Superman Red & Superman Blue | The Most BORING Superman Tale?
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- Опубліковано 15 вер 2024
- Superman (Clark Kent) finds himself split into two after trying to enhance his mind using a kryptonite ray. Can Superman Red and Superman Blue solve all the problems of Kandor, Metropolis, The World? Which woman will Superman marry Lois Lane or Lana Lang? Can he grow back Lex's hair? The silver age of DC Comics has the answer to all of those questions and more...but are they interesting? Find out here on Casually Comics!
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Then later on, we get Superman Yellow, where he decides to marry the third LL option, Lex Luthor.
I was just thinking about what they could do for a Superman Yellow/Green 😂 At the end he has a double wedding with Lori and Lex
They forgot Superman Yellow in that story and in the 90's version.
you joke, but there was technically a yellow Superman during the second Superman Red/Blue arc from the 90ies. Both Clarks created multi-coloured doppelgangers to beat his/their stalker gone super villainess called Obsession when she broke into the fortress of solitude right at the beginning of the 90ies version of that story. There were atleast Superman Red, Blue, Green and yellow in that little escapade.
Fourth actually- Lois Lane, Lori Lemaris and Lana Lang are the first three..
I remember a very old story in which a fortune teller of some sort warned Superman that "L.L." was in danger, and he spent all issue running around to check on Lois Lane, Lana Lang, Lori Lemaris, Lex Luthor, and Lightning Lad (of the Legion of Super Heroes), before realizing it was a "little leaguer". Good times.
Can't wait for Superman FireRed and LeafGreen.
Nah, I want Emerald
Superman Let's Go Krypto/Let's Go Beppo is an even better version.
@@totz_the_plaid9625 Personally I prefer Batman; a much underappreciated series that came out at the same that ALL the kids on the playground said was a Superman clone. Better interpersonal relationship/growth, also _Digimon_
Where's Superman black and white
Detective comet...
“Unsolved regular problems”
1. Get a raise at work
All this effort to get an extra $5 per week! Unfortunately it was wasted, since they didn't tell anyone it was Clark perfecting the universe.
Employers would not voluntarily reveal workers wages! They want to be able to say to many people: "You are our top employee".
Can any historiens confirm or refute this?
Would it encourage the lower paid workers to work harder or to argue more? Would it encourage the higher paid workers to get lazy?
It would be bad news for local car-dealerships. The highest paid employee would have no reason to arrive in the flashiest car. People would already know.
It would cause massive discontent when Ms Works Her Backside Off finds she's being paid less than Mr Long Lunch, and Mr Works Late To Save That Urgent Order finds out he's getting the same as Mr Never There When There's Work To be Done.
The boss sees the value in every journalist, every type of story from political exposé to celebrity gossip; but they don't see the value in each other.
They are each the best at one thing (that's why they are there) so they would each expect to be paid the most.
If they all did the same thing, then maybe knowing how much others are paid would spur them to try harder; but you don't hire people who all do the same thing, when you're putting together a team in the first place.
If all they did was compete against each other, then the boss could sow resentment, no problem but don't they need to ask each other "Do you know anything about this?" if one story relates to another? Cover for each other's shifts? Phone in a story for someone else to type up? Split up to cover more ground?
Conflict? OK!
One fateful day on New Krypton, a lightning storm short circuits Red Superman's home security system
---- Lois discovers Superman Red's Stalker Room, with his 24 hour scanner of Lana and a roomful of Lana statues, many fully clothed.
And Lois leaves him for the only Super power being on the planet, Comet. She can 'ride' him anytime. 🤣🤣
“Many fully clothed”, meaning some aren’t?
@@richardball5843 i would say meaning most aren't
The Daily Planet is staffed by just four people!?!
And who exactly is in charge of deciding who gets raises? I'm thinking Perry, because he got the biggest raise.
And only 3 are go getters 😔
Absolutely realistic if the Daily Planet were a newspaper in 2024 (and two of those staffers ... their positions are not so stable....)
Superman Red: "You are my wife!"
Lois: "Goodbye, Earth life!"
New Krypton we are there!
