Mark Millar is a comic book writer with experience in creating a Superman unlike anything fans have seen before.
He scripted the Superman: Red Son miniseries in 2003. This comic book showed a world where Superman’s rocket ship as a baby landed on a Ukrainian farm in the Soviet Union rather than in Kansas.
This means that Superman did not grow up believing in truth, justice, and the American way, but instead grew up believing in Stalin’s socialist teaching and became the “Champion of the common worker.”
While it could have been hugely controversial to change Superman into a Communist, it was critically acclaimed, was a 2004 Eisner Award nominee, and was recently adapted as an animated feature film in 2020.
As someone who created a very different version of Superman, Mark Miller was asked what he thought about a Black Superman movie.
Mark Millar on Black Superman
THR interviewed Mark Millar about his career and his upcoming Netflix series Jupiter’s Legacy, based on his comic book of the same name.
They then asked about Warner Bros. possibly creating a Black Superman movie with Calvin Ellis as the Man of Steel.
Millar had no doubt that the movie could be a great success and had more optimism about the audience than other critics.
“Yeah, of course! Why not? Superman is from Krypton. Who cares?” Millar asked. “He doesn’t have to be a Midwestern farm boy. He can be anything. People are smarter and more open than you think.”
Calvin Ellis is a Superman from an alternate Earth (fans of The CW and DC Comics know what this means, and after The Flash, movie audiences will know as well. Basically, there are endless versions of Earth, all different based on different things happening in history).
Calvin Ellis became the President of the United States and was a clear homage to the rise of Barack Obama as the United State’s first non-white POTUS.
Ta-Nehisi Coates set to write the next Superman movie, with J.J. Abrams producing for Warner Bros. Coates is best known for his 2014 feature The Case for Reparations for The Atlantic.
He also wrote the groundbreaking and critically acclaimed Black Panther series, which was a huge inspiration for the MCU movie. He is currently writing Captain America as well.
Mark Millar’s Jupiter’s Legacy hits this week on Netflix
Mark Millar not only wrote the acclaimed Superman: Red Son comic book series, but he also wrote the Marvel Civil War storyline that was the influence for Captain America: Civil War.
He also worked as a creative talent on the Ultimate Marvel Universe and was responsible for many of The Avengers members’ qualities, including Thor and Captain America.
Finally, he also created Old Man Logan, which was the inspiration for Fox’s final Wolverine movie Logan.
When Millar left Marvel, he created a series of independently owned comics, including ones that became hit movies. This includes Kick-Ass, Wanted, and Kingsman: The Secret Service.
Now, Millar is preparing to become Netflix’s go-to creator for superhero streaming series. The first Millarworld production to hit Netflix arrives this week with Jupiter’s Legacy.
This series focuses on the first generation superheroes, which includes a take on a Superman character in The Utopian, and their children, who are not ready to take on the responsibility of following their parents’ footsteps.
Jupiter’s Legacy hits Netflix on May 7, 2021.