Occasionally, I like to break down some of my favorite Silver Age Superman stories that aren’t yet digitized for the community (you can find my other two posts on the subject here and here). I’ve had a post about “The Amazing Story of Superman-Red and Superman-Blue” from Superman #162 (July, 1963) in my back pocket for a while. It feels relevant to pull the trigger on it now for a few reasons. First because of some changes that Jon Kent may currently be experiencing. Second because Mark Waid recently made the world this story takes place in part of the Multiverse in Dark Crisis: Big Bang #1. Finally, I promised @Vroom that I would read through the 90’s Superman Red and Blue story and analyze it. I haven’t quite finished that task yet, but when I started it I noticed similarities to this story that I wasn’t aware of before. As a result, I decided it may be best to analyze this first.
This story is also different than the first two I covered in a couple ways. I always note how these stories aren’t digitized, but, when it comes to “Clark Kent’s Incredible Delusion” and “The Sweetheart Superman Forgot,” I wouldn’t really expect them to be. I love both those stories but they’re really obscure tales that only complete maniacs like me see any value in. But this story- “The Amazing Story of Superman-Red and Superman-Blue”- this story has been so influential and is so memorable that I would go so far as to say it deserves a “Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told” tag. This story really SHOULD be digitized.
Also, with the first two stories I broke down, I would generally point out how they are kind of silly on the surface but may have a bit more depth when you take the time to unpack them. That’s not really the case here. Everything appealing about “Superman-Red and Superman-Blue” is pretty evident from the story without needing to look too deep. The best I can say is that it’s a tale that engages with the question: What if there were two of me? You know, like when you have those days that are so jam-packed with important tasks that you just can’t seem to keep up with them all unless there were two of you? Or when you find yourself at a fork in the road of life and wish you could take both paths? That’s basically what this story is about. That’s more than enough intro, though. Let’s get to the plot:
To start, this is an “Imaginary Story” (and, yes Alan Moore, they are all imaginary stories) which was the Silver Age’s short-hand way of saying this story is not in continuity. The closest modern equivalent to the “Imaginary Stories” would probably be Marvel’s What If…? stories that presented a new world based off a specific question regarding how things would be different if just one thing were changed about the regular superhero world. Many of the “Imaginary Stories” actually ended up being some of the best stories from this era, though.
We begin with the unthinkable: Superman gets poor performance reviews! In Metropolis, Clark Kent gets passed over for a raise at The Daily Planet thanks to his duties as Superman diverting his attention. Immediately following that disgrace, Supergirl summons him to the Fortress of Solitude where Superman receives a dressing-down from the Kryptonian citizens of the bottle city of Kandor:
The Kandorians point out that Supes has failed to complete three vital tasks in his superhero career: 1) Restore Kandor to normal size. 2) Find Antidote to Green Kryptonite. 3) End all crime and evil on Earth. As a result, they give Superman an ultimatum: Solve these problems in six months or let one of the Kandorian citizens take his place and let them have a shot at being Superman. Kal admits that he really should’ve done a better job and accepts their terms. However, he realizes that he’s going to need a bit of extra juice if he is to resolve the three most difficult tasks of his Superman career, so he has a really, really bad idea about how to give him this edge:
So, yeah, Superman exposes himself to every known variant of Kryptonite radiation at once because he believes it will somehow increase his intelligence by 100%. Woof… Luckily, this experiment does not instantly kill him. However, it does have an unexpected effect as it splits Kal into two Supermen: Superman-Red and Superman-Blue. These Supermen are just as powerful as the original but are 100 times more intelligent. So… I guess the Kryptonite death-trap worked!
The two super-intelligent Supermen get to work on solving the three unsolvable problems and they start with restoring Kandor. First, they reverse-engineer Brainiac’s Enlarging Ray Gun. Then they essentially reverse-engineer the planet Krypton:
They create a “Hyper-Magneton” core that attracts every piece of Kryptonite scattered throughout the universe while simultaneously reversing their radioactive properties (this is not how magnetism works). Since Kryptonite pieces were the radioactive remains of the planet Krypton, this basically recreates the planet. The Super twins then enlarge Kandor on the New Krypton and help them restore the planet to how it was. If you’re keeping score, Red and Blue just solved two of their three tasks in one, fell swoop: Restore Kandor and neutralize Kryptonite. The Kandorians also benevolently decide not to become a race of super-people and ask that the New Krypton be placed in orbit around a red sun.
