Warning! Contains spoilers for Action Comics Annual #1!Superman has gone through plenty of phases and changes to his character, with one of the weirdest being the time he was split into two separate characters, Superman Blue and Super Red. Now, his new children have demonstrated powers that seem to represent this phase of his life perfectly.
In Action Comics Annual #1 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Max Raynor, Matt Herms, and Dave Sharpe, the Earth is being invaded by the Empire of Shadows, a version of the League of Assassins that successfully took over the planet in their world. This is partly due to the fact that the leader of the Empire is Sister Shadow aka Janan al Ghul, Batman’s daughter. Part of Sister Shadow’s plan is to kidnap Superman’s daughter, Otho-Ra, and try to take over her body.
Otho-Ra and Osul-Ra are two Phaelosian twins from Warworld who were adopted by Clark and Lois after Superman freed their world from Mongul. It turns out both Otho-Ra and Osul-Ra are remarkably powerful, even more so than their Phaelosian biology would imply. While trying to fight off Sister Shadow, Otho-Ra demonstrates the ability to expel powerful blue energy, and then later, Osul-Ra shows off the ability to expel red energy.
Star Wars’ Forgotten Solo Twins Have Perfect Parallels in Superman Lore
Super-siblings Osul-Ra and Otho-Ra are being set up for a conflict between light and darkness, just as Han and Leia’s twins were in pre-Disney canon.
Superman Has Been Split Into Red And Blue Personas Before
Twice in Superman’s history, he has been split into two different beings, one red and one blue. The first time was in 1963’s Superman #162 by Leo Dorfman and Curt Swan. When Superman uses a Kryptonite machine in an attempt to increase his brain power by one hundred times, it ends up splitting him into two different beings, Superman Red and Superman Blue. This concept would later be revisited in the 1990s. At one point, Superman gains electric blue powers instead of his usual solar powers. He’s later captured by Toyman, who accidentally splits Superman into Superman Red and Superman Blue. Superman Blue is highly intelligent, while Superman Red is highly aggressive. Now, it seems Osul-Ra and Otho-Ra represent this, but with a twist.
The Super-Twins’ Powers May Hint At Their Futures
Osul-Ra has mostly been shown to be timid and easily frightened at times; Otho-Ra, on the other hand, has been shown to be extremely aggressive and courageous. This seems to be the reverse of what their colors might imply based on Superman’s history, where blue is typically the brainy personality while red is typically the aggressive one. But this inversion might be there for a reason. Despite Otho-Ra being the more aggressive one, her superhero name has been revealed as Starchild, who was a legendary figure from the House of Ra and a defender, not an attacker. Osul-Ra’s superhero identity is Red Son, who was also the aggressor. So, while their personalities might not match their powers so far, that might very well change.
Sometimes writers like to pull from or reference the more absurd moments that have happened to Superman in the nearly 100 years he’s appeared in comics. While it’s still unclear exactly what kind of adults Osul-Ra and Otho-Ra will grow up to be, right now, there are pretty clear hints. While Otho-Ra is aggressive now, she might eventually turn to a more intellectual way to handle things. Osul-Ra might become more aggressive and brave as he ages as well, which would make Superman’s two new children perfect reflections of the weirdest moment in his life.
