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Superman: Red Son

by Mark Millar, Dave Johnson (Illustrator), Kilian Plunkett (Illustrator), Andrew Robinson (Illustrator), Walden Wong (Illustrator)

4.07 · rating details · 4,506 ratings · 304 reviews

Strange visitor from another world who can change the course of mighty rivers, bend steel in his bare hands ... and who, as the champion of the common worker, fights a never-ending battle for Stalin, Socialism, and the international expansion of the Warsaw Pact.

In this Elseworlds tale, a familiar rocketship crash-lands on Earth carrying an infant who will one d...more

Paperback, 160 pages

Published February 1st 2004 by DC Comics

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Jan 08, 2011

Bird Brian rated it

Shelves: comix

Alternative history stories are like dream sequences. You get to do all sorts of things you would never do to your beloved characters in "real life"... but it's okay! They're in "just kidding" mode, so anything goes! When it's all over, the franchise will be intact like nothing happened -because it didn't. Wanna see Superman kill Batman? We got it here! Wanna see Batman tie up Wonder Woman with her own golden lasso, in a way that makes you feel a little bit sorry for her, but is also damn sexy? Come and get it! Wanna see Wonder Woman break free and kick Batman's ass in a way that's even sexier? Buy it while supplies last!

The premise is great: instead of crashing in Kansas and being raised by the wholesome Kent family, what if Superman had crash landed on a collective farm in the Ukrane, and been raised in Stalin's Soviet system? The writing is very thoughtful about this... how it would have changed the Cold War, what America's response would have been, even how the lives of Lex Luthor, Lois Lane, and Jimmy Olsen would have been different. There are also some other little details thrown in, which worked well. JFK didn't get assassinated. He divorced Jackie, married Marilyn, and won a second term. Also, in a computer "error" which nods to Diebold, Lex Luthor wins the American Presidency by 101% of the popular vote. I liked all of that. Supes is the same well-intentioned guy he always was, except here he's drunk the Marxist Kool-Aid, so he's brainwashed with all the heavy-handed ideology about the Workers' Paradise and so on. It's probably what fans bought this edition to see, and fortunately the writers don't wear it too thin.

The illustrations deserve special recognition, because the whole setting has a true, otherworldly "alternative history" feel. Also, the Russification of the costumes was very well done. I particularly like Batman in Russified form:
Russified Batman

Complaint Dept
Okay, so nothing's perfect. Overall, this was a great comic, and well worth the time and money spent to enjoy it. There were, however, a few elements that annoyed me:
1) Joseph Stalin is portrayed as genuinely believing the ideology of Marx and Lenin, and enthusiastic for the opportunity Superman presents to spread them. I would argue that Stalin only saw these philosophies as a convenient avenue to power. When Koba privately gushes over what Superman will mean for the workers of the world? ...that doesn't fly with me. Stalin would have used Superman to consolidate and expand his own power. If he couldn't control Superman, he would have been looking for a way to kill him.
2) In the regular franchise, Lex Luthor is supposed to be smart, but not as ridiculously smart as we get here. He simultaneously plays chess on 81 different chessboards (and wins every single game, natch), while teaching himself Urdu, and redesigning the Dept of Energy's supercomputer?? WTF is this? -a cartoon? Let's keep it real, folks!
3) The writers' ideas about economics and politics are very naive. In one scene, Luthor proves his genius (once again) by providing a government official with "the formula" which will allow Congress to balance the budget! ...as if everybody wants to balance the budget, but they just aren't sure what numbers would bring it into balance! I guess once they have the formula, they'll forget about earmarks, porkbarrel spending, and expensive projects to enrich their own districts? Gimme a break!
4) ***SPOILER ALERT*** The suprise ending was so close, yet missed the mark. The last two pages would have been perfect, if they would have chosen any other time and place, so as to suggest new possibilities, or a tie-in to the canonical Superman world. Making the whole story a recursive loop was just lame. (less)

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Mar 13, 2010

Brad rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: comic-books, graphic-novel, sci-fantasy, speculative, counter-fantastical

What a fantastic idea. A counter-fantastical take on Superman, where the once Clark Kent comes to Earth in a communal farm in the Ukraine, USSR rather than the Kent farm outside Smallville, USA. Twelve hours difference in Superman's arrival is twelve hours that make all the difference.

