Issue 110 - Superman: Red Son

Capes On the Couch - Where Comics Get Counseling

• Intro
  • Email us voice recordings of your thoughts on Batman & what he means to you for upcoming episode - [e-mail]
• Background (1:13)

• Superman: Red Son, written by Mark Millar with artwork by Dave Johnson, Andrew Robinson, Walden Wong, Killian Plunkett, colors by Paul Mounts - released June 2003
  • Elseworlds tale that asks: What if Superman landed in the Soviet Union? - takes both familiar DC characters and real-world people and combines them into an interesting story
  • In 1953, the Soviets reveal Superman to the world, leading CIA agent James Olsen to ask Lex Luthor to create a metahuman for the USA
  • Pyotr Roslov, head of the KGB and Stalin’s illegitimate son, resents Superman for disrupting his plans to take over the country - after Stalin’s death, Superman takes over the USSR
  • By 1978, only the US and Chile are not part of the Warsaw Pact, and all communist nations are under the heel of Superman - any dissidents are turned into robots with mind-control technology
  • Luthor works with Brainiac to shrink Moscow, but shrinks Stalingrad instead - Superman takes control of Brainiac and reprograms him to help
  • Batman, orphaned son of parents killed by Roslov, leads a Soviet resistance against Superman, and manages to use Wonder Woman to lure Superman into a trap using red-light lamps that turn him mortal - unfortunately Wonder Woman breaks free of the restraints and destroys the device, which leads Batman to kill himself as a martyr
  • Luthor then uses the ship that landed in Roswell in 1947, and its green ring, as a weapon to create an army of Green Lanterns
  • In 2001, Luthor, now President, has turned the US into a profitable nation once again, and eggs Superman to attack after breaking into his Winter Palace
  • Superman assaults the East Coast, and defeats both the Green Lantern Corps and the Amazonian forces - when he reaches the White House, he sees a letter from Luthor saying “Why don’t you just put the whole world in a bottle?”
  • Superman instantly regrets everything he’s done, and tells his team to stand down, but Brainiac refuses and says this was all part of his long plan to take over - Luthor, who was scheduled for mind control surgery, shuts down Brainiac from within, but not before Brainiac could start a self-destruct countdown
  • Superman flies the ship into space, and it explodes, seemingly killing Superman
  • The world enters a period of peace and prosperity under Luthor, who unites the world into a collection of countries - in a distant future, Jor-L (a distant descendant of Lex) sends his son into the past to save the planet from certain destruction

• Issues (15:59)
  • Superman: The warped use of “Might is Right”
  • Pyotr Roslov: Will never get Stalin’s approval as an illegitimate son (21:03)
  • Wonder Woman: Soured relationship with Superman over his sterile view of the world (27:38)
  • Batman: Goes farther than his mainstream counterpart in support of his ideals (35:37)
  • Lois Lane: Why does she stay with Luthor in a loveless marriage? (44:54)
  • Lex Luthor: Functions as a hero but with the motivation of a villain (50:45)
• Break (58:09)
  • Plugs for Scotch N Sports, Popcorn Psychology, and Phillip Kennedy Johnson
• Treatment (59:21)
  • In-universe - Superman gets treated in red room and gets refocused on helping mankind; Lex (62:32)
  • Out of universe - Start by addressing differences in backgrounds, and go from there
• Ending (69:20)
  • Next episodes: Mojo (Matt), Batman Month 1, Batman Month 2
  • Plugs for social

References:

• The Who - "Won’t Get Fooled Again" - Anthony (4:47)
• Dexter - Doc (52:50)

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