Superman: Red Son

Go ahead, run.

But when we catch you, we're going to break those skinny legs of yours!

And stomp on your ugly face!

Leave him alone! He didn't do anything to you!

Huh?

I said, leave him alone.

Bitch!

I'll hit you again, Dmitri Radmanovich.

If you weren't a girl...

Come on.

Are they gone?

I can't keep saving you like this, solnyshka.

You have to stop running and find the courage to face them.

It's... It's not like that, Svetlana.

I didn't run because I was afraid of them.

I ran because I was afraid to hurt them.

Have I ever lied to you, Svetlana?

How is this possible?

I don't know.

Something has been happening inside me for weeks now.

Something incredible.

Such incredible powers, solnyshka.

You have to give them to the state.

The people need you.

Extraordinary reports coming out of the Soviet Union.

Tales of a being, allegedly alien in origin,

with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men.

This footage released by the Russians appears to show the Soviet Superman in action.

If true, this could be the beginning of a new kind of arms race.

This is undoubtedly mere propaganda, tailored to send ripples of fear into the West.

And in these treacherous times, fear is something we must never surrender to.

This is George Taylor saying goodnight and may your tomorrows all...

...Intelligence people are saying that it isn't a hoax.

As I said, Mr. President, I anticipated this.

Of course I understand your concern, but I assure you

the Luthor Company has this under control.

We'll find out soon enough if he's real.

All I need is a hundred technicians, 20 million dollars,

and permission to drop a satellite on Metropolis.

Drop a satellite on Metropolis?

- Put eight million lives in jeopardy? - Eisenhower.

Are you out of your damn mind? I should lock you up for even suggesting it!

I have to go, sir.

- Something more urgent just came up. - Don't you dare hang...

I'd say extremely urgent.

We gather here today to celebrate a glorious achievement.

The largest hydroelectric station in the world.

Ten thousand of our bravest, strongest men worked ceaselessly to construct it.

But even with their sweat and toil,

this dam would never have been completed in so short a time

if not for the efforts of a truly extraordinary young man.

A young man I have come to look upon as both a great Soviet hero and a son.

Comrades, I give you...

Superman.

Can't I just smile and wave?

We all must make sacrifices for the greater good, comrade.

But this display...

You are a symbol for all we aspire to be.

The people need to hear your voice.

Your words are extremely kind, Premier Stalin.

Perhaps too kind.

I am no hero.

I am merely a servant of the State, who seeks, as you do...

to better the lives of our citizens.

Yes, I work to protect them.

Perhaps inspire them in some small way.

But make no mistake, I didn't build this dam, the Soviet people did.

And may it stand forever as an example of what we, as a people, can achieve here,

and across the world,

so long as we remain united by our ideals.

Colonel Mazov!

- What is it? - The Zenit satellite, sir. It's fallen out of orbit.

What? But that's...

What's the trajectory?

North America, sir. The Eastern Seaboard of the United States.

Look! Up in the sky!

I don't blame those among you that fear me, for you've been taught to fear all your lives.

But if you learn nothing else today, learn this:

We in the Soviet Union do not oppose the citizens of the United States.

We only oppose the government that oppresses you.

Our sole desire is for peace and equality among all men.

And what about women?

Lois Lane. Daily Planet.

Lois Lane Luthor.

I know of you...

and your capitalist husband.

If you're really serious about us wanting to learn about you...

How about an interview?

The press is the enemy of the people.

Why would I let you twist my words and use them against me?

So the great Soviet Superman is afraid of the free expression of ideas?

- She's got him there. - Yeah.

Makes sense.

You really shouldn't smoke, Mrs. Luthor.

This is the same brand my doctor smokes.

So you're not afraid of the American press.

I'm not afraid of anything.

Have you ever considered that a lack of fear can lead to arrogance, recklessness?

Eisenhower's saying your people sabotaged their own satellite.

- We did no such thing. - So you could come flying in to save the day.

You have to admit it is the perfect propaganda opportunity.

Is it propaganda to envision a world where the poor and afflicted can be lifted out of misery,

where the working classes can rise together and reshape humanity for generations?

You're a super-alien. What could you possibly know about humanity?

Until I was 12 years old, Mrs. Luthor...

Lane. I'm not an appendage.

Until I was 12 years old, Miss Lane, I was as human as you are.

This planet is the only home I've ever known.

And I would sacrifice anything to protect her.

The United States already is the protector of the free world,

the bulwark of liberty and equality.

Your bulwark was built on the backs of slaves and immigrants.

And it hasn't changed much, has it?

While you and your privileged kind live in luxury,

all across your country people are struggling,

suffering, dying.

I can't deny that there's a gap

between the American dream and the American reality.

But there are some massive gaps in your utopian vision that need addressing as well.

What is this?

Proof of the repression in the U.S.S.R.

The Gulags.

Mass executions of people unfortunate enough to be labeled dissidents

by your beloved Premier Stalin.

Lies.

I would certainly know if such things existed.

Would you?

Welcome, Superman.

We weren't expecting you.

I'm sure you weren't.

Shielded by lead to prevent me from discovering it.

You are the Superman.

They say you can hear a leaf fall a thousand miles away.

And you never heard our cries?

It is you.

At last.

Svetlana?

I... I could have died...

should have died long ago.

But I held on for you.

I never stopped believing that you would come one day to liberate us.

That we'd see each other one last time.

But what did you do to deserve such a punishment?

I knew you...

before.

I'm so sorry, Lana.

I didn't know.

Don't blame yourself.

You are...

You have always been...

my hope.

My savior.

But I am no...

This is a world where the strong rule,

and you are the strongest of all of us.

Remember when we were small, solnyshka?

How I used to save you from those bullies?

Now you must save all of us.

Use your power to...

Millions of people dead.

Explain that to me, Premier Stalin.

Help me to understand how...

why you could do this.

I tried to protect you, my son.

To keep you untainted by the grim realities of governance.

I asked you why.

Because, as much as it breaks my heart...

it is necessary.

How could such atrocities be necessary?

What you call atrocities...

I call terrible necessities.

For our vision of a better world to succeed, we must weed out the insurgents.

The weak.

The ones whose minds have been poisoned against the State.

They're human beings.

You're like a blind kitten, comrade.

So good, so pure, but you just can't see.

You must understand...

You must believe that everything I've done

has been for the ultimate good of the people and the welfare of the Soviet State.

The State's welfare or your welfare?

They're one and the same.

We need to close the gap between our highest communist ideals

and the cruel reality I saw today.

Then I urge you to try.

But you'll quickly find that the only way to achieve that goal

is to follow my example.

The unpleasant truth, my son,

is that certain people must die in order for the system to work.

Wise words.

What now?

Now?

Now I save the world.

You might consider cutting down on those four course dinners, Lex.

You're getting a little thick around the middle.

Vanity is more your style, my dear.

Unfortunately, darling,

we live in a world where people talk as much about my looks as my work.

While a man can be fat or skinny,

short or tall,