Whats So Funny About Truth Justice & the American Way Review
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/ComicBook/WhatsSoFunnyAboutTruthJusticeAndTheAmericanWay
"What'south And so Funny About Truth, Justice and the American Fashion?" is a Superman story written by Joe Kelly with pencils by Doug Mahnke and Lee Bermejo. It was kickoff published in Action Comics #775, March, 2001.
To understand what drives this story, we must larn its context. Back in 1999, a comic called The Authority was getting quite expert sales and critical appreciation. The series was however noted for the unabashed hyper-violence and psychopathic behavior of its protagonists. Aroud this point, the comic'south publisher, Wild Tempest, was being bought by DC Comics. Thus, The Authority was running in direct competition with DC's Big Blue Male child Scout. Equally The Dark Age of Comic Books chugged on, 1 question was on everyone's minds: in an era when the Authorization and its incredible violence was pop, was there room for a Prissy Guy similar Superman and his Chiliad Shalt Not Impale rules or should Superman adapt to the times?
The story starts with Superman rushing to Tripoli every bit the news reports a terrorist attack is occurring. Yet, when he gets at that place, the scene is absolute carnage: the entire city in flames and the assailant, a gigantic cybernetic gorilla, is torn apart and lying dead in the wreckage. The cause of this was the Elite, a group of four metahumans who believe the best fashion to deal with anyone and anything threatening them is by all-out murder. As the story goes on and the Elite go along dealing with criminals in a consistently bloodthirsty way, people like reporter Jack Ryder gloat them and the casual denizen finds their quick and simple methodology the all-time affair around while regarding Superman equally "lame" note this was besides a complaint that was popping upwardly about Superman every bit a grapheme in Real Life for a few years before the original publication of this story, the Human being of Steel must make up one's mind if his means are no longer worth fighting for or if there is another way...
The story is considered one of the quintessential Superman stories, showcasing the reason why a grapheme similar Superman is still needed when it's quite like shooting fish in a barrel to lose yourself in simplistic violence when nothing is at that place to bank check your power. The Elite and its members would appear in other titles for a few years: a new Elite forming known equally the Justice League Elite that lasted for nigh a year, Manchester Black would get a somewhat of import Superman foe through the early on 2000s and make a return in DC Rebirth. The storyline would inspire an Animated Adaptation, Superman vs. the Elite, while a storyline in Supergirl (2015) would involve the Elite.
This story has examples of:
- '90s Anti-Hero: The Aristocracy are a Deconstructed Graphic symbol Archetype. They don't shy abroad near lethal force or the collateral harm they crusade.
- Beware the Superman: This story explores this trope in earnest. The Aristocracy's actions are quick, like shooting fish in a barrel and encarmine, collateral damage be damned. This is seen equally "cool" from normal citizens since it gets the job done. When Superman decides to do it, his attack on the Elite is equally quick, merely instead of gory explosions, they suffer and it scares the wits out of both the citizens and the Elite.
- Break the Haughty: By the time Superman is done with the Aristocracy, Manchester Black is left a sobbing wreck, furious at Supes' actions.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: One time Superman stops holding back, The Aristocracy don't stand up anything that even remotely resembles a hazard against him.
- The Aristocracy hand this trope to a rival team of supervillains in Tokyo.
- Deconstruction: Of the '90s Anti-Hero. The Aristocracy's trigger-happy methods would be treated as acceptable in most books like Marker Millar's run on The Authority due to Protagonist-Centered Morality, or the fact that they are the simply beings with powers around to fight supervillains. But in contrast to Superman, The Elite come off more similar full blown villains.
- Disproportionate Retribution: The Elite happily do this, challenge that this will stop people from attacking them. Superman attacks Lid when Black tells him to make the streets swallow upward a couple of Men in Black expies and rain acid on their families.
- Expy:
- The Elite is a pastiche of The Authority, with Manchester Black beingness a male person Jenny Sparks (since he'south British, the squad'southward leader, possesses great power and has the Wedlock Jack flag on his chest), The Lid an expy of The Doctor (in that he has magic powers, except he's an alcoholic rather than a drug addict), Menagerie an expy of The Engineer and Swift (having a symbiotic suit of alien lifeforms like to the former'southward liquid metal coating and wings like the latter) and Coldcast a pocket-size expy of Apollo and Midnighter (combining the former'due south incredible strength with the latter's willingness to be unnecessarily cruel).
