Superman: Red Son (film)

In the Soviet Union during the year 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 can use his powers to help the country should he so choose.

A decade later, in the year 1955, the Soviet Union releases propaganda film of an alien superhuman under the command of Joseph Stalin, whom the American media dubs the "Soviet Superman". United States President Eisenhower tasks Lex Luthor to develop a countermeasure against the superhuman. Meanwhile, Superman prevents a satellite from crashing into Metropolis, which leads to Lex's wife Lois Luthor securing an interview with him. She shows him a top secret document that leads Superman to a secret gulag where he finds a dying Svetlana, who was imprisoned there because she knew his real identity. Enraged, Superman confronts Stalin about the gulag and incinerates him with his heat vision. As a result, Superman 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 uses said powers and influence to stop conflict, bring nations to the Soviet side and forge an alliance with Princess Diana / Wonder Woman of Themyscira. Meanwhile, Luthor unveils a clone of Superman, dubbed "Superior Man", made from harvesting Superman's cells from the crashed satellite and remotely powered with an orb of energy before sending it out to confront Superman. The two superhumans battle until Luthor overloads the clone with excess energy, causing it to swell up and degenerate as the fight progresses until it finally collapses and dissolves. Superman is left appalled and sickened by Luthor's actions.

Years later, in the year 1967, Superman stops an invasion by the alien cyborg Brainiac, reprogramming it to become his advisor and uses his technology to lobotomize dissidents. He was unable to prevent the city of Stalingrad from being shrunk 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 of the lasso and destroys the lamps' power source, restoring Superman's powers. When Superman threatens to imprison him, Batman chooses to commit suicide rather than become a mindless slave. A wounded and rapidly aged Wonder Woman leaves Superman, upset by the brutality of both sides of the conflict.

In the United States, Luthor becomes 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 immense power of the green ring found on the alien's body, 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 sets out to confront 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 use it. Realizing the error of his ways, Superman stands down, but an enraged Brainiac spitefully destroys the shrunken city and proceeds with the attack, revealing that the reprogramming failed and he had been using Superman to conquer the world himself. Superman and Luthor battle Brainiac and destroy him, but his ship is set to self-destruct upon his defeat. 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 announces his resignation from his presidency in order to spend more time with Lois, handing over the country to Vice-President James Olsen. Lois shares a brief glimpse with Superman before he disappears into the crowd.

• Jason Isaacs as Superman
• Amy Acker as Lois Lane
• Diedrich Bader as Lex Luthor
• Vanessa Marshall as Wonder Woman
• Phil Morris as James Olsen
• Paul Williams as Brainiac
• Phil LaMarr as John Stewart / Ron Troupe
• Jim Meskimen as Dwight D. Eisenhower / John F. Kennedy
• Sasha Roiz as Hal Jordan
• William Salyers as Joseph Stalin / Jack Ryder
• Roger Craig Smith as Batman
• Jason Spisak as Dimitri
• Tara Strong as Young Superman
• Travis Willingham as Superior Man / Guy Gardner / Petrovich
• Winter Ave Zoli as Svetlana
• Greg Chun as Ambassador Lee
• Jim Ward as George Taylor

In 2013, James Tucker expressed interest in making an animated movie adaptation of Red Son for DC Universe Animated Original Movies, such the project is in consideration by Warner Bros.[6] On January 8, 2019, it was announced that a direct-to-video film adaption of the comic is in development, part of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies line. It will be a stand-alone movie separate from the DC Animated Movie Universe. Jason Isaacs will star as Superman opposite, Amy Acker as Lois Lane, Diedrich Bader as Lex Luthor, and Paul Williams as Brainiac, with Roger Craig Smith as Batman and Vanessa Marshall as Wonder Woman. Also appearing are William Salyers as Joseph Stalin, Jim Meskimen as John F. Kennedy, Phil Morris as James Olsen, Sasha Roiz as Hal Jordan, Phil LaMarr as John Stewart, Travis Willingham as Superior Man, and Winter Zoli as Svetlana. Anna Vocino, Greg Chun, Jim Ward, Jason Spisak, and Tara Strong were also cast in minor roles for the film.[7][8]

The film currently has a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 14 reviews.[9]

• Superman: Red Son on IMDb