Recently, someone told me the new Absolute Superman was more of a working-class hero, which like a movie flashback triggered an old memory of being recommended Superman: Red Son, a comic which I've still never read but I remember was highly regarded. Of course, I have a feeling I should've read it then, way before I had any communist leanings, and now I'd only see all the American brain worms in it lol.
But I've also heard it's a nuanced take on Superman and communism, so I'm wondering what do people here think? Is it still worth reading in this day and age with my current political readings?
For those not familiar, Superman: Red Son is about Superman landing in the USSR instead of Kansas. I tried an internet search for what actual communists think of it and couldn't find any such opinions, so I'm asking here.
Comic book is good, one of the better takes on alternative Superman's
But it does fall into the category of the USSR as misguided, with things only getting better after Stalin dies and Superman taking over
What does set it apart is the United States is portrayed as psychotically determined to bring down the USSR as humanly possible, even launching a nuke to try and kill Superman when he's fighting Bizarro in London
They and by extension Lex Luthor (since he ends up de facto dictator of the USA) eventually end up doing central planning and a nationalized economy anyway to try and keep up with the USSR
So the comic basically ends with everyone doing a Communism anyway
is that the one where Batman wears a Ushanka with a little Batman logo on it?
Ushanka yes
Show
Also tries to kill Superman because Stalin's illegitimate son killed his parents
I think it sucks
The entire premise of Superman having soviet values is wasted because the author says "well the logical conclusion is that Superman should be a omni-authoritarian who does everything for almost every person on earth" and the only way ""real communism"" can exist is by Lex Luthor trying to compete against what is essentially god. Batman as an anarchist terrorist serves what purpose?
Also the implied Krypton cyclical loop was a big self jerk off ending.
It's a good comic but isn't pro communist. It's less anti communist than most stuff as well tho. It takes maybe 2 hours to read the whole thing and it's a good read but was for sure written by a lib, I don't wanna spoil it but you can look past it anyway cause the overall story is really good and it has a really neat twist.
Also I'm glad it exists cause when the revolution happens and I can make my stupendously high budget Superman trilogy Red Son is gonna be a big inspiration for most of the 2nd movie.
1st movie- golden age superman who fights the kkk and landlords. Moved from.the far to metropolis to find work and found injustice in the class divisions of the depression being really damn obvious, then there's nazis and ww2 and cause he's still a naive alien kinda stays out and does propaganda. Trusts the government enough to believe that flying outside of us airspace fucks up their radars or something like that so isn't aware of the holocaust, gets disillusioned with America after the a bomb is dropped and news of the camps comes out.
Movie 2: basically Red Son but different. Superman goes to the USSR, Lex Luthor over the course of the movie grows in power and becomes president around the same time as Reagan would have, Superman even as a Soviet only participates in non military means but that does mean the Soviet union develops in all other areas wayyyyy ahead of America who in turn assumes a greater military buildup and with each way Superman aids the Soviet workers in improving their one country America assumes there's an equal military application which eventually leads to nukes being launched at the end.
Movie 3: Superman finally is like 'fuck this, been trying to not involve myself militarily cause I'm Superman and that really upsets things, time to take action', intercepts the launched nukes and flies em to space and throws em into the sun but is late on some and they explode in his arms, fucking him up good. He then goes and gets literally every remaining nuke on earth and hurts that into the sun. Tells earth to cut it out with nukes. Then the rest is kinda a different version of All Star Superman where he's dying and tying up his person loose ends which I didn't really get into here cause I'm doing broad strokes. He shouldn't meet luthor in person until they're both almost dead, I've got an entire personal angle side for this too.
I've had this simmering for years and should probably get around to the writing part, but that part is really hard. I've got a 10 hour trilogy ready to roll in broad strokes but filling that in is hard af
edit making movie 3 a good version of superman 4 the quest for peace is intentional btw. Superman is my favorite superhero easily and it takes from a swath of my favorite supermen. He's just a nice guy with a lot of power and being not from earth how to be nice with that power without being weird about it is his thing.
For the record, I also enjoy good boy Superman stories the best. I haven't read a lot of him but my favorites have been stories like All-Star Superman and What's So Funny About Truth, Justice, and the American Way?
It's probably because I went through the whole arc of getting bored by Superman, then got burned out on all the evil/corrupted Superman stories. These ones focusing on his morality kind of helped me discover his potential again and like him again. By the time I was recommended Red Son I think I was at this phase, having already started The Boys or the edgy Marvel superheroes like Sentry or everyone in the original Ultimates run. So I skipped it figuring it was another version of an evil Superman.
its one of the few good mark millar comics to the point some think he didnt write it
Mark Millar is a good writer with bad tendencies
Needs a good editor to keep his shit in check
I read it as a lib, and it was really good then. I haven't touched it in over a decade, though. Definitely the most nuanced take on communism and the USSR I had seen up to that point.
