Superman comics depict superhero as shunning American citizenship

Superman Renounces U.S. Citizenship

Superman has been one those iconic symbols of American culture and influence as evidenced by the slogan "Truth, Justice and the American Way."

Even though the comic book character is an alien, his alter ego Clark Kent has been raised in Kansas in the United States and thus quite essentially an American citizen.

But a new issue of DC's "Action Comics", where Superman made his comics debut, has a new story that depicts the superhero as renouncing his American citizenship following a row with the U.S. government over his interference in foreign affairs.

In the story written by David S. Goyer, Superman flies into Tehran in an apparent show of support to government protestors. He did not do anything but stood in one spot for a whole day until the demonstration ended.

Obviously, Iranian authorities were displeased and described his actions as an act of American aggression.

"I stayed in Azadi Square for 24 hours. I didn't move. I didn't speak. I just stayed there," the Man of Steel explained later to the U.S. national security adviser. The superhero then renounced his citizenship, saying, "Truth, justice and the American way - it's not enough anymore. The world's too small, too connected."

The Internet was abuzz about the new story about Superman, with some saying it is a critique of U.S. foreign policy or a disservice to the comic book tradition of the Superman character.

DC quickly published a statement addressing the criticism, saying that Superman has long embraced American values even though he came from the planet Krypton.

Posted by Kade Quinn on Friday April 29 2011, 8:33 AM EST. Ref: AP. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Entertainment, Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0