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Superman: Red Son
Superman: Red Son #3
The ELSEWORLDS miniseries comes to a shocking conclusion! By the year 2000, Superman’s Soviet Union is a crime-free utopia…where the people have no choices, and dissent is not tolerated. How will humanity react to his benevolent dictates?
51 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 1, 2003
13 people are currently reading
76 people want to read
About the author
Mark Millar
1,288 books2,561 followersMark Millar is the New York Times best-selling writer of Wanted, the Kick-Ass series, The Secret Service, Jupiter’s Legacy, Jupiter’s Circle, Nemesis, Superior, Super Crooks, American Jesus, MPH, Starlight, and Chrononauts. Wanted, Kick-Ass, Kick-Ass 2, and The Secret Service (as Kingsman: The Secret Service) have been adapted into feature films, and Nemesis, Superior, Starlight, War Heroes, Jupiter’s Legacy and Chrononauts are in development at major studios.
His DC Comics work includes the seminal Superman: Red Son, and at Marvel Comics he created The Ultimates – selected by Time magazine as the comic book of the decade, Wolverine: Old Man Logan, and Civil War – the industry’s biggest-selling superhero series in almost two decades.
Mark has been an Executive Producer on all his movie adaptations and is currently creative consultant to Fox Studios on their Marvel slate of movies.
His DC Comics work includes the seminal Superman: Red Son, and at Marvel Comics he created The Ultimates – selected by Time magazine as the comic book of the decade, Wolverine: Old Man Logan, and Civil War – the industry’s biggest-selling superhero series in almost two decades.
Mark has been an Executive Producer on all his movie adaptations and is currently creative consultant to Fox Studios on their Marvel slate of movies.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
August 23, 2014
The third act of Red Son is when Lex Luthor's plans come to fruition and he finally gets one over Superman. This is important as it feeds into the ending and gives us the best part of Mark Millar's Superman epic; the ending.
The ending to Red Son is basically how the mythology of Superman feeds into itself and makes it self-sustaining. It is nice touch by MIllar. He gives us a Superman-Luthor connection that should be obvious after the decades of such stories. A fitting ending to this modern classic.
The ending to Red Son is basically how the mythology of Superman feeds into itself and makes it self-sustaining. It is nice touch by MIllar. He gives us a Superman-Luthor connection that should be obvious after the decades of such stories. A fitting ending to this modern classic.
February 14, 2019
Brilliant mini series and loved loved loved the ending.
April 17, 2014
It starts off poorly as a successor to dull second issue. The story gets better after the halfway. And again, blatant and unabashed glory of USA dulls the entire series and a supposed finale. I couldn't digest the fact that only USA the great could withstand the powers of Superman; so no problem where super heroes come from, USA will always be right and will win in the end. The only respite is a magnificent and clever ending.
December 2, 2025
Corre el año 2000 y la Unión Soviética Global abarca todos los países excepto Chile y Estados Unidos, que ha sufrido una desastrosa guerra civil. Dentro de la esfera de influencia soviética no hay delincuencia, pobreza, desempleo ni opciones. La operación "Cerebro de Superman" es un castigo común para la disidencia. Superman se compromete a "ganar la discusión" con Estados Unidos y rechaza repetidamente las sugerencias de Brainiac de invadirlo. Su único fracaso sigue siendo Stalingrado, devastado por un organismo microscópico verde parecido a un piojo de oveja.
Luthor se postula y gana la presidencia de Estados Unidos. Valiéndose de su enorme capital económico y poderes dictatoriales, devuelve la prosperidad al país. Sin embargo, sigue siendo tan asocial como siempre, y esto es solo una parte de un plan mayor para provocar a Superman a invadir Estados Unidos y así destruirlo. Se enfrenta a Superman en el Palacio de Invierno de Siberia. En un momento aparentemente decepcionante, Brainiac arrastra a Luthor a lo más profundo de la Fortaleza para transformarlo quirúrgicamente en otro Superman Robot. Superman reconoce que le han forzado la mano y se prepara para atacar.
Luthor se postula y gana la presidencia de Estados Unidos. Valiéndose de su enorme capital económico y poderes dictatoriales, devuelve la prosperidad al país. Sin embargo, sigue siendo tan asocial como siempre, y esto es solo una parte de un plan mayor para provocar a Superman a invadir Estados Unidos y así destruirlo. Se enfrenta a Superman en el Palacio de Invierno de Siberia. En un momento aparentemente decepcionante, Brainiac arrastra a Luthor a lo más profundo de la Fortaleza para transformarlo quirúrgicamente en otro Superman Robot. Superman reconoce que le han forzado la mano y se prepara para atacar.