Soviet Superman works for Stalin instead of Eisenhower, and the Cold War takes a very different turn. The Warsaw Pact comes to dominate the Earth. Nixon is assassinated, Kennedy becomes a debauched old ...moreWhat a fantastic idea. A counter-fantastical take on Superman, where the once Clark Kent comes to Earth in a communal farm in the Ukraine, USSR rather than the Kent farm outside Smallville, USA. Twelve hours difference in Superman's arrival is twelve hours that make all the difference.

Soviet Superman works for Stalin instead of Eisenhower, and the Cold War takes a very different turn. The Warsaw Pact comes to dominate the Earth. Nixon is assassinated, Kennedy becomes a debauched old fool, Lex Luthor marries Lois Lane, James Olson is a CIA liaison, Milton Friedman becomes US President and ensures that only Chile and the USA maintain a free market economy, and Luthor creates Bizarro, a Green Lantern army, and countless supervillains -- all in an attempt to defeat the great Communist Superman.

Red Superman then takes over the USSR after Stalin is assassinated, creating a world wide Utopia in a bloodless revolution. He makes a pact with Braniac (who shrinks Stalingrad for his great museum), allies with Wonder Woman, eradicates prisons with a futuristic lobotomy, and watches as a bastard son of Stalin gives rise to Batmanovic -- a counter-revolutionary obsessed with independent thought and freedom (Russo-Batman and his philosophical obsession are a pair of the graphic novel's weakest points).

Mike Millar's creativity is undeniable, and the pencils by Johnson and Kilian Plunkett are perfect. But none of this is good enough.

The three issue "prestige format mini-series" is far too small to accommodate a story of such strength and vision. It is merely a skeleton of something that could have been great. If each issue in the mini-series had been a year of comics, if DC had commissioned 36 issues rather than three, Red Son would have been one of the greatest comics ever written; instead, it is merely clever.

I wanted to watch Superman as the Czar of the Warsaw Pact. I wanted to see his relationship with Diana/Wonder Woman unfold. I wanted to follow Lex Luthor's alternate growth as a sanctioned hero, and the ultimate move to his 5000 year Reich (a portion of the story that earned only a few pages). I wanted more of Bizarro and Braniac and the Green Lantern Corp and the Soviet Batman. I wanted MORE!

So the lesson I learned from Red Son is this: less is not always more. I will forever appreciate Mark Millar's attempt at something groundbreaking, but the attempt will never mitigate my disappointment with its execution. Clever just isn't good enough. Sorry, Mr. Millar.(less)

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Jan 05, 2009

Chris rated it

Shelves: graphic-novels, fantasy, super-heroes, top-shelf

Every culture has its icons. Characters or figures that are recognizable by anybody who lives there, figures that are almost impossible not to know. And America is very good at producing those icons and spreading them worldwide. I remember reading somewhere - I don't remember where at the moment - that the United States' chief export is dreams, and I think there's definitely something to that.

Of all the dreams to emerge from the American subconscious over the last century, Superman ...more

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Aug 12, 2008

Megan rated it

Shelves: superhero, comics, dc, elseworlds, want-to-own

Red Son is an elseworlds story positing what might have happened if the pod carrying the infant Superman would have crash landed on a farm in the Soviet Union under Stalin's rule. It's a pretty awesome idea for an elseworlds story, but I thought it could have been much better than it was. I suppose I can cut some slack for the fact that it was only three issues long.

The idea behind the overarching plot, though it comes at it from an entirely different setup, is that superheroes have...moreRed Son is an elseworlds story positing what might have happened if the pod carrying the infant Superman would have crash landed on a farm in the Soviet Union under Stalin's rule. It's a pretty awesome idea for an elseworlds story, but I thought it could have been much better than it was. I suppose I can cut some slack for the fact that it was only three issues long.

The idea behind the overarching plot, though it comes at it from an entirely different setup, is that superheroes have the ability to change the world and help humanity - but should they? It’s sort of another riff on the "With great power comes great responsibility" idea - or maybe more along the lines of "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." The questions of this nature explored in Red Son are very similar to the questions asked in Kingdom Come. But where Kingdom Come posits that Superman is ultimately sort of more human than human, and would never forget his roots even if he got a little distracted in a quest to make the world a better place, Red Son seems to be saying that just being born and raised in Communist Russia would take things to an entirely different and necessarily bad end, that his desire to help humanity would inadvertently lead to his becoming a dictator.