Love it! Mr. Mxyzptlk could come to New Krypton and be the Mr. Haney of that world, selling his creative inventions.
If Superman brought Kandor to full size, he'd be out of the Superman business.
wow deep cut joke but i love it. ba-dop da da da dum dum
Honestly, knowing that Superman Red would lose his powers, Lois going there is major character development on her part.
"Sasha, we, your fans, have compiled an exhaustive list of all your failures!" (Don't look at me like that, you guys, we might get TWO Sashas out of this!)
That's Ryan George's specialty.
But according to Super boy comics, Lana Lang figured out Clark's secret identity by noticing when Clark was gone, Super boy was around and like wise. She promised to forever keep it a secret. Lois Lane I guess isn't as smart.
1 - She hasn't fixed everything for us while we passively sit by judging her. 2 - People still have free will, as you can see on this device monitoring others. 3 - Milk is *all the way* at the back of the supermarket.
Red and Blue from the 90's was great! The character differences were so good. Will always love Red cracking an inappropriately timed joke, Supergirl calls him on it and he replies "Laugh so you don't cry, kiddo". Daaaamn.
I only remember people absolutely hating it. Along with electric supes in the first place
I'm trying to figure out a way to compliment today's look without sounding like a weirdo who's obsessed with lips
Ditto
Was wondering why I was having Rocky Horror flashbacks!
I'm slightly disappointed that Sasha didn't switch to a blue wig at some point 😊
I agree with all of this.
Just say Hello nurse, I like the hair.😘
Sasha gives more plot to this comics than the writers themselves.
And how many Monitors are in this comics, everyone just has a monitor tuned in on supes, even Supes himself.
Maybe Superman should ask the Anti-Monitor for help if he wants some privacy.
@@Deoxys911 🤣🤣🤣
Everyone should have known who superman really was from the start with all those monitors.
I think the reason this story is so fondly remembered is that for a long time it was considered the most fitting ending for silver age Superman. Comic books are full of beginnings, or origins, and middles, but rarely provide satisfying endings. This story wrapped up everything in a pretty blue and red bow and provided a faux sense of closure for fans of that generation.
It kind of feels like the original All-Star Superman (but, you know, without a bittersweet ending as in that film).
but, whatever happened to the man of tomorrow?
@@ProjektTaku Alan Moore's story is another silver age Superman ending, but not one that came around for several years after this story.
@@lynnwalker5576 yeah, but I think its a better ending for the silver age superman.
@@ProjektTaku Perhaps. That's why I said, "For a long time [Superman Red Superman Blue] was considered the most fitting ending. It was the definitely the most fitting ending before "Whatever Happened."
7:51-7:55 "Everyone's got their monitors turned on to Clark, like The Truman Show."
And in case I don't see you: Good afternoon, good evening and Great Krypton!
Phew! Lois almost had to go to Krypton without Comet!
And 10 years later, Lois cheats on her husband with Comet because she wants to ride someone who is Super. 🤣🤣
If one of her children has powers then we'll know that Lois cheated on him with Comet even if the child doesn't have animalistic features.
So Superman Red gets Lois to New Krypton where she gets smashed by its higher gravity, and suffocates in its thinner atmosphere. Superman Red feels at home however. No Super powers either. And check out that red Sun. Krypton was way bigger than Earth.
I just love how Superman basically plays god creating a whole new world from scratch and the people of Kandor are like ...gimme MORE.😅😅😅
This was one of the very first Superman stories that I ever read. At the time I took it as a peek inside Superman's values and goals. He comes across as the ultimate idealist and over-achiever.
I happen to think that Superman Blue is slightly happier than Superman Red. He is, after all, fortunate enough to have almost limitless powers, and that ought to be fun in a world that no longer gives him a boatload of duties and responsibilities all the time. He does not even have to deal with secret identities anymore.
On the other hand, Superman Red has better access to his native culture than he ever had before. At this point in time that means more to him than it ever did after Crisis, although not quite as much as it would circa 1975 or so.