July 29, 2025
As part of the DC Comics Official Discord Book Club, I read this issue and answered these questions:
1. As Superman’s regime reaches its peak, we see the full extent of his global control. Do you believe his version of peace is sustainable or ethical? What are the consequences, both seen and implied, of a world without dissent?
I do not believe his version of peace is sustainable or ethical and this is something superman fully accepts by the end of the issue and something Luthor forces him to finally see. The consequences of this society are shown explicitly through Luthor and everyone Superman is forced to fight against, he is literally fighting against free will when facing the green lantern corps. Even Diana going through her hardships in the last issue and losing all of her powers in Superman’s name finally allowed her to choose whether to fight against him or not. While it’s not explicitly shown in his society, you can heavily infer that if you are a citizen of Superman’s world that has their entire day planned out for them and everyone gets the 8 hours of sleep they need…then there is no choice or inch of free will in the entirety of the society. The overall consequence of a world like this is the restriction it puts on itself, it physically stunts itself in the process. As Superman is secretly living his final days out in the world Luthor helped to build once people could decide for themselves, the entire world prospered into a new world of thinkers and artists. That never could have been possible with the restrictive regime Superman set forth.
2. Lex’s final moves are bold and deeply strategic. How do you interpret his character arc by the end of the story? Is he a hero, a villain, or something more complex? How did your view of him change over the course of the series?
At first I definitely saw Lex as the same old version of himself, he would be the first to admit it, even at the end, that he is solely working towards the destruction of Superman. But in this different context, that is something that Superman even comes to accept as necessary. Lex became the shining light that finally opened Superman’s eyes and showed him that the world could go on without him, that they could be trusted to continue down the right path and achieve everything he originally wanted. No wars, no famine, etc. without the need of an authoritarian regime that strips free will. Lex still isn’t the shining beacon of hope, he is an insane genius that mapped out every move 40 years in advance and still cares little for the people whose lives he made better. He is far cry from the shining beacon of hope we usually associate with superman, but ultimately does it matter? What matters is that he wasn’t a replacement, he wasn’t a new figurehead to put in charge of the world he simply helped guide it, even if that guidance was rooted in hatred. So overall, it definitely makes him something that is not quite a hero nor a villain but right in that grey middle.
3. The series repeatedly returns to the idea of free will versus enforced order. Which characters embody resistance or autonomy most clearly in this final issue? What message do you think the story is ultimately sending about choice?
I have to say, overall the story is ultimately saying your choices don’t matter. The final pages show that even throughout all of time history will simply repeat itself. It’s quite nihilistic but the story flashes forward to show that our sun has turned red and is at risk at destroying their world entirely, so two of Lex Luthor’s descendants (with very Kryptonian sounding names), who could not get anyone else to listen to them, decided to send their son back in time to when there was a yellow sun so he could strike change in the world and make things better…inadvertanly kicking off the events of this series by having him land in Ukraine, 1938. Is this ultimately saying that there is no such thing as free will or enforced order and things will only continue as they always have? I hope not, because that is quite bleak, especially with the utopian world of free will and prosperity this issue ends on, but I do think it shows that people will always try and make the world a better place…even if their intentions lead down the wrong path for a time. Looking overall at the idea of free will vs enforced order, there are certain characters that embody resistance and autonomy most clearly. While they are not explicitly seen, the idea that even after the batmen were mind controlled by superman, only to return once Moscow fell into ruins to restore order is a great example of people exerting their own autonomy to work towards a free world. There is no denying that what they went through must have been hell, but to stand back up and help to pick up the pieces and continue fighting is quite beautiful and human to think about. Wonder Woman also finally shows some autonomy of her own, it took losing everything to do it, but by the final issue she is finally starting to act more like the Diana we know by analyzing the world around her and fighting to make it better instead of falling in line behind a leader. That takes great strength. Also bonus, the green lantern corps themselves. Literally the embodiment of free will, it’s what drives and powers them completely.
4. The closing sequence of Red Son contains a major twist that recontextualizes the story’s themes and Superman’s identity. How did this reveal affect your understanding of the entire narrative? Did it change your emotional response to Superman?