In a way this makes sense; Clark Kent is so inherent to Superman's character, and the very concept of him. It's interesting to think about what Superman would be like if Clark Kent were not the really good guy we know and love, but someone else entirely - 'born' somewhere else, and raised by different people in a different environment. But I think it's a little insulting to say that, even without changing much else in his upbringing - still growing up among hard working farm folk, even if they aren't gone into in any detail - just growing up in Communist Russia would take away all the goodness in Superman that would keep him from becoming the controlling leader of a totalitarian regime. It also portrays the perfect society Superman builds as being inherently flawed, while the virtually identical one Luther replaces it with is somehow happier and more stable, which just seems like rhetoric to me.

That being said, the book is in many ways equally as critical of both anarchist martyrs and capitalist demi-gods. It seems to highlight the goods and ills of all three main political dogmas. And truthfully, it is only all the people opposed to Superman in the book who seem to think he is power mad and selfish. Superman is actually portrayed more as being caught up in the whirlwind and just wanting to help, which seems more natural to me.

I suppose in a way, because he is so perfect, and because of his unfailing black and white morals, Superman always leans toward the line of Fascism - like Captain America, perhaps. That's something that gets to be explored more in this book, and I appreciate that.

As far as form goes, the story is a bit rushed. A lot happens very fast, and for all the major player cameos that are given space (there's even an elseworlds communist Batman origin story and an unresolved revenge plot going along with that) there are other things not gone into enough or completely left out. Superman's childhood is pretty much glossed over - if the book is supposedly positing that a different origin/upbringing would change who Superman is (something I agree with and find fascinating) it would be nice if they focused on all aspects of that. I don't know very many (or any!) people whose entire personalities are formed more by their national climate and surrounding political dogma than by their parents and childhood experiences. I also think other books set around the cold war have given a better feel of what that time was like. Red Son, for all its emphasis on the Soviet Union and the competition with the United States, doesn't portray that period with any weight or realistic feeling. I also think the tone and voice of Superman are all wrong; he doesn't read like Superman at all - which is maybe to be understood, given the changes made to his character - but he doesn't seem much like a Stalinist either. He doesn't even sound Russian, in tone or mannerism. (I'm glad they avoided giving him some kind of dialect accent, though.) And finally, the book has an interesting looping effect in the story that I'm not sure I like... I think it's a bit cheesy. I also thought that the way Luthor finally 'defeats' Superman was a bit lame.

Overall Red Son has a really cool concept, and despite all the little things that I found to be disappointing in the execution of story, it is interesting and entertaining this is probably one of the better Superman stories around. It can be hard to relate to the ever perfect man of steel, and sometimes his character is about as interesting or accessible as a cement wall. He seems to flourish in elseworlds stories, though, and Red Son is an excellent example of that.
(less)

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Jan 02, 2008

Punk rated it

Shelves: graphic-novel

Graphic Novel. What if Kal-El's pod landed in Russia instead of Kansas? We'd all be speaking Russian, is what. The story didn't really grab me here, but the details made up for it -- Lex and Lois and Lana and Lucy and Lena, plus other people whose names don't begin with L, like Iris and Ollie and Hal and Jimmy and BATMAN, dude, Russian Batman has this AWESOME furry hat on his Batsuit. He looks like an insane lumberjack or something. The art is great, just the right amount of cartoony without bei...more

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Nov 13, 2008

Amang Suramang rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: ronny, nanto, dahlia

Recommended to Amang by: pratono

Shelves: comics, indonesian, favorites

Kemenangan gilang-gemilang atas klon Superman US yang mirip monster, Superman terseret menjadi pemimpin dunia yang disegani. Meskipun berkali-kali ia bilang: "Aku ini cuma petani. Bukan politisi" tetapi akhirnya ia memilih bertanggungjawab untuk menyelamatkan dunia dari kebusukan.

