History YMMV / SupermanRedSon

* MoralEventHorizon: Luthor is portrayed as being a {{Jerkass}}, but basically an UnscrupulousHero...right up until he murders all his lab personnel because [[HeKnowsTooMuch they know too much]] about the creation of Bizarro.

* * ObviousJudas: Why is Superman so shocked when he finds out from Batman [[spoiler:before his suicide]] that Pyotr betrayed him? He made no secret whatsoever of his hatred of him, and even [[InVinoVeritas drunkenly admitted]] that he poisoned Stalin.

* WhatAnIdiot: Pyotr is totally confident of his ability to defeat Batman [[spoiler: once their plan to overthrow Superman is complete, right after Bats ''kidnapped him from his own private car.'']]

* MoralEventHorizon: Luthor is portrayed as being a {{Jerkass}}, but basically an UnscrupulousHero...right up until he murders all his lab personal because [[HeKnowsTooMuch they know too much]] about the creation of Bizarro.

* BrokenAesop: Played with
** On one hand, Lex's ArmorPiercingQuestion is appropriate. Then, he goes to do the exact same thing with Luthorism except this time, Superman doesn't mind only because the only difference between Lex and him is Lex being human. It defeats the point of the utopia since, you can improve a place only if you were born there. It goes on for [[spoiler: for millions of years to boot. It's heavily implied a single bloodline has been ruling Earth during all this time. So much for democracy and the right to choose its ideology]].
** On the other hand, it shows how hypocritical Luthor is. As usual, no matter how clever his arguments, ultimately Lex is DrivenByEnvy the same as always, and only doesn't want Superman in charge because he is convinced ''he'' should be. Indeed, Luthor is not necessarily intended to be portrayed as much better than Superman. Even though he led to an era of peace and prosperity, it should be noted that Superman was doing the same.

* FridgeBrilliance: The ultimate example is when Superman implies that [[spoiler:the reason he survived Luthor's black hole was that Luthor rounded off a decimal point when calculating Superman's density!]] See GambitRoulette on the main page for the full context on this. [[note]] It could be argued that since Luthor desired to destroy Superman, not just defeat him, that [[spoiler: even in the ending that even though Lex began a Golden Age for all of humanity, Superman surviving just ended up as yet another of his schemes against him. And to bring the point home, Superman literally had the last laugh as he witnessed Lex's funeral, even 2,000 years later. However, Superman despite surviving didn't try to take over the world again, and just lived quietly]]. In other words, Lex didn't really checkmate him, [[KnowWhenToFoldEm he just tipped his king piece over and chose to resign]]. [[/note]]
** Stalin and Superman getting along finely is rather funny, given that "Stalin" literally means "Man Of Steel"[[hottip:*:[[DontExplainTheJoke Superman's most well-known nickname]].
** Luthor's ability [[spoiler: to avoid Brainiac's tendrils makes it likely that he planted Brainiac on Superman all of those years ago in order to further his plans.]]

