(CNN) What would have happened if that strange visitor from another planet had landed in the Soviet Union instead of the US? That's the premise of "Superman: Red Son," a provocative new DC Entertainment animated movie adapted from a graphic novel.

The "what if" genre has been a popular one in comics, and this latest animated film not only arrives at a time of renewed real-world tensions with Russia, but amid a wave of alternate-history projects.

The latter includes "For All Mankind," an Apple TV+ series built around the notion that the Soviets reached the moon first; and "The Plot Against America," an upcoming HBO adaptation of Philip Roth's novel, in which Charles Lindbergh is elected president and keeps the U.S. out of World War II, while fascism begins to take root at home.

The underpinnings of "Superman: Red Son" -- which was actually first published in 2003 -- are awash in Cold War paranoia. The timetable features the young Kal-El discovering his powers just after World War II, before using them to serve the state as he reaches adulthood in the 1950s, interacting with, among others, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.

Directed by Sam Liu (whose credits include "The Death of Superman" and "Batman: The Killing Joke"), with Jason Isaacs as the voice of Superman, the Warner Bros. Animation production features the striking image of the old U.S.S.R.'s hammer and sickle in the diamond-shaped logo that adorns the character's costume. (Like CNN, Warner Bros. and DC are units of WarnerMedia.)

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