Cue Outrage: Superman To Renounce U.S. Citizenship In New Comic

by Jon Bershad | 1:34 pm, April 28th, 2011

» 24 comments

First the new movie casts some British guy and now this?! The super-sized 900th issue of Superman comic Action Comics has hit the news stands and it’s got stories written by all kinds of interesting people like Richard Donner and Damon Lindelof. However, no one cares about that because it also has a scene where Superman announces he’s renouncing his American citizenship. Before you could say “Mr. Mxyzptlk” (ok, way before), the Internet was acting accordingly. The conservative blogs erupted in indignation while the comics blogs began seeking out the funniest comments on Fox Nation.

So, wait. Why is the greatest American who was ever born farther from America’s shores than Kenya no longer an American? Well, the moment occurs in a story written by Batman Begins and The Dark Knight co-writer David S. Goyer. I’ll let Comics Alliance describe the scene since my comics knowledge ends with knowing that there’s a Superman character named Mr. Mxyzptlk.

From Comics Alliance:

The key scene takes place in “The Incident,” a short story in Action Comics #900 written by David S. Goyer with art by Miguel Sepulveda. In it, Superman consults with the President’s national security advisor, who is incensed that Superman appeared in Tehran to non-violently support the protesters demonstrating against the Iranian regime, no doubt an analogue for the recent real-life protests in the Middle East. However, since Superman is viewed as an American icon in the DC Universe as well as our own, the Iranian government has construed his actions as the will of the American President, and indeed, an act of war.

Superman replies that it was foolish to think that his actions would not reflect politically on the American government, and that he therefore plans to renounce his American citizenship at the United Nations the next day — and to continue working as a superhero from a more global than national perspective. From a “realistic” standpoint it makes sense; it would indeed be impossible for a nigh-omnipotent being ideologically aligned with America to intercede against injustice beyond American borders without creating enormous political fallout for the U.S. government.

That certainly seems to follow the “more realistic” approach that Goyer brought to Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies (the Bat-Mobile would obviously be a tank in real life). Also, the idea of Superman struggling with his seeming inseparable connection to America is nothing new. In the seminal Frank Miller book The Dark Knight Returns, Superman’s boy-scout qualities are critiqued as he is depicted as a kind of unquestioning lap dog for the American government who would kill his own friend Bruce Wayne just because the President ordered it. Still, having a panel where the Man of Steel actually says that “truth, justice, and the American way [is] not enough anymore” seems more than enough to cause a nationwide pseudo-crisis. After all, people freaked out when Wonder Woman’s costume seemed slightly less American flag-y.

So, yes, folks. Feel free to get furious. Fortunately, once we all boycott Superman comics, there are still other wholesome American activities we can enjoy. Like baseball.

Oh, wait.

Comics, David S. Goyer, DC Comics, Superman \

cjd ohio 1

remember its a comic book folks
skyfet

cjd ohio 1 said:
remember its a comic book folks

You should tell that to your friends at Fox. It was them that had the fake outrage over wonder woman and blamed American obesity problems for not having a decent actor to play “Man of Steel”.
Thelonious Funk

it would only be bad if Captain America felt this way.

Captain Uzbekistan doesn’t really have the same ring.
jerrybobphil

Don’t care about Superman now if this was Batman I’d be having a fit.
Pablo

Wait, he’s an illegal alien, isn’t he?
Kitsune

skyfet said:
You should tell that to your friends at Fox. It was them that had the fake outrage over wonder woman and blamed American obesity problems for not having a decent actor to play “Man of Steel”.

Get over yourself and stop trying to blame cjd and other posters here you don’t like for what some TV station says.
RodBlago

I can wait to see this story on Fox and Friends. I can only image what they will have to say and what classic Gretchen Carlson face we’ll get.
Jerps

Still seems bone-headed on DC Comics’ part. Actually when are they going to change their name? “DC” is too Washington.
pakattak

Jerps said:
Still seems bone-headed on DC Comics’ part. Actually when are they going to change their name? “DC” is too Washington.

DC stands for “Detective Comics”.

I’m not a terribly huge Superman fan, but is this a big deal? The dude is an illegal alien (unless someone can produce his birth certificate that says otherwise!).
Barack Must Go

What do you expect from a guy flying around in tight tights that’s Barack Obama alleged president of the United States during his day job.
AikidoJoe

Super Man is one of my least favorite of the super heroes. Now I’d really pitch a fit if they messed with Union Jack.
TeaPartyPatriot

All those lame losers pathetic enough to buy and read comic books, please raise you hand in a vulcan salute.
Arch

Press attention: Received. Mission: Accomplished. Next!
cjd ohio 1

skyfet said:
You should tell that to your friends at Fox. It was them that had the fake outrage over wonder woman and blamed American obesity problems for not having a decent actor to play “Man of Steel”.

i will get right on that programing note, i guess this means you control msnbc also?
damien

TeaPartyPatriot said:
All those lame losers pathetic enough to buy and read comic books, please raise you hand in a vulcan salute.

