WARNING: The following contains spoilers for "The Measure of Hope," from Superman: Red and Blue #1 from Brandon Easton, Steve Lieber, Ron Chan and Clayton Cowles, on sale now.
For decades, it's always been said Superman's faster than a speeding bullet. We've seen it across so many comics, movies, cartoons and TV shows, as he races over to save innocents and loved ones in the blink of an eye. However, there's always the interesting topic of what happens when the Man of Steel is too late, or if he's swamped with other work and just can't be in two places at once.
Well, Superman: Red and Blue #1 answers the question of what happens when Kal-El can't save the day on time, and it's a very heartbreaking one.
Now, not everyone has the luxury of a watch that emits a signal he can pick up a la Jimmy Olsen, or a beacon as we're seeing his family has in the new Superman & Lois series. It's really who's in close proximity or who he can tune in to hear when he's scouring through billions of voices worldwide. This story, though, delves into something a bit more old-school: fan mail. And unfortunately, he doesn't read his on time.
Here, we see Superman saving a young Black kid, Melvin, years ago from an attack by Kalibak. He urges the boy home, but sadly, Melvin catches his mom, Jolene, doing heroin. She's been laid off from her job after rebuffing her boss' sexual advances, and in at-risk neighborhoods, there aren't many new offers of work pouring in. In addition, her husband died recently, so as she explains to her son, it's her way of coping with the stress, but ultimately, a path she doesn't want him to walk.
Thankfully, they bond over his Superman bed sheet and she makes it clear he needs to keep believing in his symbol as hope is all they have left. This inspires Melvin to write Superman to come clean up his home and get rid of the drugs, but by the time Kal-El reads it, it's decades too late. He arrives at Melvin's mom's funeral, heartbroken and apologizing, as she overdosed years later and died in a church.
He wishes he could parse through the thousands of letters faster but life gets in the way. Yet Melvin isn't angry or judgmental at the excuse, as he knows the Man of Steel would have been there if he could. But he's disappointed as he'd like the Justice League to help impoverished areas. It's not always about gods, monsters and aliens, which Kal-El acknowledges.
Melvin's done well for himself using the hero as an inspiration and moral compass, but he'd like them to focus on people like his mom before it's too late. They get depressed quickly, turning into junkies at the drop of a hat, so Superman and his colleagues need to be more proactive. And so, after they hug it out, Kal heads to the moon; Jolene always wanted to be in the starlight so he makes a shrine, promising to do better so he can save the day on time for these folks in desperate need of a system that works.