Next, we take a pause from the vital tasks as the Supermen receive a request from their mermaid, ex-girlfriend Lori Lemaris. Lori has heard about how Red and Blue have helped the Kandorians and wants them to do something similar for the Atlanteans. Tired of being considered freaks on Earth, the Atlanteans request that the Supermen make them a planet of their own. Red and Blue then remember the memorial planet they built for Krypton some years earlier. At which point, I paused and said, “Wait, you already HAD an exact replica of Krypton and still spent all that time creating ANOTHER for the Kandorians???” But, Superman’s wasted time is the Atlanteans’ gain as Red and Blue use their heat vision alongside Supergirl and Krypto’s to melt the polar ice caps of replica Krypton to flood the planet for the Atlanteans. They then use magnetic meteors to create a tunnel of water (you know, water is a notoriously magnetic substance) that incredibly extends between Earth and the flooded planet so the Atlanteans can just swim through space to their new home. Scientific liberties aside, it’s a pretty cool visual:
Honestly, I’m not too sure how I feel about this part of the story as the Atlanteans are essentially self-segregating rather than confronting the people of Earth about their own prejudice. However, I think this portion of the story came about because the writers suddenly remembered that there was already a Krypton replica planet and now needed to do something with it, and feels more like Superman doing a solid for his ex rather than actual real-world commentary. So… its probably fine. Also, no word in this story about how Aquaman feels about all this, but, presumably, he is now the king of an entire planet without pollution or nuclear subs. So… I’m sure Arthur is fine.
After creating a New Atlantis, Red and Blue turn their attention to the final task of eradicating all crime and evil on Earth which is… a pretty big ask. In my opinion, tackling this would involve asking everyone on Earth to take a big look inward and realize that we are all one in this existence and that there’s actually no reason to fear or harm one another as we all set aside our selfish needs and desires to create a true community of human beings. Apparently, though, the real answer is to create an Anti-Evil Hypno-Ray and use satellites to project it across the entire globe which is what Red and Blue actually do… So… what do I know? The Anti-Evil Ray works perfectly, of course, and cures petty criminals of their lesser impulses as well as all of Superman’s most notorious villains including Nikita Khrushchev and Fidel Castro:
It has the most profound effect on Lex Luthor, though, as Superman’s former arch-nemesis decides to use his scientific brilliance for the benefit of mankind. Luthor creates a miracle antibiotic that can cure all disease and maladies on Earth (this is not how antibiotics work) including blindness and… most importantly… male pattern baldness!
Give that man a ■■■■■■■ medal!!! The reformed Luthor with a full, healthy head of hair is immediately pardoned for his crimes and is finally able to reunite with his sister, Lena Thorul, whom he avoided throughout the Silver Age to protect her from his lifestyle.
Having solved their three most vital tasks, the Supermen finally get the chance to focus on what they want out of life. They decide to settle down and get married and, luckily, there are two women who are just perfect for them: Lois Lane and Lana Lang! Initially, they struggle to decide who should marry who, but Red reveals that he’s more into Lois while Blue admits that Lana is the woman for him so… that non-issue gets solved! The Supermen decide to have a double-wedding and, since we’re telling a happily ever after here, Lucy Lane also relents to marry Jimmy Olsen since her older sister is finally tying the knot so it becomes a triple wedding!
We end the story with Superman-Red and Lois moving to New Krypton to live as a normal man and wife couple while Superman-Blue and Lana stay on Earth. Despite retaining his super powers, Blue retires as Superman to dedicate his life to science while his Superman robots deal with any emergencies. Both Super-couples have a pair of children each (I wonder which one is Jon), and they all live happily ever after.
And that’s “The Amazing Story of Superman-Red and Superman-Blue!” End of day, it’s a fairy tale that gives what could be considered the happiest possible ending to all the plot threads from Silver Age Superman stories. In essence, it’s sort of a fan service to long time Superman fans which lets them have their cake and eat it too. For instance, the Lois vs. Lana issue was a long-standing debate between fans about who Superman’s real love interest was. This story settles it by creating two Supermen and saying it’s both. It even takes time to give happy resolutions to most of the support characters. It’s a silly story that takes incredible liberties with science, but… it’s just a happy ending for Superman. It’s not much more complicated than that.
The story ends asking you which couple is happiest: Red and Lois on New Krypton or Blue and Lana on Earth? Honestly, both seem like perfectly wonderful lives, but… if pressed… I always think having super powers is better than not having super powers, so I’ll pick Superman-Blue and Lana on Earth. Who would you choose?
Also, Superman had a fourth, unrevealed task on his to-do list that started with: 4) Guard Against… Just for fun, use your predictive text feature to tell me what Superman was supposed to guard against. Try to keep it PG, though. Otherwise, thanks for reading this novel! I’ll follow it up with my reactions to the 90’s red and blue saga for @Vroom once I finish re-reading those issues.
). It just sounds like a good time. Complete feel good escapism, great visuals, happy ending, zero pretentiousness, zero taking itself too seriously, and 200% Superman! I never thought of what a happy ending for Supes would be, and having it be a happy ending for multiple worlds is kind of compelling to be honest, though I’m not sure if that’s a statement they were trying to make.