So Kara and Comet both live in Krypton in the end. Why didn’t they make it a quadruple wedding? 🤣
Because Lois would have been jealous. She wants Comet, too, because he can switch his form from man to horse and back again.
I can't help but love how different Silver Age DC was with it's "What If" tales compared to Marvel. Marvel deliberately makes the "What Ifs" end in a way that makes it look like canon is the only "correct" way it should have happened; where as DC was like, "Look! Superman could have cured all diseases! He could have made Lois and Lana less horrible to each other. Look the Bottle City is restored and the Kandor people are happy! How you enjoyed that, cause none of that was true!"
marvel what ifs reaffirm the what happened, dc just crushes you with happy endings that just don't exist.
I always thought the wrong couple left\stayed. Silver Age Lois always loved Superman and his powers, she would never want to marry a normal Superman, while Lana as portrayed in the 60's tended to enjoy her time with her childhood friend Clark Kent. Silver Age Lana wouldn't have minded a de-powered Clark.
My favorite imaginary tale was "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow".
Yeah, it's a great imaginary tale, aren't they all?
With CW's Superman & Lois, you may be getting your wish (assuming that it doesn't turn into complete garbage later on).
a fitting end to the silver age superman.
I like Superman Red and Superman Blue, because sometimes you need a story where everything works out, the good guys win, and things don't suck every five minutes. Perhaps unrealistic, but can be pleasant.
This. I think the word is less boring, and more satisfying.
Unsolved Regular Problems:
1. Ask for a raise at work.
Clark makes up for it by not having to eat and sleep.
Sasha: Shake it like a salt shaker!
The Internet: that's adorable... must make meme...
The real loser is Jimmy. He doesn't marry Superman and that's sad.
Yea 😩 so sad for Jimmy✨
#SuperBaeforJimmy
I've read this one it was in a collection called "The Greatest Superman Stories ever told"...yeah sure, I think the collection also had the magic totem pole Supergirl story. While I agree the story is totally conflict less and boring I think there are some appealing elements to it I don't know how to explain it but there is something awe-inspiring about how the Supermen manage to save everyone (even if the methods kind of ignore potential conflicts and moral questions). Also how seemingly every character in the mythos gets some sort of mention it really does feel like the final curtain call for this version of Superman, though that reading is probably affected by the fact that it was the last silver age story in the collection.
That's where I read it as well! IMO, this story serves as the Siler Age's "end" to Superman. It's the Silver Age's "Whatever happened to the Man of Tomorrow" and taken that way, IMO it works. I do have a couple complaints (IMO, Lois loved Superman and would be happier staying on earth with a super-powered husband, while Lana loved Clark more and would be fine living on Krypton), But IMO, it's a more fitting end to Silver Age Superman then Moore's work. Don't get me wrong, "Whatever Happenned" is the better story and a fitting end for Pre-crisis Superman, but this story is a fitting end for Silver-age Superman, as it continues the Silver Age tropes, and provides a Silver Age ending.
I guess you can say that Superman had a red and blue period.
My biggest revelation from this video was that our host is Canadian! 🇨🇦
Personally the couple I ship out of all this is Superman Red and Superman Blue. Think of the turn this series would have taken.
"Lois or Lana? I dunno, but god DAMN, I'm one fine-looking man!"
"If I'm good looking, then I must be looking in a mirror, because UMPH."
"Hey, you wanna ditch this whole 'solve all crimes' thing and pick up a coffee?"
"I was gonna ask first!"
Crap... is it too late to ask for this, only with Supergirl Red and Supergirl Blue?
TFW you realize this is also a proper future end for Lois Lane girlfriend series, since she finally marries Superman.
Put that coffee down Clark! ...Coffee is for closers.
One of the reasons I adore Alan Moore's "Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow?" drawn by Curt Swan himself, is because it perfectly replicates the tone of this kind of story but somehow makes the actual emotional stakes just wrenching
The original red/blue tale's, um, lesson? Clark is an under-achieving loser who could solve all the world's problems if someone would just motivate him with a stern talking to.
(And he irradiates his brain, splits into two people, controls everyone's minds, creates new planets ...)