Di kelanjutan kisah Superman terbalik (baca: ter'dekonstruksi) ini, cerita berkembang semakin menarik. Soviet menjadi adidaya dan membuat semua negara merelakan KENDALI TOTAL kepada Superman. Parta...more

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Oct 29, 2008

Pra rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: cerita-bergambar

Ketika dunia berada di bawah kendali satu pemimpin, yakni Superman yang merupakan 'anak haram' pemimpin Uni Soviet Joseph Stalin. Hanya Amerika dan Chili yang belum bergabung di bawah bendera Uni Soviet.

salah satu komik yang paling kucari sejak dulu, sekarang sudah ada yang menerbitkan dalam bahasa Indonesia. Sayangnya, masih banyak yang enggan menjual komik Superman dengan lambang palu arit ini. Red Son edisi bahasa Indonesia terdiri 3 seri, sayang aku baru dapat seri 2. Masih cari...more

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Jan 27, 2012

Paula rated it

Shelves: graphic-novel

Any review I do of Superman: Red Son will not truly do it justice. There are too many underlying factors and so many concepts hidden in between the lines that it would be too difficult to try to point out every little thing. It is obvious that so much work and thought went into creating this.
I started this one off pretty slow and put it down for about a week, but I couldn't stop thinking about it, so I picked it back up and marathon read the entire book last night.

What would ...more

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Jan 14, 2012

Dale rated it

Very, very, very good

Published by D.C. Comics in 2004
160 pages

First things first.

I am not a gigantic comics fan. I've never been to a comic book shop. I know the big names. Basically, if they had a live action TV show, I know them.

So, my opinion is not as well-informed as that of some.

But, I know what I like and I thought this was some grade-A, high test sci-fi with a good deal of political science thrown in.

Superman has always bee...more

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Jan 08, 2012

Charles Martin rated it

Since beginning The Wonderboy Serials, I've had a lot of suggestions to read this. I finally followed through after justifying my purchase by giving it to my son for Christmas, because I'm a selfish bastard.
At any rate, the concept was fascinating. Among the spectrum of superheros, Superman is the least interesting to me, which is why "Kingdom Come" was a great find. It's difficult to make a story about an all-powerful being interesting, so stories that can manage to create an en...more

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Dec 28, 2011

Amanda rated it

When I think about Superman stories being realistic, I'm often struck by how funny that statement is. An alien baby landing on Earth and saving lives while constantly saving his intrepid reporter girlfriend? Reality is not exactly the right word. But good stories create a reality of their own, don't they? That's how you know it's a good story. As Samuel Taylor Coleridge describes it, a good story induces the "willing suspension of disbelief." Superman: Red Son does this admirably.
...more

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Dec 21, 2011

Bjoern rated it

Shelves: 2011-reads, alternate-history, anthology, graphic-novels, omnibus-editions, science-fiction

The beginning and the ending are extraordinary storytelling. It's just the middle, that part where Superman really DOES believe in the truth of the soviet maxime and the world revolution and the healing powers of communism that it gets a little bit tough to read. Other than from this political point of view it's excellent through and through with believeable and functioning personas for many of the heroes of the true DC Universe (aka Earth One) that all share their part in filling and maximising...more

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Oct 22, 2011

Vladimir Vasquez rated it

Superman Rojo, una versión del hombre de acero, en donde nuestro héroe, en lugar de caer en Kansas, cae en una granja comunal de la Ucrania Soviética…

Lo que se desarrolla a partir de allí es uno de los comics de superheroes mas interesantes que he podido leer, de hecho, nunca pensé que un cómic de SuperMan pudiese llegar a ser tan profundo.

Baste con decir que uno de los personajes claves de la historia es Iosif Stalin…

El Concepto

Superman Rojo...more

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Sep 06, 2011

Dan Venning rated it

Now this is a Superman title I could really get into. Not sure whether it fully merits four stars--I did like it, a lot, though.

The book imagines what might have happened had the space shuttle from Krypton landed twelve hours earlier or later--not in Smallville, but in the Ukraine. Superman becomes a symbol for Soviet communism.

This brings into question all sorts of interesting ideas. What aspects of Superman are parts of his personality, and what were formed because of the ...moreNow this is a Superman title I could really get into. Not sure whether it fully merits four stars--I did like it, a lot, though.

The book imagines what might have happened had the space shuttle from Krypton landed twelve hours earlier or later--not in Smallville, but in the Ukraine. Superman becomes a symbol for Soviet communism.

This brings into question all sorts of interesting ideas. What aspects of Superman are parts of his personality, and what were formed because of the American culture of individualism? What would be different if he grew up believing in collectivism and the supremacy of a wise, all-knowing party instead of in uniqueness and the human spirit. (view spoiler)

Perhaps the best thing about this book is it reveals how much Superman's origins owe to America's conflict with the USSR. Superman is himself the perfect symbol of the United States' belief in individual exceptionalism. It's fascinating, however, that in Superman comics, his greatest adversary, Lex Luthor, is another example of this exceptionalism, simply one who chooses to use his powers for evil instead of good. Still certain metaphors become more clear: the red sun that weakens Superman? I obviously should have known that this was a metaphor for the red of communism!

