Issue 110 - Superman: Red Son

Intro Email us voice recordings of your thoughts on Batman & what he means to you for upcoming episode - capesonthecouch@gmail.com 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

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