Somewhere, Obama is Breathing a Sigh of Relief

Posted By: Kathleen DavidPosted On:

Because now the news media gets to obsess over an even MORE pointless citizenship story than his place of birth.

In Superman #900, in a back-up story, Superman renounces his American citizenship.

And news media from coast to coast went completely bat guano.

Why do I have a feeling that, when President Obama said the news media needed to focus on important matters rather than silliness, the media going nuts over the decisions of a fictional character in a nine page backup story wasn’t what he had in mind?

PAD

UPDATED April 30th, 8:44 AM:
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I want to make it clear that when I’m talking about overreaction or matters of more importance, I’m not taking issue with the fan reaction. In fact, most of the fan reaction I’ve seen has been in response not to the story, but to the media’s coverage of the story.
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Fans will spend days, even weeks dissecting the latest developments, and that’s SOP. But you don’t see Fox, CNN, Entertainment Weekly and the Associated Press weighing in on whether Utopia is a good idea or is Cyclops just being a paranoid dìçk.
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Furthermore, some members of the media are using it as an excuse to tee off on Obama, liberals, and even comics fans themselves. Witness Cal Thomas of the ever reliable Fox News who declared, “Construed? Would comic book readers have heard of such a word? This storyline sounds as if it was written by an acolyte of the Obama administration.” I don’t which is more appalling. The notion that comics fans, some of the most literate people around, are challenged by any words that are polysyllabic. Or the implication that fans of the Obama administration being intelligent is somehow a bad thing, presumably because presidents and their supporters should always be monosyllabic.
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Hey. Cal Thomas. On behalf of comics fans everywhere: Go defenestrate yourself.

119 comments on “Somewhere, Obama is Breathing a Sigh of Relief”

  1. It seems to me that the media rarely focuses on important messages when sillyness is there to be leapt upon. Biggest news events of the past couple months have been the Royal Wedding and Charlie Sheen. There was something about an eartquake in Japan but the biggest part of that was councern about weather tainted water may show up here.

    There are of course new sources that cover what’s important – but they don’t make as much noise or have as many flashy lights as the other kind.

  2. Well, it’s either this or That Wedding Involving The Descendants of That Monarchy We Told to Bûggër Off American Soil.

  3. .
    I think this entire flap is stupid from word one. The press has no idea what DC is planning to do with Superman and this storyline and they might want to wait until the story is farther before either jumping all over it or supporting it. Was this a one off that doesn’t mean a whole lot continuity wise? Was this the start of a story where Superman looks at his adopted home world more as his world and the stories start reflecting issues of a more global scale? Will this be a Captain America type of story where he goes through changes and ultimately embraces his home country again with a renewed conviction in its greatness? Will this lead to Superman denouncing more and more boneheaded moves by the U.S. government when the decisions affect other parts of the world negatively?
    .
    Right now… Who f’n knows outside of the writer, the editor and the guys at DC who okayed this?
    .
    Seriously, beyond the fact (not quite meant as bad as it sounds) that it’s just a dámņëd comic book, it’s also essentially chapter one of the story. So not only is the news media losing it’s collective mind over a comic book while very real and serious things are happening in the country and in the world right now, but they’re also jumping the dámņëd gun on even pretending to have any sort of informed opinion on what this means for Superman at all. I mean, dámņ, there are stories in popular fiction where a popular character is killed in chapter one or is suddenly engaged in acts making them a criminal or traitor that, once you get past chapter two or the second commercial break, you discover things weren’t quite what they seemed or weren’t going where you thought they were.
    .
    It’s an interesting concept, but give it time to see where it’s going before denouncing it (or even jumping up to kneejerk defend it.) Let the creative teams play with this a little longer and let us see where this is going. Then, once things start becoming more clear we might actually be able to support or defend what DC is doing with something more than pretty much no clue and zero actual knowledge.
    .
    Now, having said all of that…
    .
    I think the concept is pretty cool and could go in some interesting and powerful storytelling directions if handled right.

    1. .
      That was supposed to be…
      .
      “… we might actually be able to denounce or defend what DC is doing with something more than pretty much no clue and zero actual knowledge.”

    2. Actually, Jerry, it’s not chapter one of anything. It was a one-off. Nine pages, done and out. It’s not the launch of anything, and will likely never be referred to again. Worth making a big fuss over, huh.
      .
      PAD

      1. .
        Not reading the Supes books these days, I didn’t know that. I knew from reading some of the fan press that the story wasn’t done by the regular writer, but I didn’t know if it was done with the blessing of the higher ups to be a kickoff for more. But, dámņ, if the people you know over there are saying that it’s a one and done to be forgotten and ignored from here on out… This entire stink is even dumber.

      2. Well, if it’s just a one-off that will never be mentioned again, I can’t help but wonder if DC running the story in the first place is even more bizarre than the response it’s received.

      3. But it’s written by David Goyer, who is also writing the movie. I’ve heard the movie is also supposed to have a more global position, and comics pretty quickly start following the movies that they’ve inspired.

      4. PAD: It’s not the launch of anything, and will likely never be referred to again.
        .
        Certainly all the more true now that follish folks in the media have made a big deal out of it. Which is a shame.
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        Although planned as a one-and-done, there is a part of me that really would like to see the folks at DC say “Oh, OK. If that’s the idiots you’re going to be about this let’s run with it for a while.” I could see this used to launch a very thoughtful story about what it means to be a citizen and what is an appropriate response when you disagree with the direction your country is taking. My country right or wrong? Renounce citizenship? Work within the process to get it back on track? Start a revolution to get it back on track?
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        Alas, DC will bury it alongside Northstar’s coming out.

      5. Just because something is one-and -done if it is does not mean people shouldn’t get upset about it if they don’t feel it is true to the character.
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        If the story had him breaking someone’s neck or cheating on Lois, I don’t think many of the people here would just blow it off. why? because it doesn’t seem true to the character.

