Superman had recently been recast as an energy-based being when this one-shot special was released. Along with the new powers came a new blue-and-white costume, replacing the traditional red, yellow, and blue.
In Superman Red/Superman Blue, the Man of Steel is in for even more changes. The Toyman has escaped from jail, and managed to reactivate the old Cyborg Superman, Hank Henshaw. Together, these two villains managed to trap Superman, then disperse his energy—which should have killed him. Instead, Superman managed to reconstitute himself, albeit as two independent entities: one red, and one blue. This events of this special launch the “energy” Superman in a new direction, which eventually ends in a return to the old Superman we knew and loved.