- The "Wellness Inspectors" and the Klee-Tees are a take on the Men in Black characters.
- The Gloves Come Off: Superman shows exactly what he's capable of if he were to cut loose, and it is terrifying.
- Gone Horribly Right: The Elite endeavor to convince Superman and the balance of the world that their way of dealing with problems is meliorate. Well... They do. And the results terrify everyone. Ultimately subverted, equally Superman was only pretending to have started using lethal force and that he was just doing it to show The Aristocracy, too as the balance of the globe, how utterly terrifying he would be if he ever crossed that line.
- I Am Not Left-Handed: At first, the Elite appears to be a match for Superman. They toss him around like a ragdoll and Coldcast seemingly kills him with a massive energy nail... And then Superman stops holding dorsum.
- Living Ship: The Aristocracy's base is a spaceship called Bunny, which is a sentient being captured by the team to work for them as ship and accomodation.
- Might Makes Right: Essentially The Elite'southward entire philosophy.
- Moral Myopia: Manchester Blackness, leader of the Elite, is perfectly fine with using murder to dispense justice... unless he's on the receiving end.
- N-Word Privileges: Black claims this when he tells Coldcast to remember about "your grandfather's back raw with hickory welts", saying he's one-fifteenth black. Turns into an Ironic Echo when Superman mocks Black'southward leadership skills saying that he tin can say that considering he's a leader.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: Equally noted higher up, Manchester Black made a number of racist remarks. Additionally, his response to learn Superman tricked him and how he really defeated the Aristocracy was to telephone call Superman "a poncy twit."
- Scare 'Em Straight: This is The Aristocracy's overall strategy. Their cruelty is an effort to horrify whatsoever would-be criminal into compliance.
- Shout-Out: The story's title is based on the song "What's And so Funny Tour Peace, Love and Understanding?", written by Nick Lowe and
popularized by Elvis Costello. - Close Upwards, Hannibal!: Superman delivers this trope to Manchester Black in the end:
Manchester Black: So long as a heart beats in my chest, I'll come up after you, y'all poncy twit! If you think this is over, you're living in a bloody dream globe!
Superman: You know what, Black? I wouldn't have it whatsoever other manner. Dreams save u.s.. Dreams lift us up and transform us into something better. And on my soul, I swear... that until my dream of a globe where nobility, honor and justice are the reality nosotros all share, I'll never stop fighting. Always. - Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids!: This is Black'south big motivation, claiming the time for things similar Cardboard Prisons and Joker Immunity is at an stop and that killing villains is the but solution.
- Superman Stays Out of Gotham: Surprisingly occurs with Superman every bit the lead. The Elite'southward battles are killing innocent people beyond the earth just despite the time passing the comic, nobody but Superman is seen responding to it. For the fight between them its justified. Superman notes that the Elite wanted to fight him and the hint is that if any of his many allies offered to help him, he declined it since his plan to defeat The Elite was to show how terrifying he would exist if he stooped to their level, something that worked ameliorate if he was on his own.
- Take That!: The story essentially serves as a middle finger toward The Potency and unscrupulous anti-heroes who accept their questionable actions excused past their opponents being worse than they are in general. The Aristocracy are killers just like The Authorisation who resort to lethal forcefulness without hesitation. Manchester Black at one betoken even gives a This Is Reality speech to Superman that is very similar to a Take That! from The Authority given towards mainstream superheroes. In the stop, Superman proves that his way works when he scares the crap out of the Aristocracy by pretending to impale about of them and de-power Manchester Black to demonstrate why platonic heroes shouldn't exist fright-mongering control freaks who won't hesitate to kill their enemies.
- What Measure Is a Not-Homo?: For Supes, a bully measure out, naturally. He remembers to liberate the Elite's ship Bunny from their control.
- What You Are in the Nighttime: Superman is facing off a team of powerful metahumans with fiddling respect for life, none of whom accept any qualms about killing him for sport, and he has lost nigh all of the support of every person on Earth. He has every chance and every reason to take The Elite downwardly violently and permanently, with no one blaming him for it. Then he goes out and proves to the globe what he truly is: He'south Superman.
- White-and-Grayness Morality: Superman is solidly on the side of white morality. Even so, The Elite are at worst Anti Heroes; they actually show heroic intentions, and hurting a squad-mate is Manchester Blackness's Berserk Button.
Source: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/ComicBook/WhatsSoFunnyAboutTruthJusticeAndTheAmericanWay
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