I touched on this a bit in the last question, but it does drag the narrative down quite a bit. Suddenly this entire future of possibility and prosperity has been shrunken down into a loop that our characters are forced to live through. Can free will exist if we are damned to never learn from our mistakes? It continually feels like there is no true solution, only ideas that continue to conflict with each other to try and find the right solution. Which in itself is a very human thing. I can’t say it changed my emotional response to superman, it is quite a shocking twist but everything that happens continues to happen for the same reasons and everyone comes to the same realizations.
5. By the end, how are different ideologies such as communism, capitalism, authoritarianism, and democracy portrayed? Does Red Son seem to endorse or critique any of them more heavily?
This entire series is very red scare focused, it does not hold back from trying to critique communism and the authoritarian that rose within eventually leading to its downfall. On the flip side of that, at least by the end for a short time, it paints democracy and capitalism as the saving grace for the universe. It literally has a giant businessman coming in and fixing everything to finally stand a fighting chance against the communist/authoritarian centered government currently ruling the world. But that is not to say there aren't moments where it grounds the ideologies, it doesn’t do it a lot mind you, but there are moments where Lex admits that they had good ideas and just the ending itself ultimately points out that no matter what system you follow it will eventually lead to collapse. Overall, and rightfully so, it critiques authoritarianism the most and the inhumane practices that keep the cogs turning.
6. Looking back across all three issues, which character’s transformation or reinterpretation impacted you the most? Did the alternate universe versions of these characters deepen your understanding of them or make you question their original portrayals?
Looking across all the issues, the character’s transformation that impacted me the most was Lex, hands down. This version of Lex does not make me question the original portrayal, if anything it expands the original Lex’s arguments and reasons for hating superman to a larger scale. Deep down Lex is always working against superman from a point of hatred, but why? Usually I would argue it is because Lex sees superman as an alien plague meant to come here to make the rest of humanity weak and unable to fight for themselves. But usually they are always portrayed as being relatively on the same side, they fight alongside the same people and ideologies and live in the same spheres. This version recontextualizes it to separate them into different bubbles completely. Suddenly the fight has come to the level Lex always feared the most, it is a fight for the human race. Will they be able to continue without a superman dictating their every action, can they take care of themselves? Ultimately seeing that is the case is a very powerful subject and hopeful subject to broach. And suddenly you start feeling hope for humanity from Lex Luthor, which is a very hard thing to usually say.
1. As Superman’s regime reaches its peak, we see the full extent of his global control. Do you believe his version of peace is sustainable or ethical? What are the consequences, both seen and implied, of a world without dissent?
I do not believe his version of peace is sustainable or ethical and this is something superman fully accepts by the end of the issue and something Luthor forces him to finally see. The consequences of this society are shown explicitly through Luthor and everyone Superman is forced to fight against, he is literally fighting against free will when facing the green lantern corps. Even Diana going through her hardships in the last issue and losing all of her powers in Superman’s name finally allowed her to choose whether to fight against him or not. While it’s not explicitly shown in his society, you can heavily infer that if you are a citizen of Superman’s world that has their entire day planned out for them and everyone gets the 8 hours of sleep they need…then there is no choice or inch of free will in the entirety of the society. The overall consequence of a world like this is the restriction it puts on itself, it physically stunts itself in the process. As Superman is secretly living his final days out in the world Luthor helped to build once people could decide for themselves, the entire world prospered into a new world of thinkers and artists. That never could have been possible with the restrictive regime Superman set forth.
2. Lex’s final moves are bold and deeply strategic. How do you interpret his character arc by the end of the story? Is he a hero, a villain, or something more complex? How did your view of him change over the course of the series?
At first I definitely saw Lex as the same old version of himself, he would be the first to admit it, even at the end, that he is solely working towards the destruction of Superman. But in this different context, that is something that Superman even comes to accept as necessary. Lex became the shining light that finally opened Superman’s eyes and showed him that the world could go on without him, that they could be trusted to continue down the right path and achieve everything he originally wanted. No wars, no famine, etc. without the need of an authoritarian regime that strips free will. Lex still isn’t the shining beacon of hope, he is an insane genius that mapped out every move 40 years in advance and still cares little for the people whose lives he made better. He is far cry from the shining beacon of hope we usually associate with superman, but ultimately does it matter? What matters is that he wasn’t a replacement, he wasn’t a new figurehead to put in charge of the world he simply helped guide it, even if that guidance was rooted in hatred. So overall, it definitely makes him something that is not quite a hero nor a villain but right in that grey middle.
