Superman Red and Blue: Build Your Own Utopia

Superman in the late 1950s and early 1960s became well-known for his imaginary stories. Imaginary Stories were the way that DC in the Silver Age told stories that didn't effect continuity, because they were only "imaginary."

One of the most famous from 1964: The Amazing Story of Superman Red and Superman Blue (appears in begins inThe Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told and also Showcase Presents Superman VOL 04) the bottled Kryptonian City of Kandor that was shrunk down and put in a bottle by the villain Brainiac. Superman rescued the citizens and kept them same in the Fortress of Solitude.

However, they're not happy because Superman has failed at three tasks: 1) He hasn't restored Kandor to full size, 2) He hasn't found a cure for green Kryptonite, and he hasn't eliminated crime and evil from the world. They ask that he complete these simple tasks within thirty day or let someone else from Kandor get grown to full size and do it.

So Superman sets about it and his brain machine turns Superman into two Supermen both good and both 100 times smarter and that set out to solve these problems.

It is the best of Utopian stories. Everything turns out okay. Even the dueling Lois Lane and Lana Lang both end up happy as one marries Superman Red and the other marries Superman Blue with one couple staying on Earth and the other one going to the new red-sunned planet where the Kandorians have relocated.

You might wonder, how did the Supermen solve the problem of crime? It's simple they design a hypnotic anti-evil ray that makes all the villains on Earth cease their villainy and aggression. Even Castro and the Soviets both relent while Lex Luthor cures all diseases including his own baldness. With this done, Earth's Superman retires and leaves his robots to do search and rescue work.

It's a great comic book story which if weren't considered "imaginary" would end not only Superman but the DC superhero universe.

But what does it mean for real life?


Clearly, there are times of great tragedy when a nice anti-evil ray sounds like a great solution. If it could be sprayed over the world, it'd prevent tragedies like Newtown or 9/11.

Taken to its most literal point, the writers seem to hope that science will solve all our problems, if only we're smart enough, we can invent invent evil away. This would be silly, particularly from a Christian perspective where sin is our problem and it is inborn, a spiritual problem that science can't even begin to deal with it as it's not equipped to solve problems of the soul.

In its own simplistic way, the story does comes close to recognizing the problem-evil. And until evil is irradicated, Superman has to continue his battle for what's right and so do we.

However, while it may seem so, our battles will not be neverending.

As Christians, our hope lies not in uncertain science but in the second coming of Christ. The Prophet Micah describes that time well writing:

And He shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off. And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and none shall make them afraid; for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it.-Micah 4:3,4 (KJ21)

And that's better than an anti-evil ray any day.