This revelation, in turn, helps explain why I'm not a huge fan of the classic Superman comics. They are a bit conservative, and came from an era when HUAC and other similar organizations were demonizing any and all aspects of communism or social deviance and promoting rampant capitalism at the same time as a conformity of individualism. In our post-Cold War era, Superman clearly has less relevance, especially as we come to see the abject failures of the rampant capitalist system of which he is a symbol. I'm not a Marxist by a long shot, but I'm still too much of a leftist to like what he stands for.

Red Son clarifies all of this for me, and does more: it's a rocking good radical reimagining of the Superman genre (except for the epilogue, pp. 147ff, which I found sentimental and half-baked)that, like any good adaptation, both successfully plays with and explicates its source. However, although I would happily recommend this book to those, like me, who are not great fans of the Superman franchise, in order to understand it you'll need some basic familiarity with central characters and mythologies from this series and other DC comics: Supes himself, Lex, Lois, Jimmy, Wonder Woman, Brainiac, Green Lantern, and Batman, to name a few.(less)

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Aug 23, 2011

Andrew Shuping rated it

I don't read many Superman comics (he's just not really one of my favorite heroes to be honest) but this book...is excellent. You don't have to have any knowledge of Superman or the mythos of any of the characters that show up, because Mark Millar takes everything and turn's it on its head.

Mark asks the question...what if Superman's ship landed 12 hours later on planet Earth in Communist Russia? Where would the world be? What would happen to some of our old friends like Lois Lane and L...more

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Jul 31, 2011

Christopher F. added it · review of another edition

Quite impressed. Smart and gorgeous art and a snappy script. Worth reading. However, when I compare it, maybe unfairly, to John Cleese and John Byrne's "Superman: True Brit," which comedically envisions baby Kal-El landing in England, I am disappointed that "Red Son" skips so quickly over Superman's boyhood in Ukraine and in general does not dwell on many of the narratively promising cultural differences between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. that would have made this an intere...more

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Jul 27, 2011

William Thomas rated it

Mark Millar may be Scottish, but he tells a story like an Irishman. This book is a prime example of what I mean- something so fantastic, so huge in proportion, so outrageous that it's both hard to believe and entirely likable. It's large in scope and filled with just enough detail to make you doubt yourself, doubt what you already know about the Superman mythos, and become completely entrenched in his communist fairy tale.

And although you would think the book would be rife with politic...more

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Jul 25, 2011

Hayden rated it

Shelves: comics-graphic-novels, favorites

Twelve hours was all it took. Twelve hours, and the ship containing Kal-El (aka young Superman) didn't crash in Smallville Kansas, wasn't raised by Jonathan and Martha Kent, never went on to become the mighty symbol of American superiority. Twelve hours and Superman lands in the USSR, Communist-controlled Russia, and becomes the apprentice of Joseph Stalin; a young, indestructible Demigod hellbent on spreading Communism worldwide.

I don't know why I bought this. I hate Superman as a c...more

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Jul 07, 2011

Vicki rated it

Superman's epic story is totally reimagined in this compilation of three related comics in which the premise has the rocket from Krypton landing not in Kansas in the 1930's, but in the Soviet Union in the 1950's. So wouldn't Superman figure out that "truth, justice and the American Way" was where it's at and get here as quick as he could? Well, maybe not.

This well crafted tale has Superman just as committed to Stalin and the noble goals of Communism as we remember him origi...moreSuperman's epic story is totally reimagined in this compilation of three related comics in which the premise has the rocket from Krypton landing not in Kansas in the 1930's, but in the Soviet Union in the 1950's. So wouldn't Superman figure out that "truth, justice and the American Way" was where it's at and get here as quick as he could? Well, maybe not.

This well crafted tale has Superman just as committed to Stalin and the noble goals of Communism as we remember him originally dedicated to America and it's freedom loving entrepreneurial spirit. In the first third of the saga (Red Son Rising), Superman is just as earnest and eager to save his fellowman from crises big and small. His extraordinary ability to see and hear keeps him "on the fly," and he has no compunction about offering his assistance around the world when only his skills can save the day. In fact, one such crisis brings him to Metropolis, where he encounters Lois Luthor, a reporter who is married to Dr. Lex Luthor, reportedly the smartest man alive. Eisenhower is president, and is facing what well may be the downfall of the US: the Soviets have announced Their Weapon to End the Cold War, and it is Superman!

