SUPERMAN: RED SON (2020)
Region Code: (Blu-ray) A/(UHD) Region-FREE
Rating: PG-13
Duration: 84 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 7.1 with Optional English subtitles
Video: HDR 2160p UltraHD, 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1)
Director: Sam Liu
Cast: Jason Isaacs, Amy Acker, Tara Strong, Diedrich Bader, Phil LaMarr
Synopsis: Based on DC’s famed Elseworlds tale from 2003, Superman: Red Son takes place in an alternate reality where the spaceship bearing the last survivor of Krypton crash lands – not in rural Kansas, but in Stalinist Russia. Can this Cold War-era Earth survive the coming of a Soviet Superman?
Superman: Red Son (2020) is the animated adaptation of the 2003 graphic novel, a "what if" story exploring what if Superman had landed in 40's Stalin's Russia and not in the heartland of America. Now this is an idea I think every grade-school kid on the playground with even a remote interest in comics (or the films) has at some point debated, it's right up there with 'what would happen if Superman had sex with Lois Lane?', right?
Superman, no longer given the name Clark Kent, grows up in the Soviet Union, discovering his fantastic powers at an early age, being indoctrinated with Soviet values he begins using his talents for the State, becoming the Soviet Superman, protecting and promoting the Stalinist way of life.
With Kal-el landing in the Soviet Union the timeline of historical events has been altered in some dramatic ways, for example; Joseph Stalin is still alive and kicking, President John F. Kennedy was not assassinated, the cosmic powered Green Lantern Corp. are now a branch of the U.S. Armed Services, and bad-guy Lex Luthor is married to Lois Lane - the whole world has gone topsy-turvy! Eventually Superman sees the failings inherent in Stalin's corrupt and brutal reign and brings an end to it, launching his own idealistic rule over the Soviet union, with the help of alien-cyborg Brainiac, and forging an alliance with
super-powered Thymascurian Wonder Woman. Meanwhile he has to deal with an emerging terrorist threat from within, a version of Batman that disagrees with the Superman's brainwashing ways, blowing shit up in protest, all the while wearing a modified cowl that's incorporates a Russian fur cap!
Back in America the growing fear of the seemingly unstoppable Soviet Superman fuels the Cold War with inventor turned President of the United States Lex Luthor cloning Superman, creating America's own super-powered savior, the Superior Man, a.k.a. Bizarro, who is sent to square off against his counterpart with tragic consequences.
Audio/Video: Superman: Red Son (2020) arrives on HDR-enhanced 4K Ultra High Definition disc framed in 1.78:1 widescreen. I love the animation style of the film, and the lines are clean and well-defined throughout, with excellent color saturation. The HDR sets off the primaries when called upon, and the blacks are deep and inky, it's a wonderful presentation. We do not get a Dolby Atmos on the 4K UHD but we get an action-packed DTS-HD MA 7.1 with plenty of excitement in the surrounds by way of super-powered
destruction, with crumbling buildings, explosions, and barrages of gunfire.
Onto the extras we get a bunch of goodies, beginning with 15-min animation short 'Phantom Stranger' directed by Bruce Timm (Batman: The Animated Series), set in the 70's the short features a lesser-known DC hero The Phantom Stranger, voiced by Peter Serafinowicz (The Tick).
We also get a new 17-min featurette exploring the Cold War through the lens of the Elseworlds classic Superman: Red Son with Director Sam Liu, Creative Director Mike Carlin, artists Dave Johnson, Prof. Miriam Neirick, and Prof. Michaela Crawford, plus a 6-min motion comic of the Superman: Red Son graphic novel.
There's also a 10-min sneak peak of the upcoming animated film Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, which looks awesome, plus a look at both Batman: Gotham by Gaslight and The Death of Superman animated film, plus two episodes of the Justice League animated series, as well as a selection of trailers.
The 2-disc Blu-ray+4K UltraHD+Digital release comes housed in a black keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork. Inside there's a code for a digital copy of the film. The release also comes with a slipcover featuring the same artwork as the wrap.
Special Features:
- DC Showcase: Phantom Stranger (Animated Short) (15 min)
- Cold Red War (New Featurette) (17 min)
- Superman: Red Son: Motion Comics (6 min)
- A Sneak Peek at the next DC Universe Movie, Justice League Dark: Apokolips War (10 min)
- Batman: Gotham by Gaslight (8 min)
- Preview of The Death of Superman (7 min)
- DC Comics Vaults: Justice League's A Better World: Part 1 (22 min) and A Better World: Part 2 (23 min)
- Trailers: Batman: Hush, The Death and Return of Superman, Richard Jewell, Doctor Sleep, The Goldfinch (10 min)
Superman: Red Son (2020) is is fantastic animated entertainment, I have always loved the "what if" one-off stories presented in the DC Comics Elseworlds in comic form and love seeing them brought to life again with the animated feature films, and this is one of my favorites I've seen so far. The 4K Ultra HD looks fantastic and the extras are bountiful, including a cool short and animated episodes from the DC Universe as well as the motion-comic version of the source material, this release earn high marks.
