Stories in which heroes become evil are a tried-and-true trope within the world of comics—none more so than for Superman, perhaps the world's best example of a pure-hearted hero. It's easy to see the appeal in reading (and writing) what-if scenarios that put an evil spin on classic characters. In recent years, however, writers have turned Superman into a very specific type of evil: a dictator.
These stories do not simply feature evil Mirror Universe-esque versions of Superman, such as the Crime Syndicate leader and brutish thug Ultraman. These are variants of Superman who were either raised under different circumstances from the "real" Superman or experienced significant (and oftentimes traumatic) events in their lives that caused them to swiftly seize power from their respective governments. Read on to find out how these "Dictator Superman" stories first became popular, why they continue to be written, and why too many of them can potentially do what Lex Luthor never could: destroy Superman.
Red Son: Solving "The Superman Problem" In a Post-9/11 World
Superman is, quite possibly, the purest example of the superhero: an individual with extraordinary abilities who fights evil, protects the innocent and does it all out of the goodness of their heart. Unfortunately, some believe that last character trait to be Superman's least believable superpower. "Surely someone who can lift a mountain and have an unerring moral com without ever losing control can't possibly be relatable to an audience." This is the so-called Superman Problem: that the Man of Steel, with all his power and nobility, is not relatable. As other heroes became more cynical and gritty in response to the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal, Superman did not, and readers considered him out of touch. Then, on September 11th, 2001, everything changed—including Superman.
While Superman: Red Son was not written in direct response to 9/11 (writer Mark Millar came up with the idea in the '90s), the positive critical reception toward this new Superman—a man who uses his great power to enact great change—could not be ignored. In the book, Superman's rocket lands in the Soviet Union instead of the United States; he is raised believing in Communist ideals and thus devotes all his time and strength to the State. The book details Superman's reasons for seizing power. Josef Stalin is assassinated and Superman takes his place; the city of Stalingrad is shrunk by an alien and Superman is deeply troubled by his failure to save it; a lower-class orphan calling himself Batman decides to resist the regime and sets a trap for Superman, which fails and results in Batman's death. Even as his policies become more draconian and free speech becomes a distant memory, the Red Son Superman clearly believes he's doing the right thing. In that respect, Mark Millar had seemingly solved the Superman Problem: make his reasoning behind his actions fallible. But other writers would learn the wrong lesson from Red Son: bend Superman until he breaks.
A Life Lost, A Line Crossed: Breaking The Man Of Steel
A pattern quickly emerged among the new "Superman Dictator" stories that arose in the wake of Red Son: in order to properly motivate Superman, writers would simply kill someone close to him...resulting in Superman returning the favor. In the episode "A Better World" from the Justice League animated series in 2003, the Flash has been killed. Superman, out of grief and anger, murders President Lex Luthor before seizing power himself. Batman eventually moves against Superman which ultimately leads to his downfall. In Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year Zero, a comic series set before the Injustice: Gods Among Us video game, the Joker drugs Superman, tricking him into killing Lois Lane and preventing him from stopping a nuclear bomb from devastating Metropolis. Superman flies into a rage, murders the Joker, and takes control of all governments as he executes more criminals, along with any heroes who object. Once again, Batman fights Superman and leads a resistance movement against his regime.
This pattern even extends to feature films—almost. Director Zack Snyder's plans for the cancelled Justice League sequels included Lois Lane's murder at the hands of Darkseid. A grief-stricken Superman would have been Darkseid's herald, murdering Wonder Woman and potentially Aquaman, before eventually murdering Darkseid himself and taking over the Earth. Once again, Batman would have been Superman's main opposition, working on a method to undo the devastation under his reign. Now the pattern, first appearing in Superman: Red Son, becomes abundantly clear:
- Superman experiences a loss
- Superman murders in response to that loss
- Superman seizes power
- Batman must stop Superman
Perhaps the writers of these Superman Dictator stories are aware of the famous quote from Lord John Dalberg-Acton: "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." This line of thinking is deeply flawed; it assumes that every person in a position of power cannot be trusted. That is not to say that even Superman ought to be immune to all temptation—rather, Superman ought to resist that temptation because he is Superman. Those who want readers to believe Superman is just one bad day away from becoming a dictator have quite a fatalistic view of the world...and it's a philosophy that just so happens to be shared by the Joker.
"All It Takes Is One Bad Day" or How To Prove The Joker Wrong
In The Killing Joke by Alan Moore, the man who would become the Joker is forced to assist in a robbery to his pregnant wife and unborn child. The heist goes wrong and the Joker falls into a chemical vat that turn his skin white and his hair green. This all occurs on the exact same day that his wife is killed in an accident. These events drive the Joker insane, and he sets out to prove that anyone else can suffer the same fate, that "All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy." When the Joker attempts to force Commissioner Gordon to suffer a similar "one bad day," he fails. Despite subjecting Gordon to horrors (including shooting his daughter Barbara, resulting in her paralysis below the waist), Gordon doesn't lose his sanity or his principles, and still wishes to capture Joker "by the book." Barbara also continues fighting crime as Oracle, so that's two people whom the Joker has failed to corrupt. If Barbara and Gordon—two ordinary humans with no specials powers—can resist the temptation of the "one bad day," why not Superman?
For decades, writers have tried to make Superman relatable by making him more "human," but these Superman Dictator stories insinuate that to be more human, one must be weak-willed, succumb to temptations, and let grief and rage be the driving force in one's life instead of love and comion. Heroes like Superman are idolized not because they're a reflection of ourselves, but a reflection of who we could be. Heroes are stronger than ordinary people, and that's why ordinary people need heroes. Perhaps instead of taking inspiration from The Killing Joke, writers should listen to Heath's Ledger's Joker from The Dark Knight in which the defeated villain turns to the hero and says "You really are incorruptible, aren't you?"
