In the Soviet Union in 1946, a young boy is chased by a gang of bullies. A young girl, Svetlana, defends him by chasing them away. He reveals to her that he was not scared for his own safety, but that of the bullies before demonstrating superhuman strength and the ability to fly. Svetlana tells the boy he should use his powers to help his country.
A decade later, in 1955, the Soviet government releases a propaganda film of an alien superhuman under the command of Joseph Stalin, dubbed the "Soviet Superman". U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower tasks Lex Luthor to develop a countermeasure against him. Meanwhile, in an action planned by Luthor, Superman prevents a satellite from crashing into Metropolis, leading to Luthor's wife, Lois Lane, securing an interview with him. She shows him a top-secret document that leads Superman to a secret gulag shielded by lead. There he meets a young boy surrounded by bats, and a dying Svetlana, who was imprisoned there by Stalin because she knew his real identity. Enraged, Superman confronts and kills Stalin. As a result, he becomes the new leader of the Soviet Union, pledging to use his powers for good and to spread the influence of the Soviet state.
Superman advances communist ideals across the world, ending the Korean War and demolishing the Berlin Wall, which the Western powers built to deter him. He also forges an alliance and close friendship with Princess Diana / Wonder Woman of Themyscira. Meanwhile, Luthor unveils a clone of Superman, dubbed "Superior Man", who is sent to confront Superman. The two superhumans battle until Luthor overloads the clone with excess energy, causing it to degenerate and ultimately dissolve. Superman is left appalled by Luthor's actions.
In 1967, Superman stops an invasion by the alien cyborg Brainiac, reprogramming him to become his advisor, and uses his technology to advance the countries of the Warsaw Pact, as well as lobotomizeSoviet dissidents. However, he is unable to prevent Brainiac from shrinking the city of Stalingrad and is also forced to deal with the terrorist Batman, a survivor of the secret gulag who blames Superman for his family's death. Batman kidnaps Wonder Woman and binds her with the Lasso of Truth to lead Superman into a trap, using lamps that simulate Krypton's red sun to neutralize his powers. Batman beats Superman and leaves him to die until Wonder Woman breaks free and destroys the lamps' power source, restoring Superman's powers. When Superman threatens to lobotomize him, Batman chooses to commit suicide. Drained from freeing herself, Wonder Woman leaves Superman, disillusioned by man's brutality.
In the United States, Luthor is elected President and ushers in a new age of prosperity that threatens Soviet dominance. Finding Abin Sur's crashed spaceship and body, Luthor tasks Colonel Hal Jordan with uncovering the power of Sur's ring, leading to the formation of the Green Lantern Corps. In 1983, Jordan leads an attack against Superman, which is briefly halted by Wonder Woman, who tries one last time to end the conflict before announcing that Themyscira will be closed to all men forever. With Brainiac's encouragement, Superman confronts Luthor at the White House, only to find Lois with the bottled city of Stalingrad. Superman tells her that for years he has tried and failed to reverse the miniaturization of the city, but Brainiac reveals that the technology has always been available to him; he just chose not to mention it, and Superman gave him no direct order to reverse the process. Realizing the error of his ways, Superman stands down, but Brainiac destroys the city and proceeds with the attack, revealing that the reprogramming failed and he had been using Superman to conquer the planet for himself. Superman and Luthor battle and destroy Brainiac, but his ship is set to self-destruct. Superman flies the ship out into deep space, apparently dying in the explosion.
At a ceremony in front of the Capitol Building, a disguised Superman watches from the crowd as Luthor resigns to spend more time with Lois, handing over the country to Vice PresidentJames Olsen. Lois shares a brief glimpse with Superman before disappearing into the crowd.
In 2013, Warner Bros. Animation producer James Tucker said that a Red Son film adaptation had been discussed at the studio, and that he personally would be interested in such a project.[5] On January 8, 2019, it was announced that a direct-to-video film adaption of the comic was in development, as part of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies line.[6][7]
Reception
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2020)
Superman: Red Son received generally positive reviews. As of October2021[update], 88% of the 16 reviews compiled by Rotten Tomatoes are positive, and have an average score of 7.6/10.[8]
Russian media reception
The presenters of the pro-Kremlin TV channel Russia-24 Alexey Kazakov and Anastasia Ivanova described the film as "Russophobic hysteria", further stating that "if Russia had not been so interesting, then there would have been no 'Red Son'."[9] In the program Time Will Tell, the film adaptation was called an element of a serious information war against Russia, the purpose of which is to form the image of the enemy. Anatoly Kuzichev concluded: "Comics are evil. Literature only!"[10] On the other hand, Yevgeni Popov considers this marketing without political background. According to the journalist, "we need to focus on our heroes."[11]
Mir Fantastiki criticized the adaptation, primarily for changes in the plot compared to the comic book.[12] Reviewer DTF [ru] noted that in the film adaptation, the atmosphere of the original was completely lost, and the main plot twist was removed from the final product.[13] In the review of Disgusting Men, the cartoon was called very weak, having lost the main idea and depth, besides with cheap animation.[14]
On the Russian online movie database Kinopoisk, the film received a rating of 5.7 out of 10 based on 4,935 votes. Viewers wrote 13 reviews, 5 of which were negative, 5 neutral, and 3 positive.[15]
Sales
The film earned $601,592 from domestic DVD sales and $1,411,992 from domestic Blu-ray sales, bringing its total home video earning to $2,013,584.[16]
Related Research Articles
Alexander Joseph "Lex" Luthor is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Lex Luthor originally appeared in Action Comics #23. He has since endured as the archenemy of the superhero Superman.
Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. The character made her first appearance in Action Comics #252 and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino.
Lana Lang is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, most often associated with Superman.
Brainiac is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, and debuted in Action Comics #242. He has since endured as one of Superman and the Justice League's greatest enemies. The character's name is a portmanteau of the words brain and maniac.
Kryptonians are a fictional extraterrestrial race within the DC Comics universe that originated on the planet Krypton. The term originated from the stories of DC Comics superhero, Superman. The stories also use "Kryptonian" as an adjective to refer to anything created by or associated with the planet itself or the cultures that existed on it.
Superman: Red Son is a three-issue prestige format comic book mini-series published by DC Comics that was released under their Elseworlds imprint in 2003. Author Mark Millar created the comic with the premise "What if Superman had been raised in the Soviet Union?" It received critical acclaim and was nominated for the 2004 Eisner Award for best limited series.
The Fortress of Solitude is a fictional fortress appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Superman. It is the place where Superman first learned about his true identity, heritage, and purpose on Earth. The fortress functions as a place of solace/occasional headquarters for Superman and is typically depicted as being in frozen tundra, away from civilization. Its predecessor, Superman's "Secret Citadel", first appeared in Superman #17, where it was said to be built into a mountain on the outskirts of Metropolis. By issue #58 it is referred to as the Fortress of Solitude, seems at a glance to be a freestanding castle, and is said to be located in a "polar waste". When the Fortress reappears in 1958 and for the first time takes center stage in a story, it is again an underground complex in a mountainous cliffside.
General Zod is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Superman. The character, who first appeared in Adventure Comics #283, was created by Robert Bernstein and initially designed by George Papp. As a Kryptonian, he exhibits the same powers and abilities as Superman and is consequently viewed as one of his greatest enemies alongside Lex Luthor, Darkseid and Brainiac. He is also well known for his famous catchphrase, "Kneel before Zod!".
Metallo is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of Superman. He is usually depicted as a cyborg with a kryptonite power source in his heart, which he uses as a weapon against Superman. In 2009, Metallo was ranked as IGN's 52nd-greatest comic book villain of all time.
Supergirl is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character is best known as one of the characters to have assumed the mantle of Supergirl. Created by writer Steven Seagle and artist Scott McDaniel, she first appeared in Superman: The 10¢ Adventure #1 (2003) as the alleged daughter of Superman. She is later found to be a human girl who was genetically altered by the villain Brainiac to appear Kryptonian. The character dies thwarting a plot involving Brainiac 13. Superman #200 implies that when the timeline realigned itself, Cir-El was erased from existence.
Justice is a twelve-issue American comic book limited series published bimonthly by DC Comics from August 2005 through June 2007, written by Alex Ross and Jim Krueger, with art also by Ross and Doug Braithwaite. Its story involves the superhero team known as the Justice League of America confronting the supervillain team the Legion of Doom after every supervillain is motivated by a shared dream that seems to be a vision of the planet's destruction, which they intend to avoid.
The Justice Lords are a fictional team of anti-heroes/anti-villains who first appeared in the two-part Justice League episode "A Better World", which was broadcast on November 1, 2003.
The character of Superman was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, and has been continually published in a variety of DC Comics book titles since its premiere in 1938. There have been several versions of Superman over the years, both as the main hero in the stories as well as several alternative versions.
"Superman Red/Superman Blue" refers to two different comic book storylines published by DC Comics featuring Superman.
JLA: Age of Wonder is a 2003 two-issue mini-series of comics from DC's Elseworlds imprint. Taking place from 1876 to 1913, the comics follow Clark Kent and Lex Luthor as they use superpowers to create technical innovations. The comics also follow the creation of the League of Science, a superhero league dedicated to spreading these innovations for the good of mankind. The series was written by Adisakdi Tantimedh, with art by P. Craig Russell and Galen Showman.
Lex Luthor is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. As Superman's archenemy, he has been portrayed in almost every Superman media franchise and adaptation.
Robot Chicken DC Comics Special is an episode of the television comedy series Robot Chicken and it was aired as a one-off special during Cartoon Network's Adult Swim on September 10, 2012.
"Superman: Doomed" is a Superman crossover story arc published by DC Comics starting in May 2014. The series is co-written by Greg Pak, Charles Soule and Scott Lobdell, with artwork by Ken Lashley, Aaron Kuder, and Tony Daniel.
Superman '78 is a superhero comic book limited series published by DC Comics. It is set in the continuity of Alexander Salkind's Superman film series which starred Christopher Reeve as the title character. Robert Venditti, who serves as the writer, revealed that he was working on a follow-up miniseries. A second series titled Superman '78: The Metal Curtain was announced by DC Comics on August 17, 2023. The first issue of the new series was released on November 7, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