Though he is loyal to Stalin, he originally has no ambition to run the country, but after Stalin's death, he comes to realize that only he has the ability to make the economy run smoothly and to save the people from themselves. Along the way in Part 2, Red Son Ascendant, we see Superman interacting with Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and Brainiac. Batman is a hero to the underground freedom fighters who hope somehow to overturn Superman's hold on their lives and their society.

In the meantime, Lex Luthor is devising counter measures in the hopes of defeating Superman in battle. Though the monsters he creates do not defeat Superman, Lex never quits trying and is eventually elected president of the US. At that point, the United States is about the only country still out from under Superman's authority.

The final segment, Red Son Setting, takes us through an epic battle between Superman's Soviet Union and the United States as led by Lex Luthor. That battle and the eventual conclusion of the saga give the reader much to ponder, and maybe even a desire to re-read the story and pick up on even more of the references to the comic book world and the applications the authors would have us consider in reference to our current foreign policies. It's definitely an enjoyable, thought-provoking read, and well worth a second or third look as well!

The artwork recalls the WWII posters of citizens at work to support the war effort. It is exceedingly well drawn and inked, and though the plot is innovative and new, many tried and true characters are part of this story too. Jimmy Olsen and editor Perry White are there, and even the woman who might have been his mom, had the rocket ship traveled a few thousand miles further before it crashed, Martha Kent, puts in a cameo appearance! (less)

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May 24, 2011

Jeffrey rated it

Shelves: graphic-novel, read-in-2011, super-heroes

Superman:Red Son has a lot of things going for it. A clever conceit, a rich time period to draw up the universe, and strong artwork to give it an ominous feel.

But there's something missing, and that's a strong lead. While Superman himself does have some basic issues as a character, these issues are magnified when he is representing the Soviet Dream instead of the American one.

As a Soviet Superman, he supposedly believes in the ultimate goal of Communist doctrine and is n...more

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Mar 21, 2011

Jeff Rider rated it

Easily the best Superman tale I've ever encountered, and a great exploration of a (set of) familiar character(s) through a new lens, and thereby gaining an entirely new thematic perspective. Superman's need to help everyone, his desire to improve the lives of those he feels obligated to protect, becomes fascinatingly dark, strangely therapeutic, and ultimately twisted and futile when filtered through Stalinist ideology and methodology. Seeing Batman as an enemy of the state (in a warm hat), Won...more

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Feb 11, 2011

Andy rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: comics

Back when I read this the first time in August 2006 I wrote this as my review:

"This alternative take on the Superman myth really makes it something special. Well worth a read even if you aren't a Superman fan"

Well, that was a library book (one of the very few times I've used a library) and when back in the UK at the end of last year I found the deluxe hardcover running very cheap in a favourite old comic shop of mine (actually saying that they moved and set up...more

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Feb 03, 2011

Marc's Comics rated it

After reading every Super title from the Byrne relaunch in 1985 to the Loeb/Kelly relaunch in 2000, I fell out of comic books for a long time. Upon recently coming back, I found that any quick Google search of the best Superman stories I had missed inevitably contained Red Son. It's no surprise that a lot of Elseworlds stories have more staying power than in-continuity stuff - it's hard to so much as change a D-list supporting cast member's hair color without people getting upset - in Elseworl...moreAfter reading every Super title from the Byrne relaunch in 1985 to the Loeb/Kelly relaunch in 2000, I fell out of comic books for a long time. Upon recently coming back, I found that any quick Google search of the best Superman stories I had missed inevitably contained Red Son. It's no surprise that a lot of Elseworlds stories have more staying power than in-continuity stuff - it's hard to so much as change a D-list supporting cast member's hair color without people getting upset - in Elseworlds, you have freedom to do whatever you want.

The simple premise here is that the rocket from Krypton was a little late getting to Earth and ended up landing in communist Russia, raised on a Ukrainian collective farm, and eventually becoming a near-global ruler. There are several really neat touches, such as the reveal of what became of Batman, a clever use of Bizarro, Pyotr Roslov and Lana Lazarenko (it seriously took me way too long to connect Pyotr to Pete Ross - stupid!), a great Diebold reference, and yet another Brainiac-being-used-but-is-secretly-lying-in-wait-for-the-right-moment-to-reveal-he's-been-in-total-control-the-whole-time scenario.

