Superman: Red Son
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Plot
A group of bullies chase a young boy in the Soviet Union in 1946. Svetlana, a young girl, chases them away and defends him. He tells her he wasn’t afraid for his safety but for the safety of the bullies. Svetlana informs him that he has the power to help the country if he chooses.
Ten years later, in 1955, the Soviet Union releases propaganda footage of an alien superhuman who was under the command of Joseph Stalin. The American media calls him the “Soviet Superman”. The United States President Eisenhower assigns Lex Luthor the task of devising a countermeasure to him. Superman stops a satellite from hitting Metropolis. This leads to Lex’s wife, Lois Lane, being granted an interview. Superman is led by her to a secret gulag, which was protected by lead. There he meets a dying Svetlana who was held there as she knew his true identity. Superman is furious and confronts Stalin. Superman is made the new leader in the Soviet Union and promises to use his power for good and spread the Soviet influence.
Superman promotes communist ideals around the globe, ending the Korean War and tearing down the Berlin Wall that the West has built to stop him. He also forms an alliance with Princess Diana/Wonder Woman of Themyscira and develops a close friendship. Luthor also unveils the “Superior Man” clone of Superman. It was created by stealing Superman’s cells from the satellite. The orb of energy is then remotely powered before it goes out to face Superman. They battle until Luthor overpowers the clone, which causes it to degenerate and eventually collapse. Luthor’s actions are shocking to Superman.
Superman defeats Brainiac’s invasion in 1967. He reprogrammes Brainiac to become his advisor and uses his technology as an agent to help advance the Warsaw Pact countries as well as dissidents. He is unable to stop Brainiac shrinking Stalingrad and defeating him. Superman is also forced to deal with the terrorist Batman, who is a survivor from the secret gulag, and blames Superman. Batman captures Wonder Woman and locks her up with the Lasso of Truth in order to trap Superman. The lamps simulate Krypton’s red sunlight to neutralize his powers. Batman defeats Superman, leaving him to die. Wonder Woman then breaks free from the trap and destroys the lamps’ power source. This restores Superman’s powers. Batman commits suicide when Superman threatens him with imprisonment. Wonder Woman, feeling drained by the brutality of man, leaves Superman.
Luthor is elected president of the United States and heralds a new era of prosperity that threatens Soviet dominance. The Green Lantern Corps is formed when Colonel Hal Jordan and Luthor discover the incredible power of the alien’s green ring. Superman is attacked by Jordan in 1983. Wonder Woman temporarily halts the attack, but then she announces that Themyscira will remain closed to all men forever. Superman, with Brainiac’s support, sets out to confront Luthor at The White House. But, he finds Lois with the bottled capital of Stalingrad. Superman tells Lois that he tried for years to reverse the miniaturization process of the city. But Brainiac says that the technology was always available to him. He just chose to not mention it, and Superman did not give him any orders to reverse the process. Superman realizes his mistake and stands down. Brainiac then destroys the city and continues with the attack. He revealed that the reprogramming was unsuccessful and that he had been using Superman as a means to conquer the planet. Superman and Luthor defeat Brainiac, but the ship of Brainiac is about to explode upon his defeat. Superman takes the ship into deep space and explodes it, apparently to his death.
A disguised Superman watches as Luthor, who is resigning from his presidency to spend more time in Lois’ company, announces that he will no longer be president and hand over the country to Vice President James Olsen. Lois gets a glimpse of Superman before he disappears in the crowd.