3. The series repeatedly returns to the idea of free will versus enforced order. Which characters embody resistance or autonomy most clearly in this final issue? What message do you think the story is ultimately sending about choice?
I have to say, overall the story is ultimately saying your choices don’t matter. The final pages show that even throughout all of time history will simply repeat itself. It’s quite nihilistic but the story flashes forward to show that our sun has turned red and is at risk at destroying their world entirely, so two of Lex Luthor’s descendants (with very Kryptonian sounding names), who could not get anyone else to listen to them, decided to send their son back in time to when there was a yellow sun so he could strike change in the world and make things better…inadvertanly kicking off the events of this series by having him land in Ukraine, 1938. Is this ultimately saying that there is no such thing as free will or enforced order and things will only continue as they always have? I hope not, because that is quite bleak, especially with the utopian world of free will and prosperity this issue ends on, but I do think it shows that people will always try and make the world a better place…even if their intentions lead down the wrong path for a time. Looking overall at the idea of free will vs enforced order, there are certain characters that embody resistance and autonomy most clearly. While they are not explicitly seen, the idea that even after the batmen were mind controlled by superman, only to return once Moscow fell into ruins to restore order is a great example of people exerting their own autonomy to work towards a free world. There is no denying that what they went through must have been hell, but to stand back up and help to pick up the pieces and continue fighting is quite beautiful and human to think about. Wonder Woman also finally shows some autonomy of her own, it took losing everything to do it, but by the final issue she is finally starting to act more like the Diana we know by analyzing the world around her and fighting to make it better instead of falling in line behind a leader. That takes great strength. Also bonus, the green lantern corps themselves. Literally the embodiment of free will, it’s what drives and powers them completely.
4. The closing sequence of Red Son contains a major twist that recontextualizes the story’s themes and Superman’s identity. How did this reveal affect your understanding of the entire narrative? Did it change your emotional response to Superman?
I touched on this a bit in the last question, but it does drag the narrative down quite a bit. Suddenly this entire future of possibility and prosperity has been shrunken down into a loop that our characters are forced to live through. Can free will exist if we are damned to never learn from our mistakes? It continually feels like there is no true solution, only ideas that continue to conflict with each other to try and find the right solution. Which in itself is a very human thing. I can’t say it changed my emotional response to superman, it is quite a shocking twist but everything that happens continues to happen for the same reasons and everyone comes to the same realizations.
5. By the end, how are different ideologies such as communism, capitalism, authoritarianism, and democracy portrayed? Does Red Son seem to endorse or critique any of them more heavily?
This entire series is very red scare focused, it does not hold back from trying to critique communism and the authoritarian that rose within eventually leading to its downfall. On the flip side of that, at least by the end for a short time, it paints democracy and capitalism as the saving grace for the universe. It literally has a giant businessman coming in and fixing everything to finally stand a fighting chance against the communist/authoritarian centered government currently ruling the world. But that is not to say there aren't moments where it grounds the ideologies, it doesn’t do it a lot mind you, but there are moments where Lex admits that they had good ideas and just the ending itself ultimately points out that no matter what system you follow it will eventually lead to collapse. Overall, and rightfully so, it critiques authoritarianism the most and the inhumane practices that keep the cogs turning.
6. Looking back across all three issues, which character’s transformation or reinterpretation impacted you the most? Did the alternate universe versions of these characters deepen your understanding of them or make you question their original portrayals?
Looking across all the issues, the character’s transformation that impacted me the most was Lex, hands down. This version of Lex does not make me question the original portrayal, if anything it expands the original Lex’s arguments and reasons for hating superman to a larger scale. Deep down Lex is always working against superman from a point of hatred, but why? Usually I would argue it is because Lex sees superman as an alien plague meant to come here to make the rest of humanity weak and unable to fight for themselves. But usually they are always portrayed as being relatively on the same side, they fight alongside the same people and ideologies and live in the same spheres. This version recontextualizes it to separate them into different bubbles completely. Suddenly the fight has come to the level Lex always feared the most, it is a fight for the human race. Will they be able to continue without a superman dictating their every action, can they take care of themselves? Ultimately seeing that is the case is a very powerful subject and hopeful subject to broach. And suddenly you start feeling hope for humanity from Lex Luthor, which is a very hard thing to usually say.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 5, 2023
The third and final part of the 'Red Son' story.
