10 Best Alternate Justice League Costumes From Superman: Red Son, Ranked

Superman has always been a character that is fun to reinterpret, with numerous awesome Elseworlds stories about the Man of Steel on different kinds of Earths. Sure, there are definitely more Batman Elseworlds stories – there’s just more Batman everything – but Supes has starred in a lot of classics including Superman: Red Son, by Mark Millar, Dave Johnson, and Killian Plunkett (it’s long been said that Grant Morrison helped Millar come up with the whole thing and wrote the ending, which is honestly pretty believable). This legendary story starred a Superman who had landed in the Soviet Union decades earlier and was given to the state, becoming Josef Stalin’s greatest weapon while in the United States, Lex Luthor tried to figure out ways to destroy him.

This was a very different Earth and it had some very different, but equally awesome, costumes. This was a world where Soviet communism was the norm and the costumes definitely fit the setting. These are the ten best alternate Justice League costumes from Superman: Red Son, new looks for old favorites.

10) The Green Lantern Corps

The Green Lantern Corps are DC’s cosmic protectors but their Red Son version was quite different. In this world, Luthor was able to crack Abin Sur’s ring (more on that later) and create duplicates, empowering an American Green Lantern Corps made up of soldiers and led by Hal Jordan. Instead of having superhero uniforms, they had more military inspired threads, which definitely fit the “corps” aspect of the group. They were part of the final assault on Superman, their willpower matching his alien strength.

9) Lex Luthor

Lex Luthor is Superman’s greatest nemesis, the two of them seemingly diametrically opposed in almost every universe. Superman: Red Son was no different; if Kal-L was the Soviets’ greatest weapon, Luthor was the US’s. He had numerous looks over the story, but the best of them was easily his Golden Age lab coat. It had a cool classic mad scientist look, but you could tell that Lex had it tailored that way because he was trying to make a statement. It was the best of several great looks and showed how cool Luthor can look in just about anything.

8) Bizarro

Bizarro in Red Son isn’t exactly the perfect imperfect duplicate of Superman, but he was closer than the Man of the Steel Curtain would have liked. Luthor was able to get his hands on Supes’ DNA, added his own and created this monstrosity. It was supposed to be the American answer to the Soviet superhero, but its powers went on the fritz, driving it wild. Its costume was, at least, pretty cool. It was an interesting modification of the traditional Superman costume, the US-shield replacing the S-shield.

7) Hal Jordan

Hal Jordan is the most powerful member of the Green Lantern Corps in any universe, and his Red Son variant is one of the most hardcore versions of the pilot. He was a prisoner of the Soviets for a while and hated them, building prison camps for them in his minds that he would then build it in the real world and fill. He was given the Green Lantern ring that was taken from Abin Sur and mastered it, becoming a Colonel and the leader of the Green Lantern Corps. His costume was perfect, inspiring the rest of the Corps, with his pilot helmet being an especially nice touch.

6) Batman

Batman is one of the most iconic characters in comics and his costume has always been very important to that. In a lot of ways his Red Son costume both takes a page from it while also feeling fresh and new. In this world, Batman’s parents were killed in the Soviet purges and he built himself into the ultimate anti-Superman weapon. Of course, Moscow is much colder than Gotham and his costume was designed to stand up to it. His weapons were more apparent than other versions of Bats and it gave him a tougher, more grounded look that really made this version of the character sing.

5) Wonder Woman War Costume

Wonder Woman’s life took a tragic turn after she saved Superman’s life from Batman in Superman: Red Son. She had to break the Lasso of Truth and it took years for her to recover from breaking the rope that was magically linked to her powers. She turned against the Soviet Union during these years she was left to rot and led the Themysciran forces when they defected to the US’s side in the final battle. She wore this cool Amazon war armor to the fight. Sometimes, Amazon war suits lost sight of what makes Wonder Woman’s costume so iconic, but this one is able to capture the highlights of the costume we all love and combine them with some more martial touches that really sing.

4) Superman’s First Costume

Superman has many excellent costumes and his various Red Son ones are some of the best ever. In the book he had two major costumes with the first being one that is more reminiscent of his original costume. It was made for him for his first mission outside the Soviet Union, meant to show his power and exude trust in the communist crusader. It worked; his first photo op made him seem like the hero Stalin wanted him to be. This suit was outstanding and it provided readers with an iconic image that would be recognizable even decades later.

3) Brainiac

Brainac is Superman’s most feared foe, but in Superman: Red Son, he became his greatest advisor. For a time, at least. After defeating him when he attacked the Earth, Superman was able to pacify him, using him to plan the communist utopia of the future and control the “Superman Robots” – lobotomized dissidents puppeteered with technology – but the alien robot started to have other ideas. It eventually saw Kal as a stumbling block from its goal of ultimate communist victory and turned on the Soviet premiere. This led to him “sacrificing” himself to save humanity. His look is one of the cooler robot Brainiac looks, one that made him look scary and smart at the same time.

2) Wonder Woman’s First Costume

In the world of Superman: Red Son, Hippolyta saw the way the winds were blowing almost immediately after Kal revealed himself and the Amazons made a pact with Soviet Russia. Diana was chosen to be Kal’s partner and her original costume is a masterwork. It takes everything cool about the Wonder Woman costume and makes it more Soviet, its darker coloration giving her a character a more ominous feel. It’s a fantastic re-interpretation of a classic (and yes, the skirt has always been better than the trunks; fight me).

1) Superman’s Premiere Costume

A lot of people hate on the New 52 Superman costume for its collar but Superman: Red Son showed that a collared Superman costume could be awesome. After he took over the Soviet Union in the wake of Stalin’s death, he changed his costume, adding a collar to it and giving it a more grey coloration. He’d later add some shoulder epaulettes to it towards the end of his reign, some grandiosity that made the whole thing pop. It was an amazing costume and helped sell the change in the character as power twisted him.

What’s your favorite Superman: Red Son costume? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!

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