STORY STUDY - MEDIUM: COMICS/GRAPHIC NOVELS - “Superman: Red Son”

I love alternate universes.

I love seeing how established characters live out another life path. Sometimes it can be karmic, sometimes it can be humorous, and sometimes it’s just an interesting idea being played out.

And DC is just filled with them with their “Elseworlds” stories.

In this week’s case, we will be exploring the world of Superman: Red Son.

Written by Mark Millar, penciled by Dave Johnson & Kilian Plunkett, and inked by Andrew Robinson & Walden Wong, Superman: Red Son is a 3-issue story that asks the question: “What if Superman was raised in the Soviet Union?”

Superman still retains his morals in that he wants save everyone in the world, not just his home country.

At his youth, Superman is beloved by his people, such as Joseph Stalin, as well as hated, such as Stalin’s illegitimate child, Pyotr Roslov.

Wonder Woman/Princess Diana still exists, retaining her traditional backstory as a warrior from Themyscira who has feelings for Superman when we are introduced to her.

However, Bruce Wayne/Batman has somewhat of a different origin story. His parents are still killed, but by Roslov under orders of purging of anyone with anti-Superman sentiments. He grows up to be a rebel against Superman and the Soviet Union.

So who is America’s savior or equivalent of one? Why it’s Lex Luthor, of course, who in this universe is introduced as a scientist. He is married to Lois Lane, who is still a reporter working for the Daily Planet in Metropolis.

Superman has taken over the Soviet Union after Stalin is poisoned. He hopes to fix the problems of his country, a task he eventually succeeds in doing. However, this makes him into a Big Brother-type figure stripping everyone in the Soviet Union of their individuality, and turning anyone against him into obedient drones via brain surgery.

I was aware of the comic in passing, and in wanting to read a Superman comic, I quickly bought it, which it became the first comic paperback I ever bought.

The tragedy of what happens to the character and this particular universe surprised me. I won’t go into detail, but it did quite shock me.