socialism,and the international expansion of theWarsaw Pact".

Publication history

The ideas that made up the story came together over a long stretch of time. Millar said:

Red Sonis based on a thought that flitted through my head when I readSuperman#300 as a six-year-old. It was an imaginary story where Superman's rocket landed in neutral waters between the USA and the USSR and both sides were rushing to claim the baby. As a kid growing up in the shadow of the Cold War, the notion of what might have happened if the Soviets had reached him first just seemed fascinating to me.

As I got older, I started putting everything together and I first pitched something to DC when I was thirteen, I think — although it was in a much cruder form, of course, and my drawings weren't quite up to scratch.

By 1992, he had already developed many of the plot points:

Instead of landing in Kansas as a child, I've decided to explore what could have happened if his rocket would have landed on a collective farm in the Soviet Union. Instead of working for theDaily Planet,he'll be a reporter forPravda.There's a reversal of the current situation, this time it's the U.S.A. that's splitting up withGeorgiaandLouisianademanding independence — tanks rolling through the streets ofNew Orleans.I'll be including a whole bunch of DC characters, likeBatmanandGreen Lantern— who you'll see in a new light.

Grant Morrisonhas given interviews about giving Mark Millar the idea of sending Superman back to the past, as was used in the end ofRed Son.

Certain images from the series are taken from famous comic book covers or panels. A splash panel from the first issue references Superman's pose on the cover ofSuperman#1. Another panel showing riots in the U.S. mimics the cover toAction Comics#1,which was the first appearance of Superman.

Plot

TheSoviet UnionrevealsSupermanto the world in 1953. The news of a superpowered alien under Soviet control causes panic in theUnited States,shifting the focus of theCold Wararms race fromnuclear weaponstometahumans.CIAagentJames OlsenrecruitsLex Luthor,a scientist employed byS.T.A.R. Labs,to destroy Superman. Luthor's first act is to causeSputnik 2to plummet towardsMetropolis.After Superman diverts the satellite away from the city, Luthor retrieves traces of Superman's genetic material from the satellite and uses them to create amonstrous cloneof Superman, whom Lex Luthor names Superman Two.

Art fromSuperman: Red Son,by Dave Johnson.

Meanwhile, Superman meetsWonder Womanat a diplomatic party, and she becomes smitten with him.Pyotr Roslov,the head of theNKVDandJoseph Stalin's illegitimate son, is angry that Superman has turned his father's attention away from him and ended his chances of advancement within the Soviet regime. Pyotr shoots a dissident couple in front of their son for printing anti-Superman propaganda. Stalin dies from cyanide poisoning, and Superman initially refuses command of theCommunist Party.However, a chance meeting withLana Lazarenko,his childhood sweetheart, changes his mind. Superman chooses to use his powers for the greater good and turn his country into a utopia.

TheU.S. governmentsends "Superman Two"to engage Superman, and their duel causes an accidental nuclear missile launch inGreat Britain.The clone sacrifices itself to save millions. Luthor murders his research staff at S.T.A.R. Labs and foundsLuthorCorp,dedicating his life to destroying Superman.

By 1978, the United States is on the verge of social collapse whereas the prosperous Soviet Union has peacefully expanded its influence to nearly every corner of the globe. The cost of this progress is an increased infringement on individual liberties, with Superman fast becoming aBig Brother-like figure, and the introduction of a brain surgery technique that turns dissidents into obedient drones, or "Superman Robots".Superman now works with Wonder Woman to save lives as well as govern the Soviet state. Wonder Woman has become increasingly enamored of Superman, but he considers her simply as a comrade, and is oblivious to her love for him.

Luthor plans to shrinkMoscow,but this plan fails whenBrainiac,his collaborator, shrinksStalingradinstead. Superman intervenes and retrieves both Brainiac's central processing unit and the tiny city, putting an end to the Brainiac-Luthor cooperation. He is unable to restore Stalingrad and its inhabitants to their proper size. This becomes his one failure and a source of great guilt.