I know this doesn't have anything to do with this episode but in a episode of the 50s Superman he did mentally split himself in half to be two places at once.
Meh, I “red” it back in the day and wasn’t impressed, especially because I knew deep down this was only a temporary status quo, like Hippolyta as Wonder Woman. Nice deep dive into the silver age inspiration though.
What happens if someone inadvertently destroyed the Hypno-No-More-Evil Satellite system? What is Superman Red or Lois Lane doing to maintain a lifestyle on New Krypton? Can Superhorse really defend New Krypton all by himself? Can Superman and Lana Lang deal with superpowered brats once they reached their teens?
Clearly the answer is to build mind ctrol satellites atound new krypton to protect it and stop their kids from disobeying them.
Of course the greatest Superman “Imaginary Tale” is Alan Moore’s “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?” Grant Morrison’s All-Star Superman is arguably unofficially an Imaginary Tale. It probably should have been labeled as such, right? But the term “Imaginary Tale” had fallen out of favor by then, I think. If it had been, I’d be tempted to rank that higher than Alan Moore’s by a hair.
idk man. All Star superman is more an beautiful end to the clark superman in general, but whatever happened to the man of tomorrow is a perfect ending for the silver age superman. I think I enjoy the latter more.
@@ProjektTaku I get you. They're both great. I love them both.
@@DarthEd77 yup. Superman has so many iconic and great story's like:
what's so funny about truth, justice and the american way?
for the man who has everything
the death and reign of superman
all star superman
and, whatever happened to the man of tomorrow?
Revisiting this for a refresher. Gonna stick with Red Superman from the Arcade version.
One Supe,
Two Supe,
Red Supe,
Blue Supe.
Also the mention of shaking Kandor reminds me of that episode of "Batman: the Brave and the Bold" where exposure to red kryptonite drove Superman to Super-dickery.
"EARTHQUAKE!"
Surprisingly the lack of conflict actually makes this story stand out. Has sweetness, vintage charm, optimism that just isn't around these days because you know it would be just another fight story.
I mean, I guess when people talk about how you can't write a Superman story with conflict because he's the best at everything...these are the stories they were talking about
I mean what would superman do if all problem were solved somehow, sounds like it would make internal conflict what do I do now feel not needed
The way this story seems to work, I'm sure that 5 minutes after getting to New Krypton, Superman Red told Comet that he could easily turn him into a human, while still retaining his superpowers. Which he would of course do and he and Supergirl would immediately get married. And have superpowered kids. Most "imaginary" or " what if? " stories from the Silver Age function as cautionary tales. Warning the readers that they should be happy that things turned out the way they did in the original story, or that the status quo of the universe is what it is, because the alternative could be much worse. Not this one. Happy endings all around with everyone content and satisfied. Boring? Sure, but kinda different for when it was printed.
I first read Superman-Red/Superman-Blue as a reprint in 1973 when I was twelve years old, and I loved it. The more absurd elements of the story sailed right over my head! I have seen it referred to as "the most satisfying comic book story of all time", and that's pretty much where the story lives in my head. I can't read it today without recalling how completely content that twelve year old boy felt the first time he read it....
The flash was destined by lightning... I don’t see the flaws in that. Lol
From how I understood DC's definition of metahumans which the speedsters are, they would have to be hurt by lightning first and genetically have the potential to gain speed force powers. Explains why Barry was able to get back his powers in Flashpoint by redoing the lightning experiment. In comparison, someone who isn't a metahuman or an alien with superpowers like Batman will die if he gets hit by lightning because he wasn't born with the metagene that makes speedsters immune to lightning. He wasn't born with the metagene at all, at least not that I know of.
Superman, on the other hand, may or may not be a metahuman (DC sometimes refers to superpowered aliens as metahumans but it doesn't go well with the other official definition so I'm not sure) but if he was, I don't believe he has any potential to gain speed force powers from being hit by lightning since he's already immune to it at a certain level. If it were that easy to get new superpowers, Superman would have more superpowers by simply getting hit by various kinds of attacks. This isn't to say he can't get speed force powers if they were passed onto him as we have seen even Deathstroke become a speedster by stealing someone else's.