      6. because it doesn’t seem true to the character.
        .
        And what is true to the character? Is it stuff that most people recognize from movies? From a 50 year old TV series? From when they read the comics themselves possibly decades ago?
        .
        Characters evolve, they change. And even though there are some things that are true to the *core* of Superman that will never completely change, even those things can and do change temporarily. It’s what keeps them interesting.
        .
        I haven’t read Superman since DC killed him off, so I honestly cannot say what is true to the character right now because of what has been written since. And I doubt people like Cal Thomas can either.

  4. You know what’s really a shame? This was a back-up story for what was a really great conclusion to a quality story arc in Action Comics.

    Superman! Lex Luthor! Doomsday! The Legion of Substitute Supermen! Deep-space action! Godlike power! Enemies peering into each other’s souls! And all anyone is going to remember is that Superman renounced a citizenship he technically doesn’t have in the first place. This on top of rumors that the next Superman movie is going to focus on Clark Kent’s days in… Africa.

    Here’s what makes a great Superman story: Action, adventure, crazy feats, super-science threats, a touch of humor and romance, and a sense of wonder. Politics is not a requirement. Don’t include it if you don’t need it.

    1. There’s nothing wrong with interjecting politics if it is true to the character and doesn’t seem ham-handed and forced. Heck, when Superman basically abandoned Earth for New Krypton it made sense and hardly anyone whined.
      .
      Likewise, when a patriotic character renounces his government “The Captain” or President Clinton takes away his citizenship, there were reasons behind it. It didn’t seem to come out of the blue.

  5. Actually, I don’t think Superman was ever an American citizen to begin with? Technically he would be an illegal immigrant, wouldn’t he? (I was going to say “illegal alien” but the pun was just too painful.)
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    Not that I actually, you know, _care_ or anything. Just find it bemusing.

  6. I haven’t read the story, but the idea seems a little… heavy handed. For a long time Superman has been associated with America (from numerous comic covers showing him in front of an American flag — and I think one with a bald eagle on his arm — to the line “Truth, justice, and the American way”), and renouncing one’s citizenship is usually a sign of either utter hatred of what a country does/stands for, or a necessity for getting citizenship in another country. (Welcome, Ziva on NCIS!) It also doesn’t help that the phrase “citizen of the world” was used by Obama (and attacked by his opponents) and then echoed in the story.

    Is it silly to spend time on what a fictional character does? Yes — but it happens all the time. No real human was actually hurt when Captain America was killed, or when Kuttner killed himself on HOUSE, but those got tremendous reactions from fans (though probably less for the former, as any halfway intelligent fan knew he’d be back sooner or later). People get attached to their favorites (hopefully not to the level of Stephen King’s MISERY, but still…) and they can have strong reactions when radical changes happen to them. Yes, it would be nice if we could pay more attention to the American economy, or the situation in Japan (the reactors aren’t exactly stable yet), or the devastation in the U.S. south, or the turmoil in the Middle East — but it makes for less interesting coverage than Superman appearing to go ultra-liberal.

    Now if Lex Luthor had god-like power and didn’t grow hair — THAT would be worth talkin’ about!

    1. James,

      I’ve seen the key panels. Clark, or Kal-El, isn’t renouncing or denouncing America. Superman, the persona, says that he is going to renounce his American citizenship (Which Superman never had, Clark does.), to insulate the American people and government from any blow back from his actions and vice versa. While the scene is politically charged, the act itself is pragmatic rather than political.

      1. But, you see how much space you needed to explain the truth of the matter? That’s far too much to fit into a headline (which, after all, is likely to be as far as anyone’s actually going to *read* before deciding how they’re going to react) and it’s certainly too much for most of the “talking heads” that pass themselves off as “newscasters” and “news analysts” to bother explaining.

      2. Doug, I hope you don’t mind, I quoted you on facebook because you put it so well. Really perfect.
        .
        Written differently the story could have been anti-America. If Mark Millar or Warren Ellis had written it we probably would have gotten something explicitly saying that the “American Way” no longer has anything to do with Truth and Justice, but that’s not how I read it all. And I personally am someone that sees them in conflict at times.
        .
        Clark, I’m sure, would still consider himself an American citizen. Clark is the real guy, Superman is the persona he puts on and pretends to be. (As opposed to Batman, where Bruce Wayne is the fake persona.) Superman is of the world, Clark is red, white, and blue. How can Supes be seen as turning his back on Kansas or America when they are part of the world that he’s embracing?
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        The attitude that anything “for the world” is inherently “against America” just simply frightens me. It displays an unhealthy adversarial stance that serves only to harm America in the long run.

  7. I read the issue and it never even clicked with me. Someone from the President’s office basically said hey you know what you did in Iran really caused problems for us. They think you were there on behalf of the American government. Superman’s response is yes I’ve noticed so I’m going to as Superman renounce my American citizenship so that the world can understand that my actions are my own.

    There’s a bit from Ellis Planetary, where the Doc Savage analogue tells the Yellow claw or whatever the Chinese analogue was that we shouldn’t be fighting we want the same thing we’re all on the same planet.

    That’s what I read Superman’s gesture as. ‘I need to look at the bigger picture.’ Not as a denouncement of the American way, but that his responsibility is to the planet at large.

    Also the American way was added to the whole Truth, Justice bit, around the same time ‘Under God’ was added to the pledge of allegiance probably for similar reasons.

    Of course who wants a thoughtful reading of the text when you can just overreact.
    Can someone tell me when the Right wing became so defensive and why?

    1. As one of the token “right-wingers” around here, I read the same thing and saw a subtle rebuke of Obama.
      .
      Superman didn’t fly off to Qurac or Bialya or Kahndaq or any other fictional Mideastern nations, he goes to Iran — where Obama said and did nothing when the Iranians started rising up against the mullahs in 2009, and were brutally put down.
      .
      And in response, Superman “takes one for the team” and insulates the US from the ongoing pushback (largely through the UN) from other nations who don’t like what he does.
      .
      Finally, I have to point out that under the John Byrne reboot, Superman arrived in Kansas as an embryo in a “matrix,” and so therefore, technically, was “born” on American soil. So he’s an American by birth.
      .
      J.

