| "The Amazing Story of Superman-Red and Superman-Blue!" "Superman Red/Superman Blue" |
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 Cover of Superman Red/Superman Blue 1 (Feb 1998).Art by Dan Jurgens. |
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| Publisher | DC Comics | ||
| Publication date | (original) July 1963 (adaptaion) February - June1998 |
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| Genre | Superhero Crossover |
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| Main character(s) | Superman | ||
Superman Red/Superman Blue refers to two different DC Comics storylines featuring Superman.
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"The Amazing Story of Superman-Red and Superman-Blue!"
The original Superman-Red/Superman-Blue tale is an imaginary story that appears in Superman (vol. 1), #162 (July 1963). The script was written by Leo Dorfman, with art by Curt Swan. In the story, Superman has decided he wants to finish his list of unaccomplished goals, including the enlargement of the Bottle City of Kandor. In order to accomplish these goals, Superman invents a machine, powered by various types of Kryptonite, that will increase his intelligence. The machine works, increasing Superman's intelligence a hundred fold, but with the unexpected side effect of splitting Superman into two beings, Superman-Red and Superman-Blue.
The twin Supermen successfully enlarged Kandor, freeing its citizens from their bottle prison. They then bring the remnants of Krypton together, creating a "New Krypton." The two Supermen go on to create an "anti-evil" ray, which can cure criminal tendencies in anyone. They place the ray into satellites in orbit around the Earth, curing not only villains such as Lex Luthor and Mr. Mxyzptlk, but Communists such as Fidel Castro and Nikita Khrushchev as well. The reformed Luthor goes on to invent a serum that cures all known diseases, which he puts into the water supply.
With nearly all of the world's problems solved, the two Supermen have time to deal with personal matters. The split allows them to resolve the love triangle between Superman, Lois Lane, and Lana Lang. Each woman claims her own Superman, and they have a triple wedding: Superman-Red marries Lana, Superman-Blue marries Lois, and Lucy Lane marries Jimmy Olsen. Red decides to live on New Krypton, sacrificing his powers, while Blue remains on Earth, starting a Super-family.
Superman-Red and Superman-Blue appear in a panel in Infinite Crisis #5, when Alexander Luthor, Jr. is trying to fuse the many alternate Supermen, as well as in Superman/Batman #25 alongside an army of alternate Supermen and Batmen.
"Superman Red/Superman Blue"
The second incarnation of Superman Red and Superman Blue began in a 1998 storyline. Superman had developed electricity-based abilities,[1] which eventually forced him to adopt a blue and white containment suit. He also gained the ability to turn his powers "off," though this left him as vulnerable as a normal human. This version of Superman was referred to by some fans as "Electric Blue Superman".[2]
In the Superman Red/Superman Blue one-shot (February 1998), a trap created by the Cyborg-Superman caused Superman to split into two beings who represented different aspects of his personality, though each believed himself to be the original. Superman Blue was the more cerebral entity, preferring to think his way out of situations and actually solve problems with his mind as well as his powers. Superman Red was more rash, but also more decisive, preferring action over taking the time to think. Over time these two personalities grew more and more polarized and individual, to the point that neither entity wanted to become one Superman again.
Both Supermen deeply loved Lois Lane; unlike in the earlier Red/Blue story, there was not another love interest for one of the Supermen to pair up with. Instead they fought over Lois' affections, each with almost no consideration for her feelings; Lois lost her tolerance for this and essentially kicked them both out of the house until they could figure out how to unite.
Perplexed, both Red and Blue flew to Antarctica to see if Kryptonian technology could solve the issue, but were met by a woman named Obsession, who had previously shown an insane level of romantic lust for Superman. Then Maxima, another superpowered female admirer of Superman's (only this one was far more volatile) stepped in. While Obsession liked the idea of two Superman, Maxima found the existence of two utterly unacceptable. A fight broke out between the women when Obsession offered to share them with the amazon from Almerac, insulting Maxima's royal sensibilities. Superman Red and Blue separated the combatants and reprimanded them.
The two Supermen merged and Superman returned to his normal powers and original costume.[3] The explanation is vague; Superman felt he was "rewarded" for saving the world, although he later claimed in JLA v.1 #20 that he returned to normal when his electromagnetic energy dispersed.
Other media
- While not identified as "Superman Red" per se, the second player's character in the 1988 Superman arcade game by Taito is a palette swap of the regular Superman with the blue and red parts of his costume changed to red and grey respectively.
- In the Legion of Super-Heroes episode "The Substitutes", Color Kid changes Superman to blue and red, resembling the pre-Crisis versions.
- Also in the Legion of Super-Heroes episode "Dark Victory", Saturn Girl merges the minds of Superman and Superman X to combat Brainiac from within his mind, when this happens, as Superman's astral form is blue and Superman X's is red, it presumably mimics the "melding" of Superman Red and Superman Blue at the end of the 1998 storyline
- Superman Blue appears in the crossover comic JLA/Avengers, when the regular Superman morphs into his energy form and loses the shield handed to him by Captain America, and Thor does not recognize him in this form. He later changes back and gains the shield back.
Toys
Superman Blue and his counterpart each had figures in the JLA toyline.
They also have upcoming figures in the Justice League Unlimited line.
References
- ^ Superman (vol. 2) #122 (April 1997)
- ^ http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=132484
- ^ Superman (vol. 2) #135 (May 1998)
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