It was quite jarring to see Superman as being so ruthless. Even though Millar attempts to portray him as essentially a "good" person, he ends up re-wiring brains of people who don't go along with his Marxist ways. Lois' character also seems like an afterthought - she obviously had to go somewhere in here, but her role as Luthor's not-quite wife who dreams of being with Superman for really no good reason doesn't do anything for me.

The art fit the mood and time period perfectly - there were a few really nice page spreads and costume designs, particularly Batman's.

I almost never say this, but I also feel like this series could've been longer. Events fly by at a super rapid pace and a lot of creative ideas are left unexplored in one or two panels.

At the end, there is a completely unnecessary epilogue that is 100% Grant Morrison inspired, a nifty little predestination paradox that adds a little sci-fi to an otherwise grounded-in-reality situation (or as much reality as you can have with super powered beings flying around). A lot of people don't like it, but I love it. It IS unnecessary, but for some reason it just caught me in that kind of mood.

All in all, really good stuff and a well thought-out story with a few flaws, but I left with a good feeling about it thanks to the crazy ending.
(less)

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Oct 26, 2010

Jerry Daniels rated it

Recommended to Jerry by: jerry_daniels_jr@hotmail.com

Shelves: graphic-novels, books-with-reviews

Seeing that this graphic novel was published in 2004, it is not surprising that Superman: Red Son serves as an analogy for the global social distress created by the September 11, 2001 attacks on American soil. That distress, of course, led to a "big brother" kind of rule throughout the U.S. under the Bush era. So it is with this graphic novel that the writers explore totalitarian-like rule with Superman leading the U.S.S.R. following the death of Stalin who had made the Man-of-Steel ...more

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Aug 19, 2010

Liza rated it

Shelves: adult-fiction, graphic-novels, young-adult

The last comic I read starred Scrooge McDuck, and here I am reviewing Red Son.

However, in the world of comics one should, I feel, review in pieces, as comics are a collaborative effort.

Story: Mark Millar created the concept of Superman landing in Communist Russia instead of Smallville, Kansas. I loved how Millar extrapolated the concept to show how other areas of the world would have changed if Superman had not been American. Overall I felt that after exploring the br...more

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Jun 27, 2010

Mark rated it

What if the great American boy scout had in actuality been brought up a Stalinist poster boy for Communist Russia, that is what the great Mark Millar posits here.

Transporting Superman's origin from Smallville, Kansas, USA to farming town in post-WW2-Ukraine, allows Millar to take the God-like abilities of the Last Son of Krypton and temper them with a Stalinist-like viewpoint on how to have a Communist Utopia. However, not to spoil the story much like the old adage goes, power corrup...more

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May 03, 2010

Richard rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, sf, richard-s, books

I'm not a big reader of comics, though I do occasionally like to dabble. The idea of this I found intriguing - an alternate history of a fictional, and yet familiar enough with a big enough back story and enough cultural cachet to justify an alternate history all of his own.

Essentially, without damaging the enjoyment of anyone that wishes to read this for himself, Superman arrive on Earth 12 hours earlier than he would have in the established mythos and becomes a more literal Man of ...more

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Apr 28, 2010

Mark Desrosiers rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: comics

In this alternate universe, baby Kal-El crashes into earth twelve hours later, toddling unawares into a Ukrainian collective farm. Superman thereby becomes the leader and symbol of the Soviet Union -- hero of workers and class solidarity, with his chest bearing a hammer & sickle too. In lesser hands this could have degenerated into a tedious Cold War farce, but Mark Millar has a more complex turn of mind. First, he positions Lex Luthor as the scalp-throbbing symbol of American ingenuity and powe...more

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Mar 18, 2010

Guillermo rated it

Shelves: graphic-novel, wishlist

For decades, Superman has been on his unending battle for truth and the American way. He's a household name, even amongst the non comic book readers. We've watched his movies and know his origins. His story is something of an American mythology now. America in the flesh, born on a distant, destructed planet. Sent here so that he might live while his planet was consumed by its own red sun.

That's until Mark Millar decided to go on the opposite direction. Much of Superman's American id...moreFor decades, Superman has been on his unending battle for truth and the American way. He's a household name, even amongst the non comic book readers. We've watched his movies and know his origins. His story is something of an American mythology now. America in the flesh, born on a distant, destructed planet. Sent here so that he might live while his planet was consumed by its own red sun.

