A “what if” story from the Elseworld’s tale where Superman landed not in Kansas, but in the Soviet Union as baby.
Although it seems like the “multiverse” is a hot new concept in the world of comic book movies these days, tales of alternate realities are old-hat when it comes to the medium of comic books themselves, especially with DC Comics. Some of its most revered superheroic tales involve alternate realities, like “Flash of Two Worlds,’ and “The Batman of Zur-En-Arrh.’ Heck, things got so screwy with who was actually from what timeline at one point that DC had to reboot its entire continuity in the mid-Eighties with “Crisis on Infinite Earths” just to simmer things down for a while. This didn’t last for long, though, because in 1989 they let a little slack back into the line by introducing their “Elseworlds” imprint, where writers were able to let their imaginations run wild with DC’s stable of characters. “Red Son” was one of the standout tales from this effort, originally published in 2003.
The 2020 animated adaptation of the books doesn’t veer too far from the premise of the original miniseries- what if the rocket that carried Superman to Earth as an infant had landed behind Soviet lines in the middle of the 20th Century instead of in the heartland of America, and how would that event reshape the world- but it does take a little darker tone than the books. Although he was from a more tightly-controlled nation, the Superman of those issues was still somewhat of a wide-eyed idealist initially, who believed that all men were equal, and were equally worthy of a helping hand. Here, the animated Superman (Voiced by The White Lotus’ Jason Isaacs) is a bit more of a menacing character that literally murders his own father-figure in order to take control of the Soviet State. Harsh, even if your father-figure is literally Joseph Stalin. Maybe it’s trying to cram an ambitious, decades-spanning story into less than an hour and a half that lends its main character this feeling of sudden ruthlessness, but the writing does the Soviet Superman no favors.
The whole affair is pretty dark, honestly, even for the Dark Knight of Gotham- Batman exists here, too, but he exists as a ruthless, even MORE murderous terrorist in this world (Though why he was born in Russia in this reality, we don’t know). Wonder Woman is a diplomat from the island of Themyscira who ages prematurely when her Lasso of Truth gets lacerated in a tragic fight between enemies that are meant to be allies. Hal Jordan becomes one Green Lantern among many when the ring meant for his finger gets turned into just another weapon of war for the troops. But there is still some hope on hand- in the form of Lex Luthor, of all people, who goes from a detached but Superman-obsessed scientist in his youth to a warsuit-clad President of the United States in the end, in surprisingly far less a heel turn than he takes in the books.
In fact, it is Lex who finishes things off with a retirement speech given to the American public that hits a little harder than might have been intended back when it was written, given today’s political climate. After being brought back from the verge of economic and societal collapse, America finds itself in the position of being a true world leader once again, and President Luthor leaves us with these words:
“It’s not the American way to leave an enemy gasping in the dust. We will reach out. We will give aid and comfort to the Russian people. And with the determination and compassion so unique to the spirit of this nation… The world we’ll build together won’t be perfect, but it will be one we can all be proud of, because it will be a reflection of the very best of humanity.” Lex Luthor as a more positive political role model than we’ve experienced in a decade. Who would have thought?
Superman: Red Son is at its core a study on what it means to be a hero- whether hope and the determination to carve a better world from the one we’ve been given lies in nature or nurture. It’s a little sad, then, that a world sculpted by the actions of a hero turned tyrant, and by those of a villain turned world-leader could offer a brighter tomorrow than the dark one we seem to be staring down now. Maybe one day a more interesting take than a Man of Steel raised behind the Iron Curtain would be a Man of Tomorrow raised in an America that finds itself no longer united. If only we could write the past few decades off as an Elseworlds tale.