    2. I’m with Jasonk, that’s how I see it too. Unfortunately many people, even ones that aren’t right-wing fanatics, are taking it as a condemnation of America with the implication that the “American Way” doesn’t have anything to do with Truth and Justice. While a story could easily go in that direction, that’s not the feeling I got.

  8. Right, Jay Tea…in fact, there was a story (albeit of an alternate future) where Superman’s identity was exposed and he ran for President. The subject of his citizenship was brought up, and the Supreme Court decided that he was, in fact, a natural-born American citizen.

    I don’t know if the Byrne reboot has been dumped at this point. Can anyone tell us?

    1. I don’t know if the Byrne reboot has been dumped at this point. Can anyone tell us?
      .
      At this point, I’m not even certain DC can answer that one…
      .
      J.

  9. 1961 started a Pulp Science Fiction Series named after the main protagonist ‘Perry Rhodan’ in germany. It starts with the lunar landing set to 1971. After crashlanding they discover the reason for their system failure. An alien space ship that was marooned there. They need help to get their ship flying again, so they make a deal. The commander of the mission learns, that there are many species in the galaxy and that most of the spacefaring ones could conquer or destroy earth easyly. It’s only a question of time untill another alien ship visits earth. Only a united earth can survive this.
    He also understands, that giving this kind of technology to anyone would start a nuclear war.
    Basicly Perry deserts from the US Space force, removing his rank and country insignia and names himself as the first Terran human, signifying that he doesn’t care about countries anymore, only Terra (Earth) matters. Only the survival of the human race as a whole.

    Maybe there is a lesson in such stories, maybe not, but I think we should at least think about it. National pride is one thing, but we already live in the world, were no one can live isolated anymore.

  10. I’m curious as to how many of the Right Wing critics of this story have actually gone into a comic shop in the last 15 years and bought a few things to read?

    1. I’m curious as to how many of the Right Wing critics of this story have actually gone anywhere in the last 15 years and bought a few things to read?
      .
      Fixed that for you, Rich. 😉
      .
      In the end, this isn’t even so much about comic books, but another opportunity to attack liberals. Comic books make an easy target because too many people, regardless, view them as nothing more than something for children. Sadly, we’ve seen that angle used effectively in court cases that had real-world implications.
      .
      And yes, it’s just another chance for the likes of Faux News to attack intelligence. A dumb populace is an easily controlled populace, and populace more likely to believe nonsense and stupidity. Faux News THRIVES on these kind of people.
      .
      Education = bad. Reading = bad. Intelligence = bad. Probably all anti-American, too.

      1. What the heck does this have to do with “intelligence”? people are upset that a character they feel is synonymous with America is now seemingly rejecting it. I know there are finer points to the story, but that’s what comes across.
        .
        And a lot more people than just “conservatives” get themselves worked in a lather over what many feel are “juvenile” entertainment (Chuck Dixon and gays for example). But I blame the perception that comics are for idiots on the industry being unsuccessful in it’s attempts to convince the masses otherwise.

      2. Jerome, I think he is refering to the Fox News numbskull who said the story was written by some Obama admnistration lackey, because “regular” comic book writers would never be able to come up with the complicated words used in Action Comics #900.
        .
        At once the Fox News dude managed to offend comic book writers and readers by implying we’re all illiterate morons AND insinuated that only an evil liberal, intellectual Obamite with a sinister agenda would use such complex words.

      3. Rene,
        But we’re talking about Cal Thomas, who is hardly one of their leading voices. His only regular gig is on a show critiquing the news media and he hardly ever guest stars on any of the big shows (Hannity, “O’Reilly, Beck, etc.). heck, he is old. His heyday was on CNN. hardly someone to paint all of Fox News as being like.
        .
        That said, the Superman story IS news. The sad part is that DC either knew this was going to cause a shitstorm – but as someone else said, one unlikely to affect sales in a positive manner – or they had no idea people would care so much about this. which means they realy are out of touch with many Americans.

      4. And it’s not just an opportunity to attack liberals. People care about a character like Superman.

      5. The sad part is that DC either knew this was going to cause a shitstorm – but as someone else said, one unlikely to affect sales in a positive manner – or they had no idea people would care so much about this. which means they realy are out of touch with many Americans.
        .
        Or there’s the third option. It never occurred to them that a story about Superman attempting to insulate his home country from potentially difficult situations (however tortured the story logic leading to that might have been) would be recast by the news media as Superman slapping America in the face.
        .
        So if you want to say that DC underestimated just how stupid or agenda-driven the media is, that I’d agree with.
        .
        PAD

  11. Something tells me that the right-wing commentators don’t read comics at all, otherwise, they wouldn’t be so crazy about that. This is only the third time they reacted with fury about something that really didn’t deserve it. Case one: the french Batman, Nightrunner. It was all: “How dare they make Batman pick up a (gasp) Muslim, instead of a blonde beret-wearing frenchman to be the french Batman” (wel, Nightrunner is a french citizen, for one thing). All that anger about a character who, like all “foreign” (non USA) heroes is going to be completely forgotten anyway until he’s revived to be killed in the next world-spanning Crisis Crossover. Case two: Wonder Woman new costume: “How dare they remove the american eagle from her breast, while leaving the communist red star on her tiara?” All that for a costume change that won’t last anyway. And now, it’s : “How dare they have Superman renounce his american citizenship?” We don’t know yet, as other have said, what the story will be about, or where it will lead. But, like everything in comics, it won’t last more than a year.

    1. And that’s what really has me the most amused. Oh, there are plenty of things that will get comics fans foaming at the mouths, but the major media doesn’t notice those. I don’t think I ever saw one article about One More Day, something which some fans are still furious about. Meanwhile things that went without much stir amongst the fans, the things you mentioned, as well as the death of Captain America, got highlighted as signs of how Anti-American comics have become while we fans know that they are totally transitory.
      .
      (I’m still surprised that One More Day didn’t create a stir with the Conservative media consider that he made a deal with the Devil. I have more issue with it than just that, but that itself should have been a goldmine for commentators.)

    2. Conservative Marc Steyn is an avid comic book reader.

      Personally, I don’t find this all that surprising. It’s the latest part of a natural progression starting all the way back to Superman’s liberal/social agenda of the ’30s. The only reason he became patriotic character in the first place was because of the New Deal era’s policy. Socialism started being practiced by a centralized government… it started going mainstream. So Superman went from being a subversive near-political cartoon character to the ultimate symbol of lawful authority under the New Deal. Today, liberals have become statists as such want to marginalize the United States. They want the United States to have less importance in the world and this new bit of Superman characterization fits right along with that. The character hasn’t stood for specifically American values in quite some time.

      1. Darin, your sky must be a really pretty shade of paisley.
        .
        Are you attempting to satirise right-wing nutbars, or are you one?

      2. Not trying to satirize them at all here. Conservative comic book readers, like myself, have been observing things taking place in the genre of superhero comics for a long time now, particularly those produced by Marvel and DC. Superhero comics have been trending to the left for as long as I’ve been reading them. This latest statement by Superman that “truth, justice and the American way is no longer enough” is merely the latest example of that trend.

      3. I hate to agree with him, but Darin is sort of right that Marvel and DC superheroes have had a liberal undertone since forever, but more strongly since the 1970s.
        .
        What I disagree with Darin is that I think this is a good thing, and it’s not part of any sinister agenda. Creative people simply tend to skew liberal, and it’s natural that their political viewpoints would color the stories.
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        The exceptions are noteworthy enough that they become (in)famous for it (Frank Miller, Chuck Dixon, that dude from Fables).
        .

      4. Oh I never said it was a sinister agenda. It’s simply what one should expect when both of the Big Two are ran by a bunch of New York liberals. So far, I don’t think anything positive has come out of this news story. I certainly don’t see it increasing sales, which the industry as a whole needs right now in a big way. I wish the Big Two would behave more like businesses.

      5. “New York liberals.”
        .
        DC editorial is in California and David Goyer, to the best of my knowledge, is in Los Angeles, so I have no idea what you’re talking about. Then again, neither do you, so…
        .
        PAD

      6. I hate to agree with him, but Darin is sort of right that Marvel and DC superheroes have had a liberal undertone since forever, but more strongly since the 1970s.

        Well, yeah. Since the mid-to-latter 60s, anyway.
        .
        Of course, there was that period post-war when Red Commies were the villains-of-choice – to the extent that the Red Skull; became a communist agent.
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        And i seem to recall that the earliest Marvel stuff in the 60s (“seem to recall” being that i was twelve in 1960 and my appreciation of political subtleties was a tad limited) was rather anti-communist till Stan realised that his audience was trending the other way (so far as it appreciated political subtleties).
        .
        Comics tend to respond to the zeitgeist. Take a look at the portrayals of Germans and Japanese (and later Koreans) in the comics of the 40s and 50s.
        .
        Kate (who skews rather to my right on many issues, particularly gun laws) dismisses the right wing’s whining about “liberal bias” in the mainstream media; she says “Real life has a liberal bias.”

      7. To elucidate a touch further – it was Darin’s contention that liberals are “…statists [and] as such want to marginalize the United States”.
        .
        First off, the basic contention is at best too broad (ascribing a single motivation to all liberals is like saying that cats run in herds) and at worst a straw man.
        .
        The Soviet Union was most definitely “statist”, but i don’t recall any intention to “marginalise” it among Lenin, Stalin and the like. (There is another Twentieth Century regime i could mention, but i hate to validate Godwin’s Law, even if it’s a valid point.)
        .
        Plus, Darin’s opening dribble:

        It’s the latest part of a natural progression starting all the way back to Superman’s liberal/social agenda of the ’30s. The only reason he became patriotic character in the first place was because of the New Deal era’s policy. Socialism started being practiced by a centralized government… it started going mainstream.

        This is a fascinating characterisation, to say the least, and to call the New Deal “Socialist” is to betray a serious misunderstanding of what “socialism” is. (Or was, at the time.)
        .
        Though why that would surprise me, i don’t know, since the current wingnut attempts to portray Obama’s policies as “socialist” clearly demonstrates that the demagogues are counting on people like Darin not knowing what socialism is (in which case they’d see the attempt as what it is) but reacting to it with horror.
        .
        Unfortunately, it might even work.

      8. Well, Lee and Kirby were never what you could call Conservative, even though they were anti-communist.
        .
        In any case, after Roy Thomas (sometimes portrayed as a hippie in artwork) joined Marvel, it has been consistently Liberal, with the rare Conservative assault from editorial (like Shooter’s ban on explicit gay characters).
        .
        I am a Liberal, and I do think there is a vague Liberal bias in mainstream media. Nowhere near as marked or directed as many Conservatives assume, though.
        .
        Like many US Conservatives, Darin considers everything that is not cutthroat free market as “socialism,” I am sorta used to it by now, but I think he’d have quite a shock if he lived outside the US for a few months.
        .
        By the way, any of you guys read the comments in Comics Alliance? Next to those guys, Darin is a very moderate, level-headed, erudite fellow.
        .
        And people like to accuse Liberals of stereotyping Conservatives whenever a abgry, raving redneck cowboy appears in media. It’s scary to realize that such people exist.

      9. >”DC editorial is in California and David Goyer, to the best of my knowledge, is in Los Angeles, so I have no idea what you’re talking about. Then again, neither do you, so…”<

        Well, Peter, I do know that DC Comics has its official headquarters in Midtown Manhattan, so I'm not too worried about what you think I know or not.