@@VanVeniVidiVici all the new speedsters when godspeed appeared were simply hit by speedforce lightning
@@VanVeniVidiVici
To be a Meta, your powers need to be “scientific” in that they have no magical/mystical origin and come from your unique genetics so Superman and other alien characters with powers are Metas but not Metahuman. Humans become Metas through mutation while extraterrestrial species are Metas from birth (in most cases) so all Metahumans are Metas but not all Metas are Metahumans.
@@smammam3663 yup. That could mean they're all metahumans or speedforce lightning is different from regular lightning.
The new Flash in Future State can even share his speed with anybody (even the new Batman) so I guess they're saying anyone can be a speedster now. Which may or may not be a bad thing, depending on your preference.
@@MyNegroAcademia Comics can be so inconsistent, am I right?
Idk, considering how many 'imaginary stories' involved Superman dying, it's nice to see a goofy ultra-mega-super happy ending.
You should follow up wit the Red and Blue Supes from the 90's vid!
I remember reading this from a huge box of coverless comics my grandma bought from a neighbor's garage sale.
When the remake came out, I did like the fact that the two were a bit different in personality. (IE: Blue was more Superman's caring, nurturing, protective side; Red was his adventurous action-oriented side.)
That said, I always thought the initial single energy-superman form from the nineties version shouldn't have been all blue. I would have gone with the same overall design, but red on the parts of the suit that are white and yellow on the energy and surrounding aura.
That note.. Is it only four people working at that paper? Only four that could expect a raise? Isn't Perry the boss? -showing of how much of a raise he gives himself?
This is a fairly popular story with silver age Superman fans. Unlike so many "what if" type stories it doesn't end with a lot of angst etc. You are right about the lack of conflict and the creepiness of the mind-control. I think it was more the Wow of everything the Supermen achieved, all of the conflicts they face in their normal comics overcome. The attitude of silver age Superman that somehow he SHOULD be able to solve all the world's problems was characteristic of the time. A good comparison is with a modern age story in Superman vol 2 #64 where he receives a letter from a young boy whose father is dying of a brain tumour and begs him to help. He arrives just after the father dies and at first the boy is angry and won't talk to him but the mother encourages him to try again which goes a bit better. He explains how he only just read the letter but even if he had seen it earlier he probably couldn't do anything as he is not a doctor. The boy says "but you're SUPERman" and he responds "no I'm superMAN." He wishes he could have helped but he couldn't. This reflects a more modern approach where Superman still struggles with all the things he can't do and strives to do the most he can but accepts that there are limits.
I can definitely see the influence doc savage had on superman. THEY KEEP BUILDING ALL THIS AMAZING STUFF ALL THE TIME
Okay, I read this story years ago, and I always thought it was literally the "Happy Ever After" story that Superman could *never* have in the mainstream timeline, specifically *because* it would be boring and because the fight against evil could never actually be over. But you've definitely made me look at it again.
And Holy Crap! Mind-control rays and robots to save people from "accidents" and "natural disasters"? Oh, sure, nothing could go wrong there. Talk about your Silver Age solutions.
And something just occured to me while watching this video. Why does the Legion of Super-Heroes even exist in this timeline??? If Superman can retire (and presumably so can Batman and Wonder Woman and well, everyone) because there's no need for heroes, why would there be any need for heroes in the 30th Century? That's an "oops" that this story didn't consider.
Gotta love the simplicity of the Silver Age. All the Kandorians seem to have a hive mind. They all decide that Superman's a failure, they all decide that they don't want superpowers anymore, they all decide that they want to go back to their old galaxy, etc. And I guess the Atlanteans are the same way!
Superman Red and Superman Blue merge into Superman Purple who doesn't even need a machine for mind control.
Yes, awesome you reviewed this storyline . I actually liked both golden age and more modern age stories. Though the golden age storyline should have the "Everybody gets their wish" tagline. Oh the last wedding to occur in that story would be between Supergirl and a human with powers Comet (yes you can cringe now ha ha).