* BrokenAesop: Lex's ArmorPiercingQuestion is appropriate. Then, he goes to do the exact same thing with Luthorism except this time, Superman doesn't mind only because the only difference between Lex and him is Lex being human. It kinds of defeat the point of the utopia since apparently, you can improve a place only if you were born there.
** And it goes on for [[spoiler: for millions of years to boot. It's heavily implied a single bloodline has been ruling Earth during all this time. So much for democracy and the right to choose its ideology]].
** Of course, this is probably intentional, since it shows how hypocritical Luthor is. As usual, no matter how clever his arguments, ultimately Lex is DrivenByEnvy the same as always, and only doesn't want Superman in charge because he is convinced ''he'' should be.
*** Indeed, I'm pretty sure Luthor is not necessarily intended to be portrayed as much better than Superman. Even though he led to an era of peace and prosperity, it should be noted that Superman was doing the same.
* CrazyAwesome: Lex Luthor's introduction. A top scientist at STAR Labs, he's taking a coffee break playing (and winning) [[SmartPeoplePlayChess fourteen simultaneous games of chess]] while reading Machiavelli's ''ThePrince'' and also listening to a teach-yourself-Urdu tape on a Walkman of his own invention "to keep my mind occupied".
** Even better? He designed and built the walkman only a few hours earlier.
* FridgeBrilliance: The ultimate example is when Superman implies that [[spoiler:the reason he survived Luthor's black hole was that Luthor rounded off a decimal point when calculating Superman's density!]] See XanatosRoulette on the main page for the full context on this.
** It could be argued that since Luthor desired to destroy Superman, not just defeat him, that [[spoiler: even in the ending that even though Lex began a Golden Age for all of humanity, Superman surviving just ended up as yet another of his schemes against him. And to bring the point home, Superman literally had the last laugh as he witnessed Lex's funeral, even 2,000 years later. However, Superman despite surviving didn't try to take over the world again, and just lived quietly]]. In other words, Lex didn't really checkmate him, [[KnowWhenToFoldEm he just tipped his king piece over and chose to resign]].

** Of course, this is probably intentional, since it shows how hypocritical Luthor is. As usual, no matter how clever his arguments, ultimately Lex is DrivenByEnvy the same as always, and only doesn't want Superman in charge because he is convinced ''he'' should be.

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: "These shores are off limits, Comrade." Cue the ass kicking.

** Stalin and Superman getting along finely is rather funny, given that "Stalin" literally means "Man Of Steel"[[hottip:*:[[DontExplainTheJoke Superman's most well-known nickname]]

* MagnificentBastard: '''Lex Luthor'''. Seriously, a formula to fix the US budget, erasing the deficit to non-existence? Arranging a space-satellite crash in Metropolis knowing Superman will definitely show up to save its citizens ''despite being at war with them''? Condemning Lois to a loveless marriage, but ''knowing'' full well she'll ''never'' leave him? Quadrupling the standard of living of the U.S. ''and'' turning it into an economic superpower soon after civil unrest ''within a year'' of taking office? [[spoiler: And there's that whole Brainiac contingency plan he apparently set up ''forty years back?'']] To say nothing of [[spoiler: the MarySuetopia he creates after Superman is gone]].

* WhatAnIdiot: You've gotta love how Pyotr is totally confident of his ability to defeat Batman [[spoiler: once their plan to overthrow Superman is complete, right after Bats ''kidnapped him from his own private car.'']]
* VillainSue: Lex Luthor, Full stop. Everything he plans works out. He wins in the end and even gloats about his victory to the very end.

* FridgeLogic: Kal-L's ship lands in Ukraine in 1938, yet the story begins in the early 1950s...Superman would be 14-15 at most.

* FridgeLogic:
** The Soviets sure do invoke "God" a lot when they talk...
*** As noted in the RealityIsUnrealistic page, the USSR was never as completely irreligious as RedScare portrayals would have one believe. This was due to literally ''centuries'' of influences of the Russian Orthodox Church creeping into every part of Russian culture and retaining enough influence even during the height of the Soviet age that ''Stalin'' himself in RealLife had to play nice with them. Saying "Oh God" or the like as expletives or invocations would not be strange at all since such words have become part of the language, just like an atheist in the West would say words like "goddammit" or "Jesus Christ!" Note that open practice was even tolerated in the Soviet Union, and significant figures such as Georgiy Zhukov openly identified as Russian Orthodox.
** We never get to see how Luthor makes the world the 'Utopia' it is by the end. Like, what, did everyone just spontaneously decide to be Mary Sues? He used Capitalism and the Invisible hand of the Free Market did it? Communism done right (as in with no Superman interference)?
*** All that matters is that whatever means we use, humanity can triumph on its own. We don't need a parent figure guiding us like children. And Luthor's government seems to not be like any we've seen to date. He has artists, scientists, and philosophers in his governing body.
*** Actually, its implied that his government is not much different from Superman's own, and that Lex actually borrowed a lot of the socialist ideas to make the economy work, not free-market stuff. The main difference is probably that despite socialist economics, it is unlikely to be egalitarian in any meaningful way. As for humanity not needing a parent figure, thats more or less what Luthor has made himself- Big Brother 2.0. After all, he still rules the world, and he is still ''LexLuthor''.
** Kal-L's ship lands in Ukraine in 1938, yet the story begins in the early 1950s...Superman would be 14-15 at most.