      10. And, the last time I checked, Marvel’s headquarters is also still in New York… hence, “the Big Two are ran by a bunch of New York liberals.” Now please feel free to tell me how these companies are not ran at their own headquarters if you like. That would certainly be something I’d expect you to want to do at this time.

      11. Irrelevancies. You claimed that the story in question is as a result of “New York liberals.” I pointed out that editorial and the writer of the story are all in California. So you’re wrong. Again.
        .
        PAD

      12. You’re not reading what I’m writing then. What I wrote was that a story like this is “simply what one should expect when both of the Big Two are ran by a bunch of New York liberals.” That comment related to the overall point I was making that this Superman story is nothing more than the latest in a progression leftward that the character has taken. But, almost on queue, you once again decided to go after some piece of semantic minutiae rather than address the thing that actually made you mad: the fact that my point is correct.

      15. Peter, if you remember from the early days of The West Wing, “New York liberal” is code for Jewish.

      16. Darin,
        .
        I think that I agree with you. We need to stop the rampant spread of “socialism” in this country.
        .
        We need to stop the New Deal and stop giving farm corporations the subsidies that were suppossed to help family farms from going bankrupt.
        .
        We need to stop giving government subsidies to oil companies who have the right to drill for oil in the US, but aren’t making use of those properties so that the Republicans can claim that the refusal to expand unused drilling ares is the same as refusing to allow drilling in the US.
        .
        We need to stop giving bigger and bigger tax breaks to the wealthy. The way I see it, the top 2-3% (depending on which article you read) get a 39% tax cut just for being special and I get a 3.9% tax cut for the same reason. Let’s split the difference. I’ll take a 21.5% cut and they can have a 21.5% cut. Nice and fair, as a percentage means that they still get the millions and billions while I get the hundreds and thousands that they and I earn.
        .
        Let’s stop giving tax breaks for corporations who expand their overseas business, closing plants and call centers in America and opening them in Mexico, the Philipines, or India in order to get those extra funds from the US Tax department.
        .
        All of these governmentally funded monetary gifts should stop, because we don’t believe in socialism.
        .
        Theno

  12. If you’re trying to create a straw man position, it’s always helpful to focus on an imaginary character that can’t defend themself. Although come to think of it, that didn’t work all that well for Dan Quayle when he attacked Murphy Brown.

      1. Ya know, mike, youy really shouldn’t leave the door open for the inevitable Wizard of Oz line of thinking with a statement like that…..

    2. Peter, if you remember from the early days of The West Wing, “New York liberal” is code for Jewish
      .
      You mean did I pick up on the anti-Semitism implicit in his comment? Oh yes. Instantly. It wasn’t just the early days; it was from the pilot, when Mary Marsh said it and Toby said angrily to Josh, “She means Jewish. She’s talking about us.” To which Josh replied, “Yeah, but I’m from Connecticut, so…”
      .
      PAD

  13. “Something tells me that the right-wing commentators don’t read comics at all”
    .
    Fewer and fewer people read comics as part of the general population. it’s why u have some marvel and DC books in 4 figures

  14. “And that’s what really has me the most amused. Oh, there are plenty of things that will get comics fans foaming at the mouths, but the major media doesn’t notice those.”
    .
    Why would they? Most of these characters and storylines are unknown to the general public, especially in comic book form. if bestselling comics sold 7 figures again, theeeennnn the media would pay attention, because more people would care and they would be considered culturaly relevant.

  15. Great posts everyone. I want to add a little spin to this if I can. Part of the whole “Grounded” storyline was the fact that Kal-El (You will see in a moment why I am calling Superman Kal-El instead of Clark) was “lost” and depressed from the destruction of New Krypton. He is once again “alone”. Coupled with the fact that the begining of the New Krypton storyline Pa Kent died WHILE Kal-el was saving Kandor. So in a sense (in his mind anyway) he CHOSE not to hear Ma Kent screaming for him. Kara heard her scream while in SPACE and Kal was ON earth! So fast forward a few months Batman (Ðìçk Grayson) is following Kal while he walks around the USA. Ðìçk thinks that Kal is having an emotional break down he lays the facts down: Pa Kent died, he LEFT earth for New Krypton, 200,000 Kryptonians died except for a handful (including Kara’s mother Allura) are left, and now Kal-El has pretty much left his secret identity and personal life behind. NOW Kal-El renounces his American Citizenship. To sum it all up: Kal-El is having an emotional break down of EPIC proportions. Instead of dealing with his depression and the bad decisions he has made the past couple of years, he is retreating into his SUPERman identity and leaving Clark (the real person) the MAN behind. Hence why I called him Kal-El instead of Clark at the begining of my post. What do you guys think?

  16. Don’t have the time right now to read all the comments, so my apologies if I’m repeating something already said.
    .
    I have not read the story so won’t comment on it directly, however I can’t help but feel that, as overblown and juvenile as the general media’s reaction has been, it was also completely predictable. There’s no way that whoever conceived and approved of this story at DC didn’t see it coming. I must therefore conclude that the entire point of said story was “Media Baiting”. No different really than when they “killed” Superman almost 19 years ago.
    .
    Raphy

    1. There’s no way that whoever conceived and approved of this story at DC didn’t see it coming. I must therefore conclude that the entire point of said story was “Media Baiting”
      .
      That’s what people always say when a story gets media attention. The notion is that the only reason to tell the story is to try and snag publicity.
      .
      When I had Rictor and Shatterstar kiss for the first time, that’s exactly the accusation that was lobbed at me. That I did it purely for sensationalism, that I did it to try and attract attention for the book, that it was purely exploitation dedicated to encouraging coverage from the liberal media, etc.
      .
      Funny thing: the countless gay readers who thanked me profusely for it didn’t question or care about my motivations. They just assumed–correctly–that I did it because I thought it would be a good story, period.
      .
      Writers don’t tend to think about gaining media attention because the news cycles are so unpredictable, and what will catch their interest so unfathomable, that it’s a waste of time. Writers write stories for one reason and one reason only: Because it seemed like a good idea at the time. The notion that a story was done purely to garnered publicity is what people say after the fact when the story has garnered publicity.
      .
      PAD

      1. PAD said, “Writers don’t tend to think about gaining media attention because the news cycles are so unpredictable, and what will catch their interest so unfathomable, that it’s a waste of time. Writers write stories for one reason and one reason only: Because it seemed like a good idea at the time. The notion that a story was done purely to garnered publicity is what people say after the fact when the story has garnered publicity.”
        .
        I respond with:
        .
        I can only agree with that to a certain extent. News stations who plan for sweeps week with stories designed to get attention and other episodic TV series that go out of their way to do something shocking to generate a “media buzz” are par for the course. Many times these story elements are not what is best for the character or what organically works, but what is commercially profitable.

