Superman Gives Up U.S. Citizenship, Becomes Something Better

Superman renounces his U.S. citizenship in the latest issue of DC’s ‘Action Comics.’ That’s hardly the whole story.

As part of their 96-page celebration of Action Comics’ 900th issue, D.C. included a tale called “The Incident,” in which Superman meets with fictional National Security Advisor Gabriel Wright after flying to Tehran to stand in solidarity with anti-Ahmadinejad protesters.

“As a super-hero, as Metropolis’ protector, I’ve fought just about every threat imaginable… But the everyday degradations that humans suffer?… Thirst? Hunger? People being denied their basic human rights?,” laments Superman. “I’ve never been very effective at stopping things like that. And I want to be. So I showed up. In solidarity.”

Since Superman’s an American icon, the Iranians take his peaceful presence as the States’ declaration of war. The U.S. government, unsurprisingly, is not pleased.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Superman decides he can no longer represent our nation, telling Wright, “‘Truth, justice, and the American way—it’s not enough anymore. The world’s too small. Too connected.”

Superman understands that his actual and symbolic power belongs to the world, to whom he must deliver a democratic life free from tyranny. It’s the same crusade the U.S. claims to fight, only on a larger, more powerful scale.

Of course there’s been a bit of tepid anger over Superman’s decision, but certainly nothing like the huge conservative backlash involving Marvel’s Thor movie or Batman’s Muslim ally, Nightrunner. Still, a few on the right claim Superman’s declaration insults America and its values.

Ken Shepherd at NewsBusters calls the story “leftist crap,” and Fox News’ Cal Thomas wonders, “Who has hijacked Superman and turned him into a U.N. loving Anti-American?”

Thomas goes on to insist, much like an ever-believing child, that Superman “would never abandon America,” and concludes, “If the left wants a super hero of their own, they need not mess in our superhero gene pool. They already have one of their own who is United Nations-friendly. He is the creation of Ted Turner and his name is ‘Captain Planet.’”

How very clever, Mr. Thomas.

D.C. publishers aren’t about to get into a patriotic pissing contest with conservatives, though, and offered a nonchalant response, “Superman is a visitor from a distant planet who has long embraced American values. As a character and an icon, he embodies the best of the American Way.”

Though it’s definitely notable that Superman’s decided to call the U.S. quits, the larger story here is how. It’s not just that he sees the world as far more interconnected than when he first flew onto the scene in 1932 1938.* It’s Superman’s method: he practiced some good old fashioned civil disobedience, a rare move for a man whose job involves an incredible amount of aggression and violence.

“I promised myself I wouldn’t directly engage,” he says. “It was an act of civil disobedience. Nonviolent resistance.”

And, being super, our hero resists the urge to fight back, even after the Iranian army fires at him, something our mortal military would never tolerate. But it’s not just that Superman’s made of steel. It’s that he’s brave, just like the Iranian soldier who accepts a protester’s flower, rather than shooting, at the end of the story.

One does not need to resort to violence to win a conflict. (In fact, in the issue’s main story, Superman also uses nonviolence to defeat Lex Luther.)

So, the coverage of this story—which occurs out of continuity and therefore may or may not be made canon—should revolve not around Superman’s citizenship. It should revolve around his commitment to human rights and peace.

Besides, was Superman ever truly American? He is, as every report has noted, an alien from Krypton. We can’t claim him as our own. He’s been exported around the world, the very embodiment of our nation’s values, yes, but he’s hardly American property.

And with all our nation’s failings—wars by deception, racial, economic and sexual inequalities and government-sanctioned torture—I’m not sure we deserve Superman in the first place.

*Yes, you’re correct, CK1961: Superman first appeared in 1938. He was created, however, in 1932.