Superman: Red Son

最喜歡寫這種經典作品的閱後感了，因為這些知名度高的作品，通常都很容易就能在網上找到相關的故事撮要，省去我不少功夫。

以下引自維基：

In the 1950s, the Soviet Union reveals its newest asset to be Superman. The sudden revelation of a superpowered alien under Soviet control causes panic in theUnited States, shifting the focus of the Cold War arms race from nuclear weapons to superhumans. CIA agent James Olsen recruits Lex Luthor, a scientist employed by S.T.A.R. Labs, to destroy Superman. Luthor's first act is to cause Sputnik 2 to plummet towards Metropolis. After Superman diverts the satellite away from the city, Luthor retrieves his genetic material and creates a clone of Superman whom Lex Luthor officially names Superman 2 when he is unveiled to Olsen. The clone's appearance is monstrous, and is this world's equivalent to Bizarro.

Meanwhile, Superman meets Wonder Woman at a diplomatic party, and she becomes smitten by him. Pyotr Roslov, the head of the NKVD and Joseph Stalin's illegitimate son, is angry that Superman has turned his father's attention away from him and ended his chances of advancement within the Soviet regime. Pyotr shoots a dissident couple in front of their son for printing anti-Superman propaganda. Stalin dies from cyanide poisoning, and Superman initially refuses command of the Communist Party. However, a chance meeting with Lana Lazarenko, his childhood sweetheart, changes his mind. Superman chooses to use his powers for the greater good and turn his country into a utopia.

The U.S. government sends Bizarro to engage Superman, and their duel causes an accidental nuclear missile launch inGreat Britain. The clone sacrifices itself to save millions. Luthor murders his research staff at S.T.A.R Labs and founds LuthorCorp, dedicating his life to destroying Superman.

By 1978, the United States is on the verge of social collapse whereas the prosperous Soviet Union has peacefully expanded its influence to nearly every corner of the globe. The cost of this progress is an increased infringement on individual liberties, with Superman fast becoming a Big Brother-like figure; a brain surgery technique that turns dissidents into obedient drones, or "Superman Robots", is in use. Superman now works with Wonder Woman to save lives as well as govern the Soviet state. Wonder Woman has become enamored of Superman, but he considers her simply as a comrade, and is oblivious to her love for him.

Luthor plans to shrink Moscow, but this plan fails when Brainiac, his collaborator, shrinks Stalingrad instead. Superman intervenes and retrieves both Brainiac's central processing unit and the tiny city, putting an end to the Brainiac-Luthor cooperation. He is unable to restore Stalingrad and its inhabitants to their proper size. This becomes his one failure and a source of great guilt.

Luthor's second plan involves Batman, who is revealed as the boy orphaned by Pyotr. Batman joins forces with LuthorCorp and Pyotr, now head of the KGB. They capture Wonder Woman and use her as bait for Superman, hoping to sap his powers with rays that imitate the light of Superman's native sun. The plan works, but Wonder Woman breaks free and rescues Superman, seriously injuring herself. Rather than face capture and likely lobotomization, Batman commits suicide, and Pyotr is turned into a Superman Robot.

Luthor enacts his third plan when he finds a mysterious green lantern found in an alien ship that crashed at Roswell, New Mexico. Brainiac is reprogrammed into Superman's aide, and the construction of a Fortress of Solitude, located in Siberia and referred to as "The Winter Palace", begins. Superman's reign continues with no crime, poverty, or unemployment, but with an ever-present state authority. Superman is committed to "winning the argument" with the U.S., and repeatedly refuses Brainiac's suggestions of an invasion. Stalingrad remains his one failure, now contained within a protective glass "bottle".

Luthor is elected President of the United States, with Olsen as his Vice President. Using his scientific expertise, massive economic capital and dictatorial powers, Luthor returns prosperity to his country. This is only a part of a more general plan to provoke Superman into invading the United States. Luthor shows Olsen two of his greatest discoveries: the Phantom Zone, a place that super-hearing cannot reach; and the Green Lantern Corps.