Superman has created a global Soviet Union but when Lex Luthor leads a resurgence in American national success the Union is threatened. Caught between the collapse of everything he's built and crossing the line into conqueror, Superman has to decide whether he is a hero or a monster.
The previous two books had been okay but lacked a proper incisive take on this Soviet-dominant alternate universe. Whilst that is still lacking here, Millar does something equally good and instead uses the scenario he's created to take an incisive look at Superman himself; as a person and as a symbol. There's a powerful message here and, to my surprise considering Millar's back-catalogue, an impressively hopeful one.
This book felt better overall than the previous two and it was pushed over the top for me by a really surprising but clever denouement, which I won't spoil but is worth the wait.
* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *
Superman has created a global Soviet Union but when Lex Luthor leads a resurgence in American national success the Union is threatened. Caught between the collapse of everything he's built and crossing the line into conqueror, Superman has to decide whether he is a hero or a monster.
The previous two books had been okay but lacked a proper incisive take on this Soviet-dominant alternate universe. Whilst that is still lacking here, Millar does something equally good and instead uses the scenario he's created to take an incisive look at Superman himself; as a person and as a symbol. There's a powerful message here and, to my surprise considering Millar's back-catalogue, an impressively hopeful one.
This book felt better overall than the previous two and it was pushed over the top for me by a really surprising but clever denouement, which I won't spoil but is worth the wait.
* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *
July 28, 2025
years down the line when superman ages as a dictator and lex luthor becomes president of the US. The US is the only country left that hasn’t joined the USSR. Superman is left with the choice of either invading the USA or trying to convince them to join. Brainiac recommends invasion as it’ll “save” millions more lives, but Superman disagrees as not one life has been taken for the cause so far. He ends up invading after the Green Lantern and Lex Luthor attack him and Brainiac. Superman “dies” after discovering Brainiac was wrong. Luthor leads the pact against the Soviets and creates a thriving world far greater than the eye has seen. Jor-L in the future is a distant grandson of Lex, and sends his son back in time to live a better life as his planet is dying….
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 11, 2022
Wow! I loved every minute of this book. The art work is out of this world. There are such subtleties to the superman mythos and the ending is just brilliant.
It's interesting to see how these super heros evolve in the Soviet union and yet at their core stay true to their foundation. Batman is the anarchist, superman had the god complex, luthors driven by his ambition to beat Superman. It's the same players, the same game but so much is different.
I was worried it would be your typical interpretation of Russia and communism but the story is really well done without showing one superior civilization. I am really impressed. I thoroughly enjoyed it!
It's interesting to see how these super heros evolve in the Soviet union and yet at their core stay true to their foundation. Batman is the anarchist, superman had the god complex, luthors driven by his ambition to beat Superman. It's the same players, the same game but so much is different.
I was worried it would be your typical interpretation of Russia and communism but the story is really well done without showing one superior civilization. I am really impressed. I thoroughly enjoyed it!
December 30, 2019
An excellent read if you're into the superman lore or comics in general.
A great entry in the elseworlds universe
A great entry in the elseworlds universe
February 26, 2020
The ending is cringeworthy when you really think about it.
September 12, 2021
Just wouaw, amazing, the end was mind blowing.
Loved it
Loved it
January 15, 2025
crazy ending
April 23, 2025
Dude, the ending on this one
April 3, 2020
I am not a Superman fan, but Red Son was an interesting take on Superman. What would happen if Superman was raised in USSR. I enjoyed all 3 issues.
December 15, 2015
¡ME ENCANTARON!
Los empece a leer porque son narrados con el tiempo de la Guerra Fría y pues no me pude contener y lo leí, la verdad estuvieron geniales, pero más que nada ese pinche jodido final...
Los empece a leer porque son narrados con el tiempo de la Guerra Fría y pues no me pude contener y lo leí, la verdad estuvieron geniales, pero más que nada ese pinche jodido final...
July 18, 2014
Tempted to give this volume 4 stars, but as few irksome things in the storyline brought it down. The ending was fantastic, but the uncharacteristic actions of the amazons definitely didn't land right. On the whole, it was a really good AU story.
June 16, 2017
An epic conclusion to the series with a great climax.
May 16, 2017
Okay, this trilogy is insanely good. The ending blew my mind.
December 17, 2024
interesting ending for sure
September 8, 2014
Brilliantly done Superman the communist satire.
January 3, 2015
Epic ending.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews