History ComicBook / WhatsSoFunnyAboutTruthJusticeAndTheAmericanWay

To understand what drives this story, we must learn its context. Back in 1998, the [[Creator/WildStorm WildStorm]] comicbook title ComicBook/TheAuthority was getting quite good sales and critical appreciation. The series was however noted for the unabashed hyper-violence and psychopathic behavior of its protagonists. At this point, the comicbook's publisher, [[Creator/WildStorm WildStorm Productions]], had been bought by Creator/DCComics. Thus, ''The Authority'' was running in direct competition with DC's Big Blue Boy Scout. As UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks chugged on, one question was on everyone's minds: In an era when The Authority and its incredible violence was popular, was there room for a NiceGuy like Superman and his ThouShaltNotKill rules or should Superman adapt to the times?

To understand what drives this story, we must learn its context. In 1998, writer Creator/WarrenEllis was given the comicbook title ''ComicBook/{{Stormwatch}}'' to work on after most of its title characters were killed. This remnant would evolve to become ComicBook/TheAuthority, eclipsing the comic's previous incarnation... a year later, Ellis was replaced by Creator/MarkMillar, who successfully [[SerialEscalation turned The Authority into the hyper-violent near-sociopaths]] they would better be known for. At this point, the comicbook's publisher, [[Creator/WildStorm WildStorm Productions]], had been bought by Creator/DCComics. Thus, ''The Authority'' was running in direct competition with DC's Big Blue Boy Scout. As UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks chugged on, one question was on everyone's minds: In an era when The Authority and its incredible violence was popular, was there room for a NiceGuy like Superman and his ThouShaltNotKill rules or should Superman adapt to the times?

The story starts with Superman rushing to Tripoli as news reports of a terrorist attack is occurring. However, when he gets there, the scene is absolute carnage: the entire city in flames and the attacker, a gigantic cybernetic gorilla is torn apart and lying dead in the wreckage. The cause of this was a group known as The Elite, a group of four metahumans who believe the best way to deal with anyone and anything threatening them is by all-out murder. As people like reporter [[ComicBook/TheCreeper Jack Ryder]] celebrate them and the casual citizen find their quick and simple methodology the best thing around and Superman being "lame", the Man of Steel must decide if his ways are no longer worth fighting for or if there is another way...

''What's So Funny About Truth, Justice and the American Way?'' is a ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' story. Written by Joe Kelly with pencils by Doug Mahnke and Lee Bermejo, it was published in ''ComicBook/ActionComics'' #775, March, 2001.

To understand what drives this story, we must learn its context. In 1998, writer Creator/WarrenEllis was given the comicbook title ''ComicBook/{{Stormwatch}}'' to work on after most of its title characters were killed. This remnant would evolve to become ComicBook/TheAuthority, eclipsing the comic's previous incarnation... a year later, Ellis was replaced by Creator/MarkMillar, who successfully [[SerialEscalation turned The Authority into the hyper-violent near-sociopaths]] they would better be known for. At this point, the comicbook's publisher, [[Creator/WildStorm WildStorm Productions]], had been bought by Creator/DCComics. Thus, ''The Authority'' was running in direct competition with DC's Big Blue Boy Scout. As UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks chugged on, one question was on everyone's minds: In an era that The Authority and its incredible violence was popular, was there room for a NiceGuy like Superman and his ThouShaltNotKill rules or should Superman adapt to the times?

To understand the basis of this story, we must understand what led to it. In 1998, writer Creator/WarrenEllis was given the comicbook title ''ComicBook/{{Stormwatch}}'' to work on after [[Franchise/{{Alien}} xenomorphic aliens]] murdered most of the team and their base was [[ThrowItIntoTheSun sent into the sun to eradicate them]]. The team remnant would evolve to become ComicBook/TheAuthority. Ellis' run eclipsed the comic's previous incarnation... but then, to top it off, Creator/MarkMillar got a hold of the comicbook and successfully [[SerialEscalation turned the team into the hyper-violent near-sociopaths]] they would better be known for. At this point, the comicbook's publisher, [[Creator/WildStorm WildStorm Productions]], had been bought by Creator/DCComics. Thus, ''The Authority'' was running in direct competition with DC's Big Blue Boy Scout. As UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks chugged on, one question was on everyone's minds: In an era that The Authority and its incredible violence was popular, was there room for a NiceGuy like Superman and his ThouShaltNotKill rules or should Superman adapt to the times?

The story is considered one of the quintessential Superman stories, showcasing the reason why a character like Superman is still needed when it's quite easy to lose yourself in simplistic violence when nothing is there to check your power. The Elite and its members would appear in other titles for a few years: a new Elite forming known as the ComicBook/JusticeLeagueElite that lasted for about a year, Manchester Black would become a somewhat important Superman foe through the early 2000s and make a return in ''ComicBook/DCRebirth''. The storyline would inspire an animated adaptation, ''WesternAnimation/SupermanVsTheElite'', while a storyline in ''Series/{{Supergirl 2015}}'' would involve the Elite, though not as brutal as the comic or its animated counterpart.

* WhiteAndGreyMorality: Superman is solidly on the sideo of white morality. However, The Elite are at worst {{Anti Hero}}es; they actually show heroic intentions, and hurting a team-mate is Manchester Black's BerserkButton.

* WhiteAndGreyMorality: Superman is solidly on the sideo of white morality. The Elite however, are at worst {{Anti Hero}}es; they actually show heroic intentions, and hurting a team-mate is Manchester Black's BerserkButton.
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: The Hat does have blue hair and Manchester Black has purple hair.

* WhatYouAreInTheDark: Superman is facing off a team of powerful metahumans with little respect for life, all of whom have no qualms about killing him for sport, and he has lost almost all of the support of every person on Earth. He has every chance and every reason to take The Elite down violently and permanently, with no one blaming him for it. And so he goes out and proves to the world what he truly is: [[spoiler: He's Superman.]]

* ScareEmStraight: This is The Elite's overall strategy, attempting to horrify through their cruelty any would-be criminal into compliance.

* SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids: This is Black's big motivation, claiming at the time for things like {{Cardboard Prison}}s and JokerImmunity is at an end and that killing them is the only solution.

To understand the basis of this story, we must understand what led to it. In 1998, writer Creator/WarrenEllis was given the comicbook title ''ComicBook/StormWatch'' to work on after [[Franchise/{{Alien}} xenomorphic aliens]] murdered most of the team and their base was [[ThrowItIntoTheSun sent into the sun to eradicate them]]. The team remnant would evolve to become ComicBook/TheAuthority. Ellis' run eclipsed the comic's previous incarnation... but then, to top it off, Creator/MarkMillar got a hold of the comicbook and successfully [[SerialEscalation turned the team into the hyper-violent near-sociopaths]] they would better be known for. At this point, the comicbook's publisher, [[Creator/WildStorm WildStorm Productions]], had been bought by Creator/DCComics. Thus, ''The Authority'' was running in direct competition with DC's Big Blue Boy Scout. As UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks chugged on, one question was on everyone's minds: In an era that The Authority and its incredible violence was popular, was there room for a NiceGuy like Superman and his ThouShaltNotKill rules or should Superman adapt to the times?

To understand the basis of this story, we must understand what led to it. In 1998, writer Creator/WarrenEllis was given the comicbook title ComicBook/StormWatch to work on after [[Franchise/{{Alien}} xenomorphic aliens]] murdered most of the team and their base was [[ThrowItIntoTheSun sent into the sun to eradicate them]]. The team remnant would evolve to become ComicBook/TheAuthority. Ellis' run eclipsed the comic's previous incarnation... but then, to top it off, Creator/MarkMillar got a hold of the comicbook and successfully [[SerialEscalation turned the team into the hyper-violent near-sociopaths]] they would better be known for. At this point, the comicbook's publisher, [[Creator/WildStorm WildStorm Productions]], had been bought by Creator/DCComics. Thus, ''The Authority'' was running in direct competition with DC's Big Blue Boy Scout. As UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks chugged on, one question was on everyone's minds: In an era that The Authority and its incredible violence was popular, was there room for a NiceGuy like Superman and his ThouShaltNotKill rules or should Superman adapt to the times?

To understand the basis of this story, we must understand what lead to it. In 1998, writer Creator/WarrenEllis was given the comicbook title ComicBook/StormWatch to work on after [[Franchise/{{Alien}} xenomorphic aliens]] murdered most of the team and their base was [[ThrowItIntoTheSun sent into the sun to eradicate them]]. The team remnant would evolve to become ComicBook/TheAuthority. Ellis' run eclipsed the comic's previous incarnation... but then, to top it off, Creator/MarkMillar got a hold of the comicbook and successfully [[SerialEscalation turned the team into the hyper-violent near-sociopaths]] they would better be known for. At this point, the comicbook's publisher, [[Creator/WildStorm WildStorm Productions]], had been bought by Creator/DCComics. Thus, ''The Authority'' was running in direct competition with DC's Big Blue Boy Scout. As UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks chugged on, one question was on everyone's minds: In an era that The Authority and its incredible violence was popular, was there room for a NiceGuy like Superman and his ThouShaltNotKill rules or should Superman adapt to the times?

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: The Hat does have blue hair and Manchester Black has purple hair.

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Manchester Black has purple hair.