      2. I agree with you, Peter, that a good story is it’s own end and should always be told. But given the media climate in the US over the last 10 years or so at least, probably since the inception of 24-hour news channels actually, there’s no way that anything with even a whiff of controversy won’t be picked up and blown out of proportion by someone with an agenda (even if said agenda is simply more ratings or the need to fill air time). So I honestly feel that one would have to be very naive, or living in a cave, not to see this coming. When I first heard about the story, before it hit the media, my first thought was of just how big this s**tstorm would get. I mean, outside of Captain America there’s probably no other hero out there more associated with America in the eyes of the general public.
        .
        Having said that, I really would have no problem whatsoever with the idea if it were followed through, became a part of the continuing storyline and had consequences; the way that your own Rictor/Shatterstar romance did (had they just kissed the one time and then we never heard about it again, I’d also have called it a stunt).
        .
        Unfortunately, you yourself mentioned earlier that the events of this story will “likely never be referred to again”. If that’s the case, tell the same story, but leave the controversy out of it. Have Superman discuss out loud the pros and cons of giving up his citizenship (the media would probably still jump on it, but maybe not as hard); show he’s seriously considering it, but don’t make an announcement of it if you’re just gonna pull a “Simpsons”.
        .
        I sincerely hope that DC does follow through with it. One could get at least a handful of good stories/storylines out of it
        .
        Raphy

      3. So I honestly feel that one would have to be very naive, or living in a cave, not to see this coming.

        Everyone’s hindsight is 20/20. All I can tell you is that I’ve been blindsided any number of times by reactions to my stories that I never anticipated. What’s obvious after the fact is often not obvious before it hits.
        .
        PAD

  17. “Seriously, beyond the fact (not quite meant as bad as it sounds) that it’s just a dámņëd comic book,”
    .
    jerry, I know prefaced this, but I still find the argument annoying. like any work of art a comic has the ability to inspire and elicit emotions.
    .
    We can’t hope people acknowledge it as literature and then dismiss it as a mere amusement. people have been inspired by Rocky Balboa and The Karate Kid. people are inspired by Superman as well.

    1. .
      “jerry, I know prefaced this, but I still find the argument annoying. like any work of art a comic has the ability to inspire and elicit emotions.
      .
      We can’t hope people acknowledge it as literature and then dismiss it as a mere amusement. people have been inspired by Rocky Balboa and The Karate Kid. people are inspired by Superman as well.”
      .
      I know. But at this point, comic books have so much baggage connected to them (and I don’t mean of the negative stereotype variety) that it’s hard to take some things seriously if you have even a passing familiarity with them.
      .
      I mean, Superman has made huge headlines for being killed. So has Captain America for that matter. Despite the giant press feeding frenzies in each of those cases, Superman is still alive and well to take heat from the real world press over this action and Cap will doubtlessly be in the news again down the road despite the last big story about him that most people will remember was him taking a sniper’s bullet to the brain.
      .
      Spider-Man was married. Batman was married. Hëll, Batman was married to Catwoman and they had a daughter. Superman and Lois were married, unmarried, married, unmarried, married, unmarried, etc. Barry Alan, Hal Jordon and Oliver Queen have all been killed to greater or lesser press acknowledgement. All three of them are walking around again.
      .
      Even Superman’s citizenship has been a thing in flux over the decades depending on who was in charge at DC. I seem to remember a period in the character’s history where he was recognized as a citizen of the world in fact rather than simply words.
      .
      But, you know what? It was just comic books. It’s a medium that anybody who has read them in their youth at any point in the last 50 years is going to remember as a medium full of Earth Prime, Earth X, Earth this and Earth That, as a medium where major new revelations that don’t work (Bruce Wayne’s brother) were swept under the rug and never mentioned again or as a medium changes that writer “A” did are retconned a few years later because writer “B” didn’t like the changes and editor “C” was fine with changing things back.
      .
      Maybe I’m jaded, events in comics fit the old saying we have for Virginia weather. If you don’t like it, just wait a few minutes and it’ll change.
      .
      They’re just comic books. Change and events in comic books are as meaningless and as substantial as a dam made out of sugar cubes.
      .
      Beyond that, well, they’re just comic books. Maybe since you’re working in comics you take notice of that statement more than some others I’ve made, but I’ve made similar statement and complaints about news media stupidity about celebrity lives, books, movies and television before. There are some things that are, all things considered, trivial when compared to real, actual news that impacts our lives. We have “entertainment news” programs and segments. This is an entertainment news issue and is not something worthy of taking time away from actual news any more than an actor’s on set tantrum or the end of the Harry Potter franchise.
      .
      It’s not news no matter what importance the fans may want it to have. It’s not Iraq. It’s not Libya. It’s not Afghanistan. It’s not the economy or the arguments to fix it. It’s not the upcoming political races. It’s not the super storm tornados that ripped entire towns down to the ground in several states. It’s not the prices at the pump or the bogus causes for them. It’s not something that will impact anyone, anywhere in any significant or meaningful way (other than maybe the publisher of the book in question) now or fifty years from now.
      .
      It is not news. It is entertainment news at best, but it is not news. It is just a comic book.

