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 When one thinks of Superman, one of the most famous fictional characters ever created, many iconic catchphrases come to mind: "Faster than a speeding bullet...," "It's a bird -- it's a plane...," "Look! Up in the Sky...," and "Truth, justice, and the American way," right?
Well, no more.
In a troubling, distressing new story, DC Comics, the company that has published the Man of Steel's comic book adventures since 1938, has changed all that.
In its special "celebratory" issue out today, Action Comics #900, there is a story in which Superman prevents a riot between protestors and the military in Iran. When Superman is later confronted by the President's National Security Advisor about how Superman's being in Iran has dragged the United States into an "international incident," Superman – with not even a hint of a second thought as to what he's giving up – says that he will take care of it by addressing the United Nations and declaring to them that he has decided to renounce his American citizenship because the world is "too small" for "truth, justice, and the American way" anymore.
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| in ACTION COMICS #900, Superman "renounces" his American citizenship [Image © 2011 DC Comics] |
As a sidebar, the story, by Hollywood scribe David Goyer (also writer of the upcoming Superman film – fair warning), is so touchy-feely cloying in its depiction of Superman stopping a potential riot just by standing there and having everyone halt dead in their tracks because they are overcome by his mere godlike presence that it should have been rejected based on cheesy storytelling alone.
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In this eyeroll-inducing moment in some funhouse-mirror version
of Iran, a soldier is presented with a rose from a protestor. Of course,
once Superman was out of range, the soldier blew the guy's head off.
[Image © 2011 DC Comics]
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The current regime in charge of DC Comics has had an unfortunate history of not knowing what to do with some of their marquee characters – Superman and Wonder Woman (who, in a recent controversial costume switch, has also lost a lot of her obvious American inspired appearance) chief among them. We feel this is a misguided attempt on the part of DC's management to make the character more "relevant" to the modern audience. However, it completely misses the fact that while Superman is an alien from another world, his story is so quintessentially American.
Superman was conceived in the 1930s as a depression-era "champion of the oppressed." He is the epitome of the American dream – the immigrant who came to this country with nothing and created success for himself. Removing the American underpinnings from the Superman concept is as wrongheaded and preposterous as removing Christmas from Santa Claus.
This isn't the first time that DC Comics and its parent Time Warner has been in the midst of a controversy regarding Superman's status as an American icon. In 2006, Bryan Singer's poorly-received film Superman Returns famously truncated Superman's signature line by saying "Truth, justice...all that stuff."
No one is saying that DC Comics should go the other way and portray Superman as a rah-rah, flag-waving hardcore patriot. Superman stories have by-and-large been apolitical over the decades, and it's probably best that they stay that way. However, it is undeniable that American iconography has been incorporated into depictions of the character almost from the beginning. Yes, Superman is a hero to the world and protects all mankind, but it's important never to forget that he's an American hero to the world. The fact that Superman was raised in America's heartland is a central part of his character, and not just some tacked on trait that is disposable.
If this were any other comic book character outside of Captain America, perhaps we wouldn't feel as strongly about this as we do, but Superman is essentially part of modern American folklore and is one of the most famous and recognizable fictional characters in history. Most Americans probably don't know the names of their Senators, but everyone on the face of the planet knows who "Lois Lane" is. We'll leave it up to you to decide whether that's a good thing, but be that as it may, Superman's status as an American icon is clear and undeniable.
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George Reeves as Superman, 1953
[Image © 2011 Warner Bros.]
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Christopher Reeve as Superman, 1978 [Image © 2011 Warner Bros.] |
Perhaps we shouldn't be all that surprised. The entertainment industry has often downplayed any overt Americanisms in its productions in order not to "offend" the international audience and to ensure that they are more saleable to overseas markets. It's global capitalism and appeasement at its most efficient – never mind the cumulative effect such decisions have on the United States. We are all "citizens of the world" now – at least according to Hollywood and to the multitude of American corporations outsourcing jobs by the millions. In fact, Superman has been among the most recent victims of the outsource epidemic: in the aforementioned new Superman movie Man of Steel, due Christmas 2012, Superman himself will be played by British actor, Henry Cavill (The Tudors). What are the odds that when the film based upon DC Comics' Justice League of America is finally made that the "of America" part will be nowhere to be found?
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"Truth, justice...and all that sort of rot."
British actor Henry Cavill lands the role of Superman in 2012's Man of Steel
[Photo by David Shankbone]
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Having Superman renounce his American citizenship seems like a typical liberal Hollywood reaction to its perception that being an American who actually loves America is akin to being a far right wing war-mongering religious zealot. To them, being a proud American is something corny to be mocked at the very least and something to be feared at worst. If it's true that the right wing has co-opted the American flag and American imagery for its exclusive use, it's because the left wing allowed them to do so.
In America, we have one of the greatest freedoms imaginable – the freedom to disagree not only with each other, but also with our government. No one is saying that Hollywood in general or the story's writer in particular should not be able to have whatever worldview they wish, and we don't want to suggest that we're classifying all of Hollywood as America-hating liberals, but what we are saying is that writers should not project their own personal political beliefs on these fictional characters that are not theirs. The above reprinted panels showing how blithely Superman gives up his American heritage is just bad writing pure and simple, and it does seem as though the writer is using Superman as his own personal mouthpiece. The subtext, as we saw it, was that the writer understood that Superman is an American icon, and felt the need to "fix" that because it didn't jibe with his own personal politics.
Superman represents the full realization of the American ideal, which we concede can be quite different from the American reality. He is a timeless character that should not be caught up in the politics of the moment or advance any particular politcal agenda. The sooner that the entertainment industry realizes that displaying the flag and believing in the American dream are not synonymous with far right wing politics, the better. Superman is a classic American icon and does not need to be changed from that.
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I hope this isn't something DC is going to follow up with in Superman comics because I don't want to read stories where Superman willingly gives up being an American.
If Supes is no longer American, then I'm no longer a Superman reader.