* [[MagnificentBastard]]: '''Lex Luthor'''. Seriously, a formula to fix the US budget, erasing the deficit to non-existence? Arranging a space-satellite crash in Metropolis knowing Superman will definitely show up to save its citizens ''despite being at war with them''? Condemning Lois to a loveless marriage, but ''knowing'' full well she'll ''never'' leave him? Quadrupling the standard of living of the U.S. ''and'' turning it into an economic superpower soon after civil unrest ''within a year'' of taking office? [[spoiler: And there's that whole Brainiac contingency plan he apparently set up ''forty years back?'']] To say nothing of [[spoiler: the MarySuetopia he creates after Superman is gone]].

* [[GambitIndex Xanatos Wrote This Character]]: '''Lex Luthor'''. Seriously, a formula to fix the US budget, erasing the deficit to non-existence? Arranging a space-satellite crash in Metropolis knowing Superman will definitely show up to save its citizens ''despite being at war with them''? Condemning Lois to a loveless marriage, but ''knowing'' full well she'll ''never'' leave him? Quadrupling the standard of living of the U.S. ''and'' turning it into an economic superpower soon after civil unrest ''within a year'' of taking office? [[spoiler: And there's that whole Brainiac contingency plan he apparently set up ''forty years back?'']] To say nothing of [[spoiler: the MarySuetopia he creates after Superman is gone]].

** Stalin and Superman getting along finely is rather funny, given that "Stalin" literally means "Man Of Steel"[[hottip:*:[[DontExplainTheJoke Superman's most well-known nickname]]]]

* [[GambitIndex Xanatos Wrote This Character]]: '''Lex Luthor'''. Seriously, a formula to fix the US budget? Erasing the deficit to non-existence? Arranging a space-satellite crash in Metropolis knowing Superman will definitely show up to save its citizens ''despite being at war with them''? Condemning Lois to a loveless marriage, but ''knowing'' full well she'll ''never'' leave him? Quadrupling the standard of living of the U.S. ''and'' turning it into an economic superpower soon after civil unrest ''within a year'' of taking office? [[spoiler: And there's that whole Brainiac contingency plan he apparently set up ''forty years back?'']] To say nothing of [[spoiler: the MarySuetopia he creates after Superman is gone]].

*** As noted in the RealityIsUnrealistic page, the USSR was never as completely irreligious as RedScare portrayals would have one believe. This was due to literally ''centuries'' of influences of the Russian Orthodox Church creeping into every part of Russian culture and retaining enough influence even during the height of the Soviet age that ''Stalin'' himself in RealLife had to play nice with them. Saying "Oh God" or the like as expletives or invocations would not be strange at all since such words have become part of the language, just like an atheist in the West would say words like "goddammit" or "Jesus Christ!"

*** Soviet Russia wasn't as un-Christian as most people think. While the Communist government dismantled the Church as an institution, most Russians remained Christians in their private lives and the Soviet government soon accepted that they couldn't undo centuries of Christian tradition in Russia. Stalin himself actually helped to revive the Russian Orthodox Church in order to whip up support for the war against the Nazis.
*** Even so, Superman was literally raised as believe in Communist doctrine, and made his way into Stalin's inner circle. Maybe Stalin was more impressed with his abilities then his religious beliefs?

* FridgeBrilliance: The ultimate example is when Superman implies that [[spoiler:the reason he survived Luthor's black hole was that Luthor rounded off a decimal point when calculating Superman's density!]] See the XanatosRoulette section below for the full context on this.