Luthor confronts Superman in the Winter Palace. Brainiac yanks Luthor deep into the recesses of the Fortress to be converted surgically into a Superman Robot, claiming that Lex would convince Superman to commit suicide in less than fourteen minutes. Superman agrees that his hand has been forced, and prepares to attack.

First Lady Lois Luthor visits Themyscira to forge an alliance with the Amazon empire, now ruled by an embittered and vengeful Wonder Woman. Superman attacks the East Coast, confronting and defeating the Green Lantern Marine Corps, which is led by Colonel Hal Jordan. The Amazon forces, commanded by Wonder Woman, attack Superman but are quickly defeated, along with a collection of "super-menaces" (including Atomic Skull, Parasite and Doomsday) that Luthor has put together over the years. Brainiac's spaceship cuts the U.S. Pacific fleet to pieces, and the two superbeings meet at the White House. They are greeted by Lois Luthor with the last weapon, a small note written by Lex that reads, "Why don't you just put the whole world in a bottle, Superman?"

Realizing he has meddled in affairs that he had no place in, Superman orders Brainiac to end the invasion. Brainiac, however, reveals it has never been under Superman's control, and instead attacks Superman with green radiation (analogous to green kryptonite). Braniac is shut down from inside by Luthor, who evaded surgery. As the singularities powering Brainiac's ship threaten to collapse, Superman rockets it into space, where it explodes. The Earth is saved, but Superman is thought dead.

The Soviet Union falls into chaos, but is soon brought back under control thanks to the Batmen (resistance members who began wearing the costume after Batman's death). Lex Luthor integrates many of Superman's and Braniac's ideas into the new philosophy of "Luthorism" and forms a "Global United States". This becomes the defining moment for mankind's future as it enters an unprecedented age of peace and stability. A benevolent world government is formed and maintained. Luthor presides over a string of scientific achievements, including the curing of all known disease, and colonization of the solar system. Luthor lives for over one thousand years.

At Luthor's funeral, it is revealed that Superman survived the explosion of Brainiac's ship and is apparently immortal. Superman attends the funeral wearing a business suit and thick glasses essentially identical to the appearance of Clark Kent, an identity he never adopted in the Red Son storyline. Luthor's widow, Lois, sees "Clark" in the crowd and, other than an eerie sense of deja vu, suspects nothing. Superman walks quietly away from the ceremony, planning to live among humans rather than ruling over them.

Billions of years in the future, it is revealed that Earth is being torn apart by tidal stresses from the sun, which has become a red giant. Luthor's distant descendant, Jor-L, sends his infant son, Kal-L, rocketing back into the past. The final panels of the comic book depict the landing of Kal-L's timeship in a Ukrainian collective in 1938, effectively causing a predestination paradox.

那就直入感想部份吧。

Superman可謂是美國作為超級英雄漫畫大國的頭號領軍人物。正是因為他的出現，往後的70多年間，美國每年都不停的有新英雄誕生，到了今時今日，超級英雄漫畫和電影已然風行全世界了。

也正因為Superman是個重要人物，他的一舉一動都有著很大的影響，例如90年代的超人之死，就造成了漫畫界的轟動，果然Superman是個不可小覷的人物。然而，深受著大家所喜愛的Superman，他的陽光男孩形象早已被定格，在人物個性上鮮有被扭曲或黑暗化的改動，這也可說成是因著大眾的喜愛而帶來的限制吧。

主線上的Superman是不能有大改動的了，還好漫畫世界中還有Elseworld的存在。我很喜歡這種平行世界的概念，原因是這不是正傳，作家能夠擺脫束縛，加倍天馬行空去說故事。正傳中的重要角色，也能在這些不對正傳有任何影響的世界中生的生，死的死。實在太有新鮮感了！

本作的假設是，如果Kal El一開始不是墜落到美國，而是生長於蘇聯，成為了共產主義者的Superman會是甚麼模樣的呢？還會是那個親切的小鎮男孩嗎？

可幸的是，Superman還是那個無分國界地拯救有需要人士的英雄，還是那個謙謙有禮的陽光漢子，對政治不感興趣，為了幫助人民，願意奉獻所有東西。但諷刺的是，擁有強大超能力的他，本身就是對相信人人生而平等的共產主義的打擊，當然他不是一個人類，理應不在此限，偏偏他銳意融入人類社會，這就無可避免會使人覺得不公平了。

