Absolute Power Corrupts: 'Superman Red Son' Review

If there are two things that I can say are a definitive mixed bag of cats for me in the industry it's the quality of Mark Millar's writing and the current state of the DC animation studio. So when they announced a few years ago that one of the next animated projects they would be working on would be Superman: Red Son, Millar's Superman story where the Man of Steel had landed in Russia instead of rural Kansas and grew up to be a champion for the Soviets, my eye twitched a little (or a lot) as my faith in the DC animation team had been severely waning and my faith in Millar's source material in this particular instance was nonexistent (Millar's Superman Red Son is one of the most terribly paced and horribly written Superman books I've ever read with little to no narrative cohesion. I even tried to reread it after watching the movie and found the same problems as I did before). Here' ns the thing,  I wanted to preface my review with this because I want to be 100 percent clear in the fact that I thought this movie was dead upon arrival, but instead, I found myself watching not only a fairly solid film but easily the most passion-filled project released by DC entertainment since the era of Flashpoint Paradox and The Dark Knight Returns pt1 &2. Superman: Red Son not only adapts the bare basic premise of Millar's iconic story brilliantly but by abandoning its narrative structure by giving Superman an actual hero's journey with a focused storyline, they vastly improve on Source material.

The biggest problem that the original Millar story has is that he tries to have Superman remain true to what Superman has always represented in the main continuity, however, when serving the Soviet regime of Russia and working directly under a figure as grotesque as Joseph Stalin, those two concepts are in direct conflict. Superman has always been an idealist who focuses on the safety and security of every individual person, so to have him try and stand by those morals while simultaneously toeing the line to Stalin's authoritarian doctrine and dictatorship, it makes ZERO sense. So the movie abandons this very concept by making the soviet Superman a victim of Stalin's propaganda as well. Stalin has taken every measure to prevent Superman from knowing about gulags and death squads sent to eradicate political dissidents. By doing this it creates a far more personal narrative that when Superman is faced with these truths his core foundation is shattered and so his rise to Soviet premier and world dictator feels far more natural. He is a man that is trying to prove Stalin wrong, but in doing so becomes equally corrupted and just as terrifying (which makes all his confrontations in the movie so much more personal, especially his fight with Batman). They take this story which in the book feels super confused as to which direction the author is trying to go and turn it into a parable on how absolute power corrupts even the people with the purest intentions. It's really impressive because Superman feels so true to form and yet in so many other ways, a direct contradiction to everything he's stood for as a character. The way this Superman sees the Marxist narrative fits so well within the Superman ethos and mission, but to then see firsthand the lengths at which he will go to uphold that ideal in the face of the world, it's genuinely terrifying and so in only a story about Soviet Russia and Cold War politics do we have this outstanding narrative where we are honestly not too sure who to route for.

As impressive as the writing is, it's far from the film's only strength. The voice cast for one is stellar. With veterans like Roger Craig Smith (who voiced Batman in Arkham Origins), Phil Lemarr (voice of John Stewart, Green Lantern in  Justice League), and Vanessa Marshall (voice of Wonder Woman in two of DC's best made animated features to date: Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths and Flashpoint Paradox) returning to those respective roles. However, the real laurel leaf crown goes to Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter franchise, and a list of acting accolades as long as my 6 ft 2 wingspan) who delivered the voice of our Soviet Superman. You could not have asked for better casting as I feel Isaacs is one of the few actors out there with the range to make this Superman go from sympathetic to downright terrifying as the situation provided. However, as important as voice acting and writing are the heart of the animated feature is in the animation itself.

Superman Red Son goes for a similar aesthetic to the Timm verse mixed with a bit of the style they used for the animated adaptation of The Dark Knight Returns, designs are minimalist but are crisp in presentation and what's more important is that as a result of that minimalist approach to the animation we get beautiful flow of animation. The biggest complaint I have about most modern DC animated features is that the design of characters is gorgeous but there is so much going on with them that the animation itself suffers. Fight scenes are choppy or just downright boring. I cannot speak enough on just how bad that fight with Darkseid is in JL War. Gone were the dynamic fights between Darkseid and the League from the Timm verse and here was just this giant cinder block occasionally taking time to wave his hand as he backhanded some Leaguer. Some defend this as a display of Darkseid's raw power, I see it for what it is, lazy, boring and uninspired. However, in Superman Red Son every bit of animation is a love note to the medium. It's hard to pinpoint a fight I enjoyed most because all of them are fantastic and I love each for their own reasons: Superman vs Superior Man for the raw Snyder-Esque displays of power and that super gut-wrenching conclusion, Soviet Batman vs Superman for its perfect set up as the film's climax and just how fantastically choreographed it is, the list just goes on.


The last several DC animated features have been utter disappointments. There have been occasional gems (The Death and Rebirth of Superman and Batman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) but all in all they have been trash. Batman: Hush ruined one of Batman's best storylines by butchering the story and half-assed and lifeless animation that did zero justice to Jim Lee's art from the original story, Wonder Woman: Bloodlines had fantastic animation but forgot the whole narrative aspect of a movie so the story is just trash.  Superman Red Son has its own flaws but I am not going to talk about them because they are minor details like race swapping Jimmy Olsen to make for a more diverse cast when it makes zero sense given the setting (story is set in 1960-80s, Cold War era America, no fucking way a black man is White House liaison to STAR Labs and Lex Luthor), but again if those are my negative points on the film, it means I am grasping at straws to find flaws, and that's a fantastic thing. It may not be the best movie in the DC animated catalog (sorry but until someone rivals everything about Mask of Phantasm you got nothing), but Superman: Red Son is love letter to what brought them to the top in the first place and for that reason alone I am proud to add it to my own personal collection. I give Superman: Red Son a solid 9 out of 10, and a strong recommend not just to watch, but to purchase as well. The movie is available now for Digital and will be available in the next few weeks for physical purchase in stores!