This week on Geek Devotions, Dallas takes a look at DC Comic’s, Superman Red Son. Red Son comes from their Elseworlds line where Superman lands in Russia instead of Kansas. Does the man of steel’s upbringing affect who he is? Does your upbringing have to affect who you are? Join us today and find out!

This week on Geek Devotions, Dallas takes a look at DC Comic’s, Superman Red Son. Red Son comes from their Elseworlds line where Superman lands in Russia instead of Kansas. Does the man of steel’s upbringing affect who he is? Does your upbringing have to affect who you are? Join us today and find out!

This past week, we got to see Superman Red Son. Red Son is part of DC Comic’s Elseworlds line where they take characters and place them at different times and in different scenarios. Through Elseworld we’ve seen what happens if  Superman was raised in Britan, during the Civil War, and even if he were raised by the Waynes. These are always super fascinating comics to read.

Superman Red Son places the man of steel in an interesting situation. Instead of growing up with small-town American values while being raised in heart of Kansas, he is raised in Soviet Russia.  The story follows Superman as he is raised with Stalin’s teachings as the baseline of his belief system. At the front end of things, he seems very much the man of steel we know. The ideals of peace and justice are still very visible in his action and thoughts. However, as he grows you see that the American way is not part of that core value. More and more his tactics mirror the teachings of Stalin, just a bit different. Instead of throwing people into goulogs for speaking against the actions of the government, Superman volunteers them for brain surgery. He literally changes the minds of those who speak against him. He reasons that it’s better than starving them.

It’s really quite surreal seeing this story played out. Here we see a character who we’ve seen as good and true, acting in a very similar fashion as he would naturally; but warped. His nature to serve and help has been polluted by the way he was raised. This raises a lot of questions about nature vs nurture. In all honesty, people’s actions are affected by their upbringing.  However, you don’t have to be bound to the mindsets of your upbringing. You don’t have to be a slave to a victim mentality. You don’t have to be bound to terrible habits and mindsets that were imprinted on you by your upbringing.

As Christians, we believe that we can be free from these things. We believe that in Christ, we are a new creation in Christ Jesus.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
2 Corinthians 5:17 (English Standard Version | ESV)

As a new creation, we have a new nature. Gone are the chains of our upbringing, we now have a choice to walk in a new nature. We have the choice to live our lives as Sons and Daughters of God. We have the choice to see the world through a Biblical World View. This doesn’t mean that we are perfect right off the bat. There’s a lot of habits and mindsets you carry with you, but in Christ, you can leave those behind. It may be a slow turn to re-align our mindsets, but it is possible.

At the end of Superman Red Son, Superman is faced with a dangerous situation. He comes to the revelation that he has been going about things the wrong way. He then makes the conscious decision to act counter his upbringing to be who he should have been the entire time.  You may have lived all your life in a terrible situation, but in Christ, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter where you come from. It doesn’t matter the color of your skin. It doesn’t matter who your parents were or weren’t. In Christ, we have a new start. 

How do we do this? First go to the word of God. Don’t just read the words on the page. But ask yourself the following questions:

  • What does this passage mean to its original audience?
  • How does it apply to me today?

Next, we suggest you get plugged in at a good Bible-believing church. Find a church that believes in raise up sons and daughters. Find a Church that will challenge you and hold you accountable as you walk this out.

Question of the Week:
If you could write your own Elseworlds version of Superman, what would it look like?