That's until Mark Millar decided to go on the opposite direction. Much of Superman's American ideals comes from the fact that his ship crashed landed in a farm in fictional Smallville. He is raised by his foster parents Martha and Jonathan Kent, he attends school and goes off into the real world, just as any normal human being might do. He meets Lois Lane and falls in love with her. He feels a sense of responsibility to use his powers for the good of mankind, sparking jealousy from his arch nemesis, Lex Luthor.

That is the Superman we've come to know over the ages, but Mark Millar pondered the what if of our hero's origin. What if Superman's ship crash landed in a Ukrainian field, rather than Smallville? What if he was raised to believe in Communism, rather than Capitalism? What if Superman was an enemy of the state?

But Superman Red Son is more than just a tale of the what if; it's also a colorful depiction of the what is. From America's constant need to be on top of the world, demanding others to follow suit, insisting anyone against Capitalism as a dictator, a tyrant, a foe, a terrorist threat to our way of life. In this alternate world, Superman comes out from obscurity, promising to do what is right. He doesn't only save lives from within the USSR, but aids America as Sputnik 2 nearly crashes into Metropolis - as part of Lex Luthor's plan to figure Superman out. Lex Luthor is the evidence of a visionary gone awry. Unlike his "real world" counterpart, Lex Luthor does promise to fix the world and he does in the end. But much like the Lex we've come to know and hate, his goals can only be met by destroying Superman no matter who is killed or injured in the process. And in this sense, Lex Luthor is the embodiment of the American Way. As long as the consequence turns in favor of the American people, then things went as according to plan.

Red Son also gives us the origins of other well known DC Universe heroes. A young child who witness his parents slaying by a KGB operative vows revenge, becoming a masked terrorist who stands opposed to Superman. Wonder Woman falls in love with a blind-to-the-fact hero turned USSR leader, sacrificing her well being in the process. Green Lantern appears as a USA military force along with his marines with the same advantages. It seems a perfect example that despite the alteration of history, people still have a legacy to follow.

Mark Millar's story is seasoned with inside jokes that one can only understand if you're a fan of the Superman mythos - and even if you're not a fan of the comic books, TV shows or movies, I mean, it's pretty common sense things. Two memorable scenes that both made me snicker and groan both contained the probability how things would be if the ship had crashed in America. A scene with President Eisenhower remarks to Agent Jimmy Olsen, "Just think, Agent Olsen: if that rocket has landed twelve hours earlier, this Superman they're talking about would have been an American citizen." Later, Lex Luthor is speaking to Agent Olsen: " It's such a shame he works for the other side. I honestly believe that Superman and I would have been the best of friends if he'd popped up in America."

Altering more facts, Mark Millar allows us a glimpse into the future and leads us down the Superman bloodline. The ending is both cunning and probably the most original since Krypton exploded for the first time over half a century ago.

And let's not ignore the incredible art work. Had it not been for the artists involved, the concept of Superman as a member of the socialist party wouldn't have been as convincing. Nor would had the transfer of Batman as terrorist or Wonder Woman as part of the regime.

It's something worth reading and having upon your shelf for the times when you feel like seeing the world through a different lens. (less)

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Dec 26, 2009

Jacobi rated it

Shelves: trades-read-in-09

I kind of agree with the notion that Superman is a boring character. I enjoy stories that he's featured in, but he's not that great of a draw on his own for me. However, the twist Millar puts on the boy scout here makes him interesting. Almost captivating. There are a lot of cliches that Millar could have fallen back on with this idea of Superman landing in Russia instead of Kansas, but he doesn't go down the obvious roads. Superman is still Superman, just with slightly different beliefs, even t...more

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About Mark Millar

Mark Millar is an award-winning Scottish comic book writer born in Coatbridge. Now a resident of Glasgow, Millar has been the highest selling British comic-book writer working in America this decade. His best known works include: The Authority, Ultimates 1 and 2, adaptations of Jack Kirby's and Stan Lee's Avengers, Wanted, Marvel Knights Spider-Man, Ultimate Fantastic Four, and Civil War. In Augus...more

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Quotes from Superman: Red Son

“I offered them Utopia, but they fought for the right to live in Hell.” — 4 people liked it

“We ordinary people might lack your great speed or your X-Ray vision, Superman, but never underestimate the power of the human mind. We carry the most dangerous weapon on Earth inside these thick skulls of ours.” — 1 person liked it

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