      1. I mean, Superman has made huge headlines for being killed. So has Captain America for that matter.
        .
        In the end, Captain America has had a similar story: where he basically rejected the US government because they expected Cap to be their pawn. Rogers didn’t give up his citizenship, but he did quit as Captain America.
        .
        That stuff was written 25 years ago, but I’m pretty sure some of the “that’s anti-American!” nonsense would be said about that story if it were printed today.

      2. Yes. Steve Rogers gave up the Captain America identity three times already on account of conflicts with the government.
        .
        It’s not that superhero comics have become much more leftist in the last decade, it’s Conservatives that have become more outspoken.
        .
        When a portion of society runs even more to the right, it appears to them that the rest of society is running to the left. But it’s just an illusion of perspective.

      3. …and once because he was bored, basically. (BTW – Steranko slipped a smartass joke into that one – when we see Nick Fury and the Avengers and Uncle Tom Cobblie and all gathered around Cap’s coffin, then ameplate on the box reads “Charlie America” – the “Not Brand Ecch” parody’s name…)

  18. I wonder if it might’ve been an apt choice to have run decision by Superman during Luthor’s presidency, perhaps after Luthor attempted to use Superman in the way he mentioned in the story. Perhaps Luthor would’ve planned this in order to spur Superman to revoke his citizenship, so that he could claim Superman was a foreign invader every time he showed up up to thwart a crime. It could’ve ended with Luthor abandoning this policy after a public backlash, but I wonder if it would’ve been more palatable to the public in that context. Then again, there probably still would’ve been those who ignored those facts and details, and reacted no differently than Cal Thomas, just as there always are. But I’d be curious.

    1. I like your idea, Luigi. I still would have had a problem with such a story, but that would have at least been interesting

  19. Only way I can see them fixing this now is to say it was the result of mind control or some Superman duplicate. If they don’t do something like that, it’s going to be with the character forever.

    1. Or they just never ever bring this story up again, which is par for the course for backup features in special anniversary issues not written by the current ongoing team.

      1. No, because eventually some writer who thinks he’s clever and an editor who wants to make a name for himself will eventually swing back to this idea and will use the fact that it was never debunked officially and in-continuity as justification.

  20. It seems that the purpose of this story is to be thought provoking.
    .
    It could lead to several conclusions:
    .
    – a ‘liberal’ POV that says that Superman should be more a citizen/hero of the world rather than just American.
    .
    – a ‘neo-con’ POV criticizing the US for not getting involved in places like Iran, forcing Superman to act on his own.
    .
    – a rejection of US or it’s policies. But is it a rejection of Obama’s policies or Bush’s or both?
    .
    – A criticism of the fact that America’s good intentions are viewed as motivated by selfish reasons.
    .
    – A pragmatic/cynic/idealist commentary about how actions of Superheroes, like those of nations, might be viewed by different people around the world, which leads to the conclusion that either the rest of the world is unfair toward America or that America should be more sensitive to the POVs of the rest of the world.
    .
    – A gloomy reflection of the (relatively) weakening global position of America in the world which may or may not be criticism of Obama/Bush’s foreign policy.
    .
    – A reflection of personal processes Superman has been going through, and from which he will later recover.
    .
    But there’s also a practical problem.
    .
    If Superman doesn’t have a citizenship of his own, and only Clark Kent has a citizenship, does that mean that Superman was basically lying when he said he’d given up his citizenship? Or that Kent gave up his citizenship? What are the implications for Clark? After all, he lives and has a job in the US.
    .
    If Superman has his own citizenship, is he guilty of identity fraud for holding two separate citizenships?
    .
    Does Superman vote? Should he vote?
    .
    If he’s no longer a citizen, should he apply for a work visa to fight crime in Metropolis?
    .
    What is the American way anyway?
    .
    In any case, the gesture is pretty futile. If his fictional world is anything llike the real world, if Superman decides to get involved in international issues he would be viewed as acting for the US regardless of whether he holds a US citizenship.

    1. .
      “If Superman doesn’t have a citizenship of his own, and only Clark Kent has a citizenship, does that mean that Superman was basically lying when he said he’d given up his citizenship? Or that Kent gave up his citizenship? What are the implications for Clark? After all, he lives and has a job in the US”
      .
      I don’t think he would be lying any more than you can already say that he’s lying by pulling stunts to show that he and Clark aren’t the same person. Besides, Clark Kent can do his day job and not get harassed by government officials about how his actions are seen by the world as reflecting official U.S. policy even if he’s reporting from a war zone in another country. Superman (apparently) can’t be seen as acting on his own rather than on behest of the government if he leaves the borders of U.S. territory.

      1. So essentially saying that he’s renouncing his American citizenship doesn’t mean that Clark Kent renounced his citizenship, nor that Superman renounced a citizenship he did not have. It only means that he will not present himself as American publicly when acting as Superman.
        .
        Does this mean it’s nothing more than an empty PR maneuver or an actual shift in the way Superman presents himself. I can already imagine the (fictional) pundits and bloggers talking about this.

      2. Micah, your first part is what went through my mind initially. Heck, when I first heard about it, several dozen storylines went through my head and I haven’t read a Superman book since the Blue and the Red Superman. I hesitate to mention any of them because if DC does have something planned, I’d hate to ruin it by saying, “They oould do this…“

  21. How much does Action Comics sell? About 50 000 copies/month?

    It drives me crazy how the media reacts to a story in a magazine which, relative to the world at large, nobody has read or has any intention of reading.

    Superman is an icon, but his biggest impact today is in media like film and TV, with comic books, sadly, making a very little dent. Otherwise, one would have expected a bit more reaction to Superman starring in a pørņ with Big Barda back in the Byrne days (in the same year as the wide media exposure of Superman’s 50th birthday, no less) but nope, that one slipped by. (it’d be fun to see the media’s collective head explode over that story today).

