618 SUPERMAN: RED SON
Superman himself, imagines the outcome of Superman’s capsule landing in the Ukraine
(rather than Kansas) in the 1930s. Th e fi rst part of the story begins in America in the
mid-1950s, as President Eisenhower announces the existence of the Superman. Reac-
tion to his existence gives way to paranoia, and Eisenhower calls on Lex Luthor to
devise ways to stop Superman. Several attempts are tried: Luthor attempts to crash
a Sputnik into Metropolis, then uses DNA Superman left on the satellite to create a
clone (Bizarro). Both are defeated handily by Superman. At home, Superman clashes
with Stalin’s illegitimate son Pyoter Roslov (Pete Ross), although the two seem to
put diff erences aside in the wake of Stalin’s death. Initially hesitant to elevate himself
above his fellow communists, Superman eventually agrees to lead the Soviet Union by
becoming its president.
In the second part of the story, the action fast-forwards to 1978, and shows Super-
man’s attempts to build a global utopia, in which he is aided by Wonder Woman. Th e
Soviet Union controls most of the world, and while most of the world is grateful for
Superman’s protection, he still faces challenges from both without and within. Luthor
continues to send CIA-funded, superpowered agents, including most of Superman’s
traditional adversaries, to Russia with little success. Superman also faces dissent from
a Russian version of Batman, who is funded by Roslov’s KGB. Superman eventually
defeats the combined eff orts of these villains, and completes his totalitarian state. By the
end, only the United States, reduced to 38 member states, remains outside his control.
Th e story’s conclusion picks up in the year 2001. Superman’s paradise is orderly,
regulated, and fi nally free of dissent; all enemies, even Brainiac, have their proper place
in the Soviet Union. Lex Luthor becomes president of the 35 remaining United States,
and within a year has restored its prosperity to pre-Superman levels. Having achieved
this, Luthor sets out to defeat Superman using a modifi ed Green Lantern Corps, a
contingent of Amazons led by a now-embittered Wonder Woman, and Luthor’s own
superior intelligence. Luthor is quickly captured by Brainiac, who convinces Superman
that he must launch an attack on the United States in order to complete his utopia.
Luthor ultimately defeats Superman with a letter comparing him to Brainiac: “Why
don’t you just put the whole world in a bottle, Superman?” Brainiac reveals that he has
been using Superman all along; Luthor disables Brainiac only to cause his ship to
self-destruct, and Superman, in a “last” act of heroism, tows the ship out of the solar
system. Luthor picks up the pieces and establishes a truly utopian state, guided by “Lu-
thorism,” that expands the limits of human potential. In the last pages, readers discover
that the future Earth is actually Superman’s original home, and before its destruction
by the red sun, Jor-L sends his son into the past to “fi x” humanity.
While it does not speak clearly to any contemporary issues, other than the contin-
ued existence of totalitarianism in human society, Red Son does address a number of
themes. Th e origin of Superman’s values is one of these themes. Despite his growing
up in the Ukraine, Superman continues to care for the welfare of humanity, implying
that his defense of truth and justice is not a product of his American origins, but is an
inherent part of his identity. While this fact is common to many of the Elseworlds tales
