Re-Evaluations

Micheal Bay makes moves where things blow up. The US military is usually involved, the plot is as deep as a puddle, and if things go well, there's usually a couple good fist-pump moments. (If things go badly, you get [i]Transformers 2[/i].) It's simple action movie escapism, and Bay does it fairly well.

Now, imagine if Micheal Bay directed [i]Hunt for Red October[/i]. And then you'll be as surprised as I was when I read [i]Superman: Red Son[/i], by Mark Millar.

Millar is kind of like Bay in his output, often producing a lot of great fist-pump moments with high-octane action. I used to think that this is where he should focus his energies, as his more ambitious projects tend to turn me off in their social commentary. ([i]Ultimates[/i] and [i]Civil War[/i] being the biggest offenders, although at least the former tells a complete story.) So naturally, when I heard of [i]Superman: Red Son[/i], I wasn't particularly interested.

But when I actually read the darn thing, rather than ham-fisted political commentary, I got...subtlety. From Mark Millar. I know, I was shocked too.

Really, despite the amusing roles played by Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and Brainiac, this whole story can really be boiled down to the battle of wills between Superman and Lex Luthor. Really, the Communist angle was far less important to the story than one would think; any number of circumstances could put them in this situation.

And it's a really gripping version of the Superman/Luthor conflict, one in which the fundamental nature of their roles is reversed. Superman is now the one who's deluded himself about his actions, yet still views himself as a hero, and Luthor is more in the right, although for the completely wrong reason. However, unlike a lot of Elseworlds tales, the characters remain essentially themselves throughout, which counts for a lot.

It's interesting, gripping, subtle yet still action-packed...while it's not my personal favorite work of his (the Marvel Knights Spider-Man run still holds that spot), I'd think it's his most successful.