Luthor's third plan involves the vigilanteBatman,who was the boy orphaned by Pyotr. Batman joins forces with LuthorCorp and Pyotr, now head of theKGB.They capture Wonder Woman and use her as bait for Superman, hoping to sap his powers with rays that imitate sunlight from Superman's home planet. The plan works, but Superman convinces Wonder Woman to break free of the lasso that she is tied up with and destroy the generators running the lamps emitting the solar energy. She does, severely injuring herself in the process, but the lamps stop running and Superman's powers return. Scared that Superman was going to lobotomize him and turn him into a robot, Batman kills himself as a martyr to his cause. Pyotr is turned into a Superman robot, and Wonder Woman no longer has feelings for Superman, as he shows little to no regard for her injured condition.

Luthor enacts his fourth plan when he finds a mysteriousgreen lanternin an alien ship that crashed atRoswell, New Mexico.Brainiac is reprogrammed into Superman's aide, and the construction of aFortress of Solitude,located inSiberiaand referred to as "The Winter Palace",begins. Superman's reign continues with no crime, poverty, or unemployment, but with an ever-present state authority. Superman is committed to" winning the argument "with the U.S., and repeatedly refuses Brainiac's suggestions of an invasion. Stalingrad remains his one failure,now contained within a protective glass "bottle".

In 2001, the U.S. elects Luthor and Olsen asPresidentandVice President,respectively. Using his scientific expertise, massive economic capital and dictatorial powers, Luthor returns prosperity to his country. This is only a part of a more general plan to provoke Superman into invading the United States. Luthor shows Olsen two of his greatest discoveries: thePhantom Zone,a place that super-hearing cannot reach; and theGreen Lantern Corps.

Luthor confronts Superman in the Winter Palace. Brainiac yanks Luthor deep into the recesses of the Fortress to be converted surgically into a Superman Robot, claiming that Lex would convince Superman to commit suicide in less than 14 minutes. Superman agrees that his hand has been forced, and prepares to attack.

First LadyLois LuthorvisitsParadise Islandto forge an alliance with theAmazonempire, now ruled by an embittered and vengeful Wonder Woman. Superman attacks theEast Coast,confronting and defeating the Green Lantern Marine Corps, which is led by ColonelHal Jordan.The Amazon forces, commanded by Wonder Woman, attack Superman but are quickly defeated, along with a collection of "super-menaces"(including theAtomic Skull,theParasiteandDoomsday) that Luthor had put together over the years. Brainiac's spaceship cuts theU.S. Pacific Fleetto pieces, and the two superbeings meet at theWhite House.They are greeted by Lois Luthor with the last weapon, a small note written by Lex that reads: "Why don't you just put the wholeworldin abottle,Superman? "

Realizing he has meddled in affairs that he had no place in, Superman orders Brainiac to end the invasion. Brainiac, however, reveals it hasneverbeen under Superman's control, and instead attacks Superman withgreen radiation.Brainiac is shut down from inside by Luthor, who evaded the surgery. As thesingularitiespowering Brainiac's ship threaten to collapse, Superman rockets it into space, where it explodes. The Earth is saved, but Superman is apparently dead.

The Soviet Union falls into chaos, but is soon brought back under control thanks to the Batmen (resistance members who began wearing the costume after Batman's death). Luthor integrates many of Superman's and Brainiac's ideas into the new philosophy of "Luthorism" and forms a "Global United States". This becomes the defining moment for mankind's future as it enters an unprecedented age of peace and stability. A benevolent world government is formed and maintained. Luthor presides over a string of scientific achievements, including the curing of all known disease, andcolonization of the solar system.Luthor lives for over 1,000 years.