To understand the basis of this story, we must understand what lead to it. In 1998, writer Creator/WarrenEllis was given the comicbook title ComicBook/StormWatch to work on after [[Franchise/{{Alien}} xenomorphic aliens]] murdered most of the team and their base was [[ThrowItIntoTheSun sent into the sun to eradicate them]]. Yes, this was canon. The team remnant would evolve to become ComicBook/TheAuthority. Ellis' run eclipsed the comic's previous incarnation... then, Creator/MarkMillar got a hold of the comicbook and successfully turned the team into the hyper-violent near-sociopaths they would better be known for. At this point, the comicbook's publisher, Creator/WildStorm, had been bought by Creator/DCComics. Thus, ''The Authority'' was running in direct competition with DC's Big Blue Boy Scout. As UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks chugged on, one question was on everyone's minds:

In an era that The Authority and its incredible violence was popular, was there room for a NiceGuy like Superman and his ThouShaltNotKill rules or should Superman adapt to the times?

The story is considered one of the quintessential Superman stories, showcasing the reason why a character like Superman is still needed when it's quite easy to lose yourself in simplistic violence. The Elite and its members would appear in other titles for a few years: a new Elite forming known as the ComicBook/JusticeLeagueElite that lasted for about a year, Manchester Black would become a somewhat important Superman foe through the early 2000s and make a return in ''ComicBook/DCRebirth''. The storyline would inspire an animated adaptation, ''WesternAnimation/SupermanVsTheElite'', while a storyline in ''Series/{{Supergirl 2015}}'' would involve the Elite, though not as brutal as the comic or its animated counterpart.

* SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids: This is Black's big motivation, claiming at the time for things like {{Cardboard Prison}}s and JokerImmunity is at an end and that killing them is the only solution.

To understand the basis of this story, we must understand what lead to it. In 1998, writer Creator/WarrenEllis took a hold of the remains of ComicBook/StormWatch after [[Franchise/{{Alien}} xenomorphic aliens]] murdered most of the team and their base was [[ThrowItIntoTheSun sent into the sun to eradicate them]]. Yes, it was canon. These remains would become ComicBook/TheAuthority. Ellis' run eclipsed the comic's previous incarnation... then, Creator/MarkMillar got a hold of the team and successfully turned them into the hyper-violent near-sociopaths they would be known for. At this point, the comicbook's publisher, Creator/WildStorm, had been acquired by Creator/DCComics, thus, ''The Authority'' was running in direct competition with DC's Big Blue Boy Scout. As UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks chugged on, one question was on everyone's minds:

In an era that The Authority and its violence was popular, was there room for a NiceGuy like Superman and his ThouShaltNotKill rules or should Superman adapt to the times?

To understand the basis of this story, we must understand what lead to it. In 1998, writer Creator/WarrenEllis took a hold of the remains of ComicBook/StormWatch after [[Franchise/{{Alien}} xenomorphic aliens]] murdered most of the team and their base was [[ThrowItIntoTheSun sent into the sun to eradicate them]]. Yes, it was canon. These remains would become ComicBook/TheAuthority. The first twelve issues were good... then, Creator/MarkMillar got a hold of the team and turned them into the hyper-violent near-sociopaths they would be known for. At this point, Creator/WildStorm had been obtained by Creator/DCComics, thus was running in direct competition with DC's Big Blue Boy Scout. As UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks chugged on, one question was on everyone's minds:

In an era that The Authority and its violence was popular, was there room for a [[NiceGuy big blue Boy Scout]] like Superman and his ThouShaltNotKill rules or should Superman adapt to the times?

The story is considered one of the quintessential Superman stories, showcasing the reason why characters like Superman is still needed when it's quite easy to lose yourself in simplistic violence. The Elite and its members would appear in other titles for a few years: a new Elite forming known as the ComicBook/JusticeLeagueElite that lasted for about a year, Manchester Black would become a somewhat important Superman foe through the early 2000s and make a return in ''ComicBook/DCRebirth''. The storyline would inspire an animated adaptation, ''WesternAnimation/SupermanVsTheElite'', while a storyline in ''Series/{{Supergirl 2015}}'' would involve the Elite, though not as brutal as the comic or its animated counterpart.

To understand the basis of this story, we must understand what lead to this story. The year is 1998. Creator/WarrenEllis took a hold of the remains of ComicBook/StormWatch after [[Franchise/{{Alien}} xenomorphic aliens]] murdered most of the team and their base was [[ThrowItIntoTheSun sent into the sun to eradicate them]]. Yes, it was canon. These remains would become ComicBook/TheAuthority. The first twelve issues were good... then, Creator/MarkMillar got a hold of the team and turned them into the hyper-violent near-sociopaths they would be known for. At this point, Creator/WildStorm had been obtained by Creator/DCComics, thus was running in direct competition with DC's Big Blue Boy Scout. As UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks chugged on, one question was on everyone's minds:

In an era that The Authority and its violence was popular, was there room for Superman and his ThouShaltNotKill rules or should Superman adapt to the times?

''What's So Funny About Truth, Justice and the American Way?'' is a ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' story. Written by Joe Kelly with pencils by Doug Mahynke and Lee BErmejo, it was published in ''ComicBook/ActionComics'' #775, March