I read comics, and I’m not ashamed to admitted it. You may dismiss it, but it’s every bit the legitimate artform that television is (well, American television). Hollywood has been making a shit-ton of money from comics in the last ten years. More people than you realise are interested in comics, even if they don’t actually read them.
Alz

Just more Modern Liberals/Progressivism at work. They HATE Western Civilization and especially the US.

Everything has to be “equal” and since the US system has traditionally produced the most benefits for the most people, the Left MUST work to tear it down.

This is why Obama is working to spend us to death and why he wants energy prices to rise.

As Evan Sayet says: The Modern Liberals works to tear down everything that is “good, right and successful” while elevating everything that is “evil, failed and wrong.”
Sean68

I hear in the next issue Superman calls the US a downright mean country…then he moves to Israel and joins the Likud Party.
bobmoses

The reason that people call liberals unpatriotic is because so many of them are unpatriotic.

No way in hell my family will ever watch another DC movie.
bobmoses

“All those lame losers pathetic enough to buy and read comic books, please raise you hand in a vulcan salute.”

Oh, I have read comics my whole life. I also have had sex with far more women than some loser troll who spends his entire life posting on blogs from his mommy’s basement. Seriously, you know how lonely and desperate you are. The stink of despair comes through loud and clear in your posts, troll.
http://activitypit.ning.com/profile/massmurdermedia MASSMURDERMEDIA

Alz said:
Just more Modern Liberals/Progressivism at work. They HATE Western Civilization and especially the US.

i’m no fan of liberal or progressive ideology… but the writer of this issue is making sense with the notion of superman denouncing his citizenship, and claiming to be outraged doesn’t seem to examine the ramifications of superman’s actions… it’s all too easy to claim the writer hates america and leave it at that, and i suspect people who harbor this opinion don’t read superman comics to begin with… but people who do, while dismissed by many, likely have as high if not higher iq’s… and they realize that, for example, when jimmy carter and jesse jackson did similar things to what superman did, they were accused maybe not of treason, but at least with disrespecting the administration and their state department…

so i ask those who feel the superman writer hates america: should american citizens take it upon themselves to conduct foreign policy without consenting the white house and state department?… or should superman stick with fighting the likes of lex luthor and ignore nonfictional evil doers?…
Alz

MASSMURDERMEDIA said:
i’m no fan of liberal or progressive ideology… but the writer of this issue is making sense with the notion of superman denouncing his citizenship, and claiming to be outraged doesn’t seem to examine the ramifications of superman’s actions… it’s all too easy to claim the writer hates america and leave it at that, and i suspect people who harbor this opinion don’t read superman comics to begin with… but people who do, while dismissed by many, likely have as high if not higher iq’s… and they realize that, for example, when jimmy carter and jesse jackson did similar things to what superman did, they were accused maybe not of treason, but at least with disrespecting the administration and their state department…

so i ask those who feel the superman writer hates america: should american citizens take it upon themselves to conduct foreign policy without consenting the white house and state department?… or should superman stick with fighting the likes of lex luthor and ignore nonfictional evil doers?…

Intellect is the usual excuse as in “liberals are so smart”, but the math isn’t with them:

smart * wrong = wrong.

It’s just like I said ‘above”.
http://activitypit.ning.com/profile/massmurdermedia MASSMURDERMEDIA

Alz said:
Intellect is the usual excuse as in “liberals are so smart”, but the math isn’t with them:

smart * wrong = wrong.

i don’t read “superman” and i’m guessing that you don’t either, since you’re criticizing a superficial aspect of liberal ideology (denouncing american citizenship) as opposed to the details of this particular storyline and how they may play out… yet you know enough about the writer to assume he’s a liberal since, and i’m making an assumption here, his story line is ostensibly offensive to conservatives or otherwise patriotic americans… or perhaps you know for a fact that he’s a liberal…

i’m a conservative but know better than to trash every possible liberal offense before thinking it thru… and in this case, you’re insulting an entire audience of readers by suggesting their hero’s exploits be reduced to black & white, good vs evil, don’t-give-me-too-much-to-think-about plot scenarios so that people like you who don’t read them aren’t offended…

one can argue that superman is the ultimate patriot in this case, making a personal sacrifice in order to serve his country and mankind at large… jimmy carter should be so patriotic the next time he hauls off overseas undermining american foreign policy with his extreme leftist wacko views…
http://ninure.tk Ninure Saunders

1) Superman is an illegal alien. No pun intended. He’s not even human.
2) He was raised as Clark Kent under false pretenses.
3) When did he take an oath citizenship. Unless he did there he can’t renounce something he doesn’t have.
http://activitypit.ning.com/profile/massmurdermedia MASSMURDERMEDIA

Ninure Saunders said:
1) Superman is an illegal alien. No pun intended. He’s not even human.
2) He was raised as Clark Kent under false pretenses.
3) When did he take an oath citizenship. Unless he did there he can’t renounce something he doesn’t have.

very interesting points… as someone who does not read “superman” i wonder if any of this has ever been addressed in past issues… the current writer has opened a can of worms he may not have realized would go beyond the denouncing of citizenship issue, although i’m sure that’s quite enough for the usual suspects of conservative talk blowhards…

superman, i demand to see your green card!…

kent, i demand to see your birth certificate!… the long form!…