Superman, who is also known as “The Man of Steel,” has been fighting for “Truth, Justice and the American Way” since he was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, high school students living in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1933. The iconic super-hero debuted in Action Comics #1, which was cover-dated June 1938.
Cut to Action Comics #987, which was released on Wednesday. In the first part of an adventure entitled “The Oz Effect,” a mysterious force is causing people to give in to their baser instincts, including a white supremacist who attacks Spanish-speaking illegal immigrants for taking his job, which “[t]hey stole from me!” and “[r]uined me!”
Just in the nick of time, Superman puts himself between the gunman, who was wearing an American flag bandanna, and the immigrants, one of whom responded to the rescue by saying: “!Gracias a Dios!” (Thank God!).
The Man of Steel then told the attacker: “Stop this!” and added: “The only person responsible for the blackness smothering your soul -- is you!”
The police arrive, and the super-hero handed over the gunman before telling the officers to make sure the victims are "safe and cared for." An officer replied: "Anything you say, Superman!"
That incident led The Hollywood Reporter senior writer Ryan Parker to post an article entitled “Superman Protects Undocumented Workers From Armed White Supremacist in Latest Comic.”
Parker began by stating: “The moment in the book released Wednesday comes a week after President Trump ended DACA,”
The acronym stands for “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals,” which allowed some individuals who entered the country illegally as minors to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and to be eligible for a work permit.
“Perhaps it is just a coincidence,” he stated, “but perhaps not.”
“The moment comes just one week after President Donald Trump made the controversial announcement that he was ending the … policy put in place by former President Barack Obama,” Parker continued. “He then gave Congress a window to save the program.”
“Still, the decision was decried by politicians, civil groups and celebrities alike,” he added. “Nearly 800,000 individuals, known as Dreamers, have received protection to stay in the country through the program.”
“In addition to the DACA announcement,” Parker noted, “Trump was also slammed for comments he made just a few weeks prior when he appeared to be defending a group of white nationalists holding a rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, at which one protester to the rally was killed and numerous others injured.”
Obviously, Parker is totally unaware regarding the process of producing comics, which takes months from writing the story, having it drawn by artists and colorists, and finally going to the printing press in time to hit the stands at the designated date.
As a result, there is no chance that anything in the issue reflected something President Trump -- or anyone else, for that matter -- said days or a few weeks before the comic’s release.
In addition, the reporter failed to read the rest of the issue, in which Superman helped sort out many other trouble spots around the world.
They included: halting prisoners in the middle of a jailbreak; stopping an arsonist from burning down a mansion owned by a “one-percenter” because “they deserve to suffer;” and preventing the death of a rhinoceros by poachers who wanted the animal’s horn; but he was unable to rescue a village that was burned to the ground by people from the same country.
The comic, which was reviewed by CBR.com’s Jim Johnson as “a refreshing issue reminding readers of Superman’s altruistic nature, with twists both large and small that put a new spin on the Man of Steel mythos,” was written by Dan Jurgens, drawn by artists Jay Leisten, Jonathan Glapion and Viktor Bogdanovic, colored by Mike Spicer, lettered by Rob Leigh and published by DC Comics.
“Jurgens and Bogdanovic give readers the Superman that they’ve known for decades -- the extraordinary hero dedicated to helping anyone he can on his adopted home world,” Johnson stated.
“Whether it’s delivering the proverbial medicine to sick children, saving the animals or stopping racial prejudice, Jurgens delivers the iconic Superman who has served as the superhero template for generations,” Johnson added.
“Bogdanovic, in turn, renders a Superman who’s both comforting and awe-inspiring to the good guys, while decidedly threatening and intimidating to the bad,” he noted.
Hopefully, the next time Parker decides to review anything from a comic to another form of entertainment, he will take in the entire experience instead of focusing on just one controversial segment and shoehorning that to fit events in his political viewpoint.