At Luthor's funeral, it is revealed that Superman survived the explosion of Brainiac's ship and is apparently immortal. Superman attends the funeral wearing a business suit and thick glasses essentially identical to the appearance ofClark Kent,an identity he never adopted in this timeline. Luthor's widow, Lois, sees this mysterious figure in the crowd and, other than an eerie sense ofdeja vu,suspects nothing. Superman walks quietly away from the ceremony, planning to live among humans rather than ruling over them.

Billions of years in the future, Earth is being torn apart by tidal stresses from the sun, which has become ared giant.Luthor's distant descendant,Jor-L,sends his infant son,Kal-L,rocketing back into the past. The final panels of the comic book depict the landing of Kal-L's timeship in a Ukrainian collective in 1938, effectively causing apredestination paradox(and, thus, making Superman a descendant of Luthor and Lois).

Collected editions

WriterMark Millarsigning a copy of the collected edition during an appearance atMidtown Comicsin Manhattan.

In 2004 the story was collected into a 160-pagetrade paperback.(Titan Books,March 2004,ISBN1-84023-801-1)

In 2009, it was collected into a 168-page hardcover Deluxe Edition.(Titan Books, December 2009,ISBN1-84856-431-7)

In other DC Comics

InThe New 52(a reboot of DC's continuity), the alternate Earth depicted inSuperman: Red Sonhas been designated Earth-30. The Superman of Earth-30 also appeared in theCountdown: Arenaseries in 2007, in which he came into conflict with theCold WarU.S.-based Supermen of Earth-31 (The Dark Knight Returns) and Earth-15 (Chris Kent). In 2008, Earth-30 and its Soviet Superman also appeared in theCountdown to Final Crisis:The Search for Ray Palmerstoryline, where it was one of the alternate Earths visited byJason Todd,Donna TroyandKyle Raynerto locate Earth-0's absentAtom(Ray Palmer). Characters fromSuperman: Red Sonalso appeared in theAction ComicsandDetective Comicstie-ins to the "Convergence"storyline, in which they are forced to fight against the heroes from the originalEarth-Two's Metropolis. A promotional comic,Kentucky Fried Chicken Presents: The Colonel Corpshad theColonel Sandersof Earth-30 ( "Comrade Sanders" ) joining with Colonels from other universes to take on Earth-3's evil Colonel Sanders. This Sanders wore anushanka.

In the alternate 1940 setting ofDC Comics Bombshells,StargirlandSupergirlare both Soviet aviators in theNight Witches,which was seen as a nod toSuperman: Red Son.

In March 2018, the Batman featured in this story made a cameo appearance in the sixth issue of theDark Nights: Metalcomic book series.

Merchandise

Figuresbased on characters from the series include Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, President Superman and Green Lantern. A boxset was released in 2008 featuring Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, and a remolded Bizarro.

In other media

Live action

Television

• Thefourth seasonofSupergirladapts concepts from the story. In the third season finale,Supergirlis exposed toblack kryptonite,which creates a clone of her. Her clone ends up in Siberia and is secretly trained by the Soviet military inKazniaunder the codenameSnowbird.When the clone is exposed to Kryptonite gas,Lex Luthorcures her and adopts her asRed Daughter.Red Daughter, using the aliasLinda Lee,works with Lex until he is arrested. Following this, Red Daughter frames Supergirl by attacking theWhite Housedisguised as her. Kara and Lex's sisterLenatravel to Kaznia, where they discover Red Daughter's origins. When Kara attempts to convince the President of the United States about Red Daughter's true nature, she is kidnapped and placed in a room with Red Daughter to be executed, but the clone is exposed to kryptonite while Kara escapes. Red Daughter disguises herself as Kara and threatens her adoptive mother under Lex's orders, who had escaped prison. Kara goes to confront Red Daughter, who supposedly kills her with Lex's help, but Red Daughter later finds out Lex had betrayed Kaznia and framed himself a public hero by killing Red Daughter in front of the world. Red Daughter is revealed to be alive and being held captive at Shelly Island, where he uses her powers, among those of other kidnapped aliens, to power up a satellite to destroyArgo Cityin order to killSuperman.During a confrontation between Lex and Kara, Red Daughter sacrifices herself to save the latter after learning of the former's true nature.
• A different version of Pyotr Roslov appears in season seven episode "Due Process" ofArrow,portrayed by Bruce Blain. He is a former KGB agent, who works as a criminal and isAnatoly Knyazev's colleague. Pyotr has a connection withRicardo DiazandARGUSsends Anatoly to get a data from his computer in the stockroom storage to discover Diaz's plan. When retrieving data, Pyotr discovers his intentions and intends to kill him, but ARGUS kills all criminals and him. ARGUS discovers that Diaz wanted to buy two aerial explosives from him to destroyStar City.

