Red Son soaring

DC Comics has a history of allowing writers and artists to tell stories staring their characters but that lie outside of the canonical storylines. These are part of the Elseworlds imprint, and they contain some of the more impressive stories that DC has told because the authors are freed of the constraints of the weight of history baring down upon them.

In this TPB - Red Son, author Mark Millar rewrites the entirety of the Superman history with a simple adjustment - instead of the rocket with young Kal El landing in Kansas and Superman growing up to be the great force fighting for truth, justice, and the American way, the rocket lands in siberia, and Superman grows up fighting for truth, justice, and the Soviet way, a true son of Stalin and force for Soviet good in the world. As the forward by Tom DeSanto says "in the hands of a lesser writer the story would have fallen into cookie cutter, black and white, America good, Soviets bad, feel-good propaganda." Instead, Millar crafts an emotionally complex tale of Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman reimagined in Soviet Russia, Lex Luthor the greatest American hero - a scientist whose loyalty and genius are initially guided toward saving America but eventually turned toward simply destroying Superman and all that he stands for.

The artowrk is a little jarring at times, with a carttonish manic-ness showing up in the characters from time to time - especially in those that are reprogammed by Superman in his more draconian times. The tone and coloring of the artwork is, however, excellent for the most part. We see Superman as a darker force for good, still viewing himself as that force for good, and we see nothing in the story to disuade that notion.

It is this last part that makes the story an excellent one. The Soviet Superman is not written as a blind force for communism. He is a great man who wants to make the world a better place - as does the Superman of the canonical DC universe - and who wants nothing more than to be a great man, not a superhero, not an alien, simply a man. He does everything to support the bettering of the world instead of taking power until it seems impossible for his image of the world to come true unless he takes full control, and even then he tries to allow humanity to freedom to make mistakes, lamenting that people don't even wear seat belts anymore because they know he will save them.

And his adversaries, Lex Luthor foremost among them, are not blank villians, instead they are attempting to create a different version of the same utopian world that Superman wants to see. Even Brainiac, the only true villian in the book, is simply doing as he was programmed to do, to make the world an orderly place, devoid of the danger and randomness that life brings.

The storyline begins simply enough, but it is in the third volume, after Superman and Batman have had their inevitable showdown, when Superman has become ruler of the Soviet - and nearly entire - world, that the story reaches full steam. In this final confrontation between Lutho, Superman, and Brainiac, every move is perfectly planned to cause the opponent to react so that the protagonist can react as planned right back. Ths final plotting resembles nothing so much as the chess games that are constantly being played by both Luthor and Superman throughout the book.

Overall, an outstanding book. Certainly one worth reading - it would help if you know a little something about the Superman mythos, but it stands alone brilliantly.