    I think writers and artists should be free to experiment and explore whatever ideas they want (even if that includes starring in a pørņ with Big Barda) and as far as people’s reaction, I adopt the popular thinking about voting: if you don’t vote, you can’t complain about the government. Similarly, if you’re not buying and reading the comic, you can stick your righteous outrage where Rao don’t shine.

  22. Well, this thread title has new meaning.
    .
    Breaking news: Obama to speak any moment now regarding the fact that a US military action has finally located and killed Osama bin Laden.

      1. Bill Mulligan says:
        May 1, 2011 at 10:51 pm
        Booyah! Feed the corpse to swine!
        .
        I think swine deserve better. 🙂 😉 🙂
        Flush his ášš down the toilet.

      2. Flush his ášš down the toilet.
        .
        Dude, why you gotta punish your plumber like that?

      3. Craig J. Ries says:
        May 1, 2011 at 11:41 pm
        Flush his ášš down the toilet.
        .
        Dude, why you gotta punish your plumber like that?
        .
        🙂

    2. YES!!!! A great night for America!!! Thank you President Bush for initiating the fight against terror! Thank you President Obama for carrying the fight forward and winning this great victory for our nation!

  23. Peter David: Somewhere, Obama is Breathing a Sigh of Relief
    .
    But I know someone who ISN’T BREATHING ANYMORE!!!!!!
    .
    .
    WOO-HOO!!!!!

  24. .
    Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, fûçkìņg yes at last!
    .
    OSAMA BIN LADEN IS FÙÇKÍNG DEAD!

    1. First Shonna buys cannolis for breakfast and now this. Was this a great weekend or what?

    2. Yes, Bin Laden is dead, and this just in from Donald Trump:
      .
      “Today I’m very proud of myself, because I’ve accomplished something that no one else has been able to accomplish,” Trump said at a news conference…

      1. See, now I would have figured that trump would demand to see the death certificate…

      2. Bill Mulligan says:
        May 1, 2011 at 11:28 pm
        See, now I would have figured that trump would demand to see the death certificate…
        .
        And it would have to be the long form death certificate

      3. .
        Donald Trump: “I’m honored to take credit for finally lighting the fire under President Obama to do something substantial for a change. If it weren’t for my tireless criticisms of the President in the last month, he would never have been motivated to do something like this to try and get the press attention off of me and my campaign to uncover the dirty secrets of Obama’s past that he wants kept quiet.
        .
        You can all thank me now. Kissing my ring is optional.”

      4. See, now I would have figured that trump would demand to see the death certificate…
        .
        The same thought occurred to me, which is why I did the separate posting.
        .
        PAD

    1. There is certainly a sense of completion we’re all feeling tonight. I would have preferred he have been captured, but this works too. The CIA and men in uniform are to be commended.

    1. Not me…I had Abe Vigoda…who will probably dance on all our graves.
      .
      No Americans killed in the firefight that killed bin Laden. That’s amazing and terrific–I would have thought it would have been a much more costly fight. It just gets better and better.

      2. I don’t know, Pat, the president said it happened today. That makes sense; I don’t think this could have been kept quiet.
        .
        According to Rick Moore on Facebook the news was only delayed because the CIA is still trying to notify bin Laden’s next of goat.

      3. Bill Mulligan says:
        May 2, 2011 at 12:01 am
        I don’t know, Pat, the president said it happened today. That makes sense; I don’t think this could have been kept quiet.
        .
        Yeah I heard the Pres. say that too. I just thought it was a slip. Geraldo was reporting the week ago thing. I should know better.

      4. I understand during Seth Meyer’s routine at the Correspondent’s Dinner he made a Bin Laden joke — and you can see Obama’s face react noticeably. Can anyone confirm?

  27. Curious fact: Bin Laden was killed on the anniversary of “Mission Accomplished”, proving once again that history has a sense of irony.

    1. No doubt some are wondering now if this latest “act of anti-Muslim violence is going to be used as a recruiting tool to create more terrorists.”

      3. Really? Lighten up?
        .
        This coming from the birther who thinks he can ‘accurately predict’ things Obama does.
        .
        After all the smarmy bûllšhìŧ you’ve thrown out here the last couple of weeks *I* need to lighten up?
        .
        Take this photo’s caption to heart, Darin:
        http://i.imgur.com/KDssc.jpg

      7. What’s hilarious, Craig, is that I hadn’t yet read these comments before doing my post satirizing the mindset of people like Darin: the pathological inability to give Obama props for anything.
        .
        PAD

  28. Great news.
    .
    It’s been a good year. I was already cautiously optimistic that the unrest and revolutions in the Islamic world proved that organizations like Al-Qaeda weren’t the only force for change in the Muslim world.
    .
    And now Bin Laden bites the dust!
    .
    And at the risk of sounding petty, does this mean Obama’s reelection has just received a big boost or what? It will be even better if they get Kaddafy. Are we finally free of the threat of Trump or Palin?

    1. His poll numbers will get a big boost–15-20 points easy. I don’t think Kadaffy will matter much, doesn’t seem to resonate much with the public.
      .
      But by election time it will matter less than gas prices and the unemployment numbers.
      .
      It will be interesting to see how all this fell out. If Obama had the chance to kill him before the last elections and held back to make sure it was done right, mad props to him.

  29. Huh. When he said he had better things to do, who knew he was talking about this?

  30. .
    Weird…
    .
    May 1, 1945: Hitler’s Death Announced.
    May 1, 2010: bin Laden’s Death Announced.
    .
    History has a strange sense of symmetry.

    1. Also on May 1, 2003: “Mission Accomplished” announced.
      .
      History also has a humorous sense of irony.

      1. .
        Yeah, but I was going to leave that out for a whiel in the thread.
        .
        And a slight typo on my part.
        .
        May 1, 1945: Hitler’s Death Announced.
        May 1, 2011</B?: bin Laden’s Death Announced.

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