Animation

Film

• In 2013, James Tucker expressed interest in making an animated movie adaptation ofRed SonforDC Universe Animated Original Movies.Theanimated adaptationof the comic was later released as part of this line above.Jason Isaacsstarred as Superman oppositeAmy Ackeras Lois Lane,Diedrich Baderas Lex Luthor, andPaul Williamsas Brainiac, withRoger Craig Smithas Batman andVanessa Marshallas Wonder Woman. Also appearing areWilliam Salyersas Joseph Stalin,Jim MeskimenasJohn F. Kennedy,Phil Morrisas James Olsen,Sasha Roizas Hal Jordan,Phil LaMarrasJohn Stewart,Travis Willinghamas Superior Man, andWinter Zolias Svetlana. Anna Vocino,Greg Chun,Jim WardandJason Spisakwere also in the film.The film was released digitally on February 25, 2020 and on4K Ultra HDandBlu-rayon March 17.
• In 2017,Jordan Vogt-Robertshad pitched a live-action adaptation forSuperman: Red SontoWarner Bros. Picturesbut the studio had passed it on.In 2024,Matthew Vaughnexpressed interest to direct a film adaptation of the comic book starringHenry Cavill,who previously portrayedSupermanin theDC Extended Universe.

Television

• In theJustice League Actionepisode "Keeping Up with the Kryptonians",Mr. Mxyzptlksends Superman to Kasnia, where he becomes a variation of Red Son Superman.

Video games

• The video gameInjustice: Gods Among Usfeatures DLC costumes for Superman, Wonder Woman, Solomon Grundy, Green Lantern, Batman, and Deathstroke as well as missions that are based on theRed Sonstoryline.
  • Said costumes are unlockable in the iOS variation ofInjustice: Gods Among Us,again for Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Deathstroke and Solomon Grundy.
  • TheRed SonSteelBook special edition ofInjustice: Gods Among Us,released in theUnited Kingdom,includes the three character skins for Superman, Wonder Woman and Solomon Grundy and 20 missions set in theRed Sontimeline.
• The gameBatman: Arkham Originshas theRed SonBatman skin in the game's DLC and is a skin in the iOS version of the game.
• Superman'sRed Sonoutfit appears as a costume variant inInjustice 2.In Green Arrow's ending, theRed Sonversion of Batman is part of a Multiverse Justice League with Earth-23 Superman,FlashpointWonder Woman, and the game's version of Green Arrow.

Miscellaneous

• As part of itsmotion comicsseries, DC/Warner released a 12-part adaptation of the story oniTunes,with a new episode being released every week beginning in late July 2009. TheSuperman: Red Sonmotion comic was animated by New Zealand-based Karactaz Animationand featured a select voice cast based in the Los Angeles region. It had received positive reviews from the motion comics communityand has since been released in made-to-order DVD form by WBShop.com.

See also

• List of Elseworlds publications
• Superman: True Brit

Further reading

• Zenker, Gary (2013),Ultimate DC Comics Action Figures and Collectibles Checklist,White Lightning Publishing (ISBN978-0989334471)

External links

• Superman: Red Sonat theGrand Comics Database
• Superman: Red Sonat the Comic Book DB (archived fromthe original)
• Superman: Red SonatIMDb(motion comics adaptation)