Superman: Red Son by Mark Millar

Millar, Mark. Artist, Dave Johnson. Superman: Red Son. DC Comics, 2004 ISBN 1-4012-0191-1
Summary
Superman landed in Soviet Russia and becomes one with the communist cause against the Americans. Lex Luthor is his American arch nemesis who is married to Lewis. Superman will do anything to fight for the cause of the communist even taking over the country. Lex Luthor find traces of Superman DNA that he found on Sputnik after the crash in Metropolis which he uses to create a Bizarro clone of superman. Russia accidently launches a missle at the U.S. that Bizzaro stops but is the cause of his death which causes more tension between the countries. The US is willing to do anything to bring Russia down while Superman cares more about creating utopia in Russia.
Critical evaluation
A great adaptation of the ordinary American Boy Wonder story actually fighting for the ‘Reds.’ This plot and illustrations are a masterpiece that leave the reader flabbergasted at the end of the tail. It take everything conventional that Superman possess and creates an alternative universe with no loopholes, everything is explained and answered. It goes into the mind of Superman as a communist and the mind of Lex Luthor an American hero. Superman is no longer fighting against the communist as he did once before but is now fighting against the US. It also gives a different idea of what would have been. In the graphic novel, Superman spends money in fixing Russia from the inside instead of wasting money on weapons of mass destruction. Millar and Johnson give a great analysis of the different world it would have been if Superman landed somewhere else.
Readers annotation
Superman lands in Russia and begins to create an utopian society by eliminating poverty and giving to those less fortunate. While Lex Luthor, in America, is working on a device that will leave Russia diminished.
Information About the Author
Millar is known for make epic comic series.
Genre
Graphic Novel - Superhero
Curriculum Ties
English
Booktalking ideas
1) use internal dialogue when superman is vision an utopian Russia and contrast it to Luthors hate towards the Russians. Pg 58- 60 and pg 34-35
Reading level/interest age
13 and up
Why book included?
I thought the premise was mind blowing. Superman was no longer the American hero but Russia’s.