起初，Superman幫助人民的方法都是提供即時性的救援，例如擋火車、抬飛機等，最多也只是與美國製造的Bizarro大打一場，直到後來接Stalin捧後，他要由更根源處幫助人民，他開始用更極端的方法，例如借用Brainiac的力量，以科技控制反對者的思想，哪怕對象是好朋友。反對Superman的極權分子也抬頭了，例如Batman，但他又怎能對付一個能力接近神的外星人？

結果Superman的位置坐穩了，人們在他的統治下都「安居樂業」，那邊廂，由President Lex Luthor帶領的美國也進行反攻了，派出Green Lantern大軍及Amazon戰士對付Superman，統統慘敗。最後還是由Lex的一句話使Superman猛然省悟，原來自己一直都過猶不及，於是與幕後黑手Brainiac「同歸於盡」。當然，Superman並沒有死去，他靜靜的看著地球的變化，看著地球將要毀滅，只有Luthor的子孫Jor L有先見之明，把兒子送到遙遠的另一個地球，再一次降落在蘇聯的領土內。

本作當然是一部超級英雄漫畫，然而本作的政治味道也很濃，很值得細味。作者對共產主義並不是全盤否定的，也沒有把共產主義妖魔化，相反，資本主義的美國，在Luthor的統領下有那麼一點反派的味道。共產主義作為一種思想是沒有問題的，但當它成為運作國家的手段就問題多多，因為國家必須要有領導人，領導人的權力也必然會與共產主義相悖，加上權力令人腐化的鐵則，Superman走上極權統治之路也是有跡可尋的。還好他最後仍能覺悟抽身。在此恕我說一句狠話，Superman，不是有一顆熱心就能當個成功的領袖，你實在不是一個搞政治的材料，與其他99%人類一樣。

本作另一引人入勝的地方當然是對既有角色的新演繹。例如我最愛的Batman，在正傳中他是個腰纏萬貫的人，在共產主義下，還哪裡會有富有人家？那不就不應該有Batman的存在了嗎？於是在本作中，Batman是個盜去國家軍事產物的反抗分子，毫不失禮地打敗了Wonder Woman，以及在Luthor的科技幫助下囚禁了Superman，雖然最後他還是被打敗了，但戰積輝煌呀。而Wonder Woman嘛，感覺與正傳的改動不大，沒甚麼好說的。

Green Lantern和Bizarro也有在本作粉墨登場。Green Lantern除了沒有穿著那身緊身衣外，沒有特別變動，而戒指也成為了人類的量產品，為美國服務，即是一支特種部隊。而Bizarro嘛，外形依然嚇人，目測還是一個失敗的Superman複製人，不過捨身成仁的精神倒是完全承繼了。本作還有許多我們認識的客串人物，例如Luthor製造的Parasite及Doomsday，不過都只是出場了一兩格罷了。反而之前出現在看機遊戲INJUSTICE中的Red Son Deathstroke及 Red Son Solomon Grundy就沒有出現在本作中，才知道這兩個人物是遊戲原創的。

結局的循環同樣使我感到意外。原來Superman身處的地球就是影射著Krypton星，而Luthor的子孫Jor L……那不就是Earth 2中，Superman的父親嗎？正當我以為本作會與正傳掛勾時，才發現本作的Kal L還是被送到了烏克蘭，果然是我多心了，DC還是有所保留的，但也可見作者利用了名字的巧合之玩心。不過這個結局也蠻不錯的，歷史是不斷的循環，是一路延續下去的故事。

總括而言，本作充份利用了Elseworld的可塑性，為讀者帶來了全新面貌的Superman，而且劇情豐富緊湊，果然不愧是一部經典。另外，看過漫畫後，終於知道早前買來的Red Son Batman手上持著的裝置是甚麼了。好想買下其他的Red Son figure呀！

85分。