I pretty much loved all of the 90s events. It was an exciting time and felt like a "paradigm shift"... before everything was over done.
Daredevil Fall From Grace, Knightfall, Emerald Twilight, Age of Apocalypse, Heroes Reborn, Cataclysm, etc. I was eating it up! It all seems bad in retrospect but I guess you had to be there.
A person being split into two people, but not 'one good the other bad,' isn't that just a clone story? Like Riker in Star Trek TNG.
I can see Sasha yelling "I NEED THE DRAMS!!!" whe reading this.
Superman-Red & Superman-Blue is not only my favourite imaginary story, it’s a contender for my favourite Superman story. So much so that when I got Curt Swan’s autograph at the 50th anniversary celebration in Cleveland, I had him sign one of the SR/SB half-pages.
6:55
"and there is no escap-
I mean for a glorious new era of peace and prosperity"
LOL!
How dare you. I just bought a 123 CGC 9.8 with the glow in the dark cover. Lol. Honestly, I do think the aesthetics looked cool, but yeah...I think everyone knew it was a temporary situation. Another great vid btw!
I kind of like it, the story is kind of like a window at what superman would consider success ( at least silver age superman). Like he solves crime, saves his people, turns lex good, marries one of his sweet hearts without hurting the other, and (meta-y) gets another person that understands him.
Maybe i am a softy but i feel like this is a story where superman achieves his goals and shows what he really values.
It also gives me "what to give the man that has everything" or "all-star superman" vibes.
Sasha obsessing over what no. 4 of the problems list could be is giving me LIFE!!
😹😹😭
Superman red and blue was a very weird story back in the day and honestly this concept should've just stayed as a what if story but that concept keeps coming back for some strange reason and you know what eh i am fine with the concept coming back once in a few decades in fact that concept did come back in adventures of the super sons when Jonathan Samuel Kent superboy got split into red and blue versions of himself and it was super cute and really funny in my opinion. ;)
The first time I read this story i was 6 years of age, waiting for a haircut.
I remember it quite fondly.
Nothing can top the experience of reading certain books at the age they were meant for.
When I was a boy rummaging through the old comic books for sale at Bussey's Flea Market, any comic with two supermen on the cover was an instant buy.
This was the first comic-book I ever read . I saw a magazine in my slightly older uncle`s room & it had a drawing of Superman on it. I was already addicted to the George Reeves TV series so I had to pick it up & try my best to read it. I was 6 at the time & have never stopped reading Comics since. Thanks for the in- depth review.
Sasha, the Queen of Color.
I remember reading this comic in back issues back in the 70's and going, the machine turned superman into evil twins. I was young and still though it was all wrong. Helping Kandor was okay but mind control? They did a better job of Red and Blue Superman in 1998 with the change in powers messing with his heroic duties, especially when he realized that bullets just pass through him.
"I wonder if Lois regrets marrying Superman Red... They all became just ordinary people"
Lana: Uhhhh... "ordinary person"? Am I a joke to you? Lois would be an ordinary person no matter which planet she was on. AND it was their choice to move to New Krypton that made her husband and kids ordinary like her, not marrying Superman Red. Ya know, I'm starting to think I married the wrong color.
I would love it if they reprinted this story and added bookends to suggest it was a wish-fulfilment dream Clark had once when he had a really bad day.
There was another Superman Red / Superman Blue story from 1981/82 -- featuring Terra-Man and Lex Luthor -- where the duplication was the result of exposure to Red Kryptonite. That one had a little more conflict than choosing who marries whom.
OOH, you're going ham on alternate Superman stories currently, NICE. Please read up on the Sand Superman story and its relation to the ultimately scrapped original plot for the Death and Return, including the old Bleeding Cool articles. Not official DC canon, but made a helluva lot more sense than the arc we ended up getting!
Very funny?..I used to own this as a reprint and I am so glad you reminded me. Each panel evoked a childhood nostalgia
I loved the 90's red/blue storyline but I've got a soft spot for that era since it's were i started collecting back in the day! I'm tempted to pick up this book now tho!
And, if you're having a 'get hit by lightening' contest why stand right beside each other?
It was a tradition from their days with the Legion.
I read this in the hard back collection The Greatest Superman Stories of All Time which came out for Superman's 50th anniversary. A panel picked out this and other stories (first Luthor and Mr. Mxytpitlk appearances and the Just Imagine where Luthor kills Superman for example).
I only had one Superman comic as a kid, and that was an issue of Superman Blue. I thought it was fascinating and wondered how he got that way. I had to come back and learn more when I saw the Lazarus Planet promos!!
I was in grade school when I read this comic (I think it was a reprint in 100 page Super Spectacular) and re-read it many times. I loved it and still remember much of it. I was very young and enjoyed reading how Superman's story came to a happy ending. One of the reasons I quit reading super-hero comics twenty years ago is that I could no longer buy into them. It was just crisis after crisis after crisis. These characters we love are never allowed to wind down their careers and enjoy their lives. They must suffer for our enjoyment. I would love to see Batman put up his cape, put the trauma of his parents murder behind him, and move on with his life. What I'm trying to say, I always had a soft spot for this story. It brought closure. I never did get into the Dan Jurgen's version. It never worked for me.
Superman Red and Superman Blue became part of official continuity with an arc in the mid- to late 90s, of course. I didn’t know that that arc had its origin in this “Imaginary Tale”!
Reminds me of an arcade game (coin-op) from back in the 80's when you still had to go to the arcade to play video games. The two player Superman game, one played blue superman and the other played red superman.
In the Silver Age, evil was an absolute concept. You were either good or evil, just like the switch on the back of a Krusty doll.
Wait, what if when he was blasted by the kryptonite it didn't split him into 2 good versions, they were both the bad version. The satellites were their plan to subjugate the earth and make sure no one stops them. The reason Lois and Lana were so accepting of them being split in 2 and superman being clark kent was because the satellites were affectong their minds. The reason 1 of them left for Krypton was because he didn't want to share 1 planet with another superman.
Thanks for the great post bringing back Superman Red/Blue!!! The very first comic book I ever read as a kid was the S.Red/S.Blue issue given to me by my uncle. Over the years I would bring this issue up in conversations with friends and I'd get nothing but blank stares from them as they'd never heard of it - so it was doubly great to go thru the story panels one more time! Thanks again!!
While I have not read either the original or the 90s Superman Blue & Red, the story seemed to peak my interest. From what I've looked up, the 90s version seems to be the better of the 2. I like Superman's powers were altered and he was split into 2 with each color representing his polar opposite personalities. I just need to find it in Trade Paperback so I can own it.
I remember reading this story back in the day and thinking it was wonderful. I DIDN'T like the move Krypton to a red sun cause it really doesn't seem like something ANYONE would do. There's simply NO way every single person would give up being a godlike super. Also they'd still need Superman cause natural disasters still happen like tsunamis and volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, avalanches, hurricanes and tornadoes not to mention climate change and viral pandemics (antibiotics don't cure viruses). I don't see any version of Clark being homesick for a planet he didn't grow up on and doesn't remember. Even Kara who lived there longer, had at this point lived MOST of her life on Earth. Lois loves Superman, not ordinary man and Krypton is an alien planet where she doesn't speak the language.
I would enjoy watching you interview golden and silver age writers and artists.
When I was a kid, the library had these hard-bound digest-sized collections of Silver Age Superman comics. This story was in there (along with others like when Superman uses a machine to show his life if he landed on another planets besides Earth. He basically is every member of the old Justice League, but on different uncannily Earth-like planets, lol!). It was fun to read as a kid!
Ah, I remember Superman Blue/Superman Red from the 90s, when I still had supscriptions at our local comis book store. It was kinda interesting (without knowing the earlier version), but we (that is me, along with some semi-interestid friends) figured right from the beginning, that this would only last a short while... along with this "new" electric Superman.
However I was always curious about the original read, and blue story. Thank you for sharing it. :)
I think the idea is that this is more of a 'best of both possible worlds' scenario. It's meant to be involving in that it settles a bunch of 'how WOULD he ever do that' questions that could never be answered in the main continuity, since they were all about preserving that status quo. So, basically, it's to throw the nerds a bone.
I can see it now. Lois leaves Ka-el sometime in the near future. About 5 to 10 years later. Why? She's bored with the "perfect life" and wants a real "Super". Who is this "Super" she leaves him for? Comet, of course. 🤣🤣 Ride that horse, Lois!
Thank you so much for getting around to this story! I read a reprint as a boy and really enjoyed it. Yes, of course, this is a laundry list and wish fulfillment effort, but you can also look at it as a Superman fairy tale, where the good guys finally win in the end and they go off to live happily ever after. Oddly, the Alan Moore story "What Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow?" is the dark mirror of this one. There is a sort of "happily ever after," but it's only after some VERY dark stuff that makes it a very Bronze Age story, despite the Silver Age art of the same artist, Curt Swan. I'm still more than okay with just the happy times story. There's more than enough dark out there, so let there be some light, huh?
Now when do you delve into the modern version, complete with a look at the "electric" Superman era? I skimmed some comics about it back in the day, but I still don't know what the deal was with that whole situation. Y'know, aside from "let's find a way to get back those big 'Death Of Superman' bucks without killing him again!"
whatever happened to the man of tomorrow more shows what's wrong with the bronze age of comics and why silver age superman always triumps. And it leaves you with hope, as clarks baby crushes coal into diamond.
I read this story when I was a kid. I thought it was pretty good, at the time (early 2000's).
I think Lois & Superman Red were probably the happier couple. They got to be normal and the kids get a pony :)
This sounded familial, so I checked it out (I use to own a comic store and still have a real nice collection at my house). In 1985, the Squadron Supreme (the heroes of Earth-712) grew fed up with all the evil in the world and made something to turn them good. They all went along with this except Nighthawk (that earths version of Batman) who thought it was morally wrong to mess with peoples minds. Check it out.
Your hair gives me major Angelica Jones/fire star vibes with the red with dark red streaks. The version from spiderman and his amazing friends at least. Im not sure if they draw her like that in the comics or not
You stomped all over one of my favorite childhood comics. (Yet still thumbs up) In perspective this was an era of Ozzie&Harriet and Leave it to Beaver. Good was good, we view it much too jaded today.
Good old Silver Age of comics, where most stories were silly, the stakes weren’t that high and they just had Superman go “idk, I’ll throw it through time with rainbow lasers from my hands, cause I can do that now”.
I don’t know if you know about an episode of the adventures of Superman with George reeves in 1958 where superman had to be in two places at once, like talking to a scientist, that his molecular structure was much more dense, and if you were concentrate enough, he could split himself into two beings no new power, which was explored in the show , and doing so, he was only half as strong, a difficult free flying, and when Lois and Jimmy and the President of the south American country, we’re trapped in a mind cave in engineered by his vice president to take over the country he had to force himself back into one person. I didn’t know if it would work, this was a really good episode. Probably one of the best of the sheriff you should check it out , the name of the episode is divide and conquer. Wow.
"Posted raises" was a thing at a foundry i worked in, in the early 90s.
Everyone who didn't get a raise in a given financial quarter found the policy bullshit.
2:21 I mean it's illegal to ban employees from talking to each other about compensation. But that's not the same.
When you mention the New Krypton storyline, it made me wonder: would it be possible that you'd do a video on New Krypton sometime in the future? I love your videos and I'd love to hear your thoughts of that storyline.
Thank you! You did talk about this one! Awesome!
I remember seeing a story, perhaps in an anthology book which had kryptonite rendered I inert. This was some 40+ years ago, but to this day I still have the image of Supes taking a rock out of a villain's hand and taking a bite out of it.
I mean, sure it can't hurt you anymore, but with super taste buds that had to be nasty!
Kandorian: "You have failed as Superman!"
Superman: "You talked a lot of shit for someone who lives in my semen container..."
Kandorian: "And we also... your... what now?"
Please do a video on my favorite dynamic duo, Nightwing and Firebird (Superman and Jimmy Olsen) of Kandor!