4. Blew Himself Up Before Communist Superman Got Him
Red Son is a weird story. Part of DC's Elseworlds line of alternate-reality stories that don't have any bearing on the mainstream continuity, writer Mark Millar took that as a carte blanche excuse to come up with the most high-concept alternate history he could. Namely one where Kal-El landed in the USSR as a baby, rather than America, raised a well-mannered Communist superpower. Instead of becoming the defender of Truth, Justice, and the American Way, he's the Champion of the common worker who fights a never-ending battle for Stalin, socialism, and the international expansion of the Warsaw Pact. A weapon for the Communist state, the United States are eager to toppled their enemy's secret weapon. The Cold War goes a little differently in Red Son, with Batman being a kid whose dissident parents were shot by a member of the KGB, who dedicates his life to stopping Superman with the help of Lex Luthor. He's just like regular Batman, only he wears a furry hat. Oh and that he doesn't stand a chance against Superman, so he blows himself up like a suicide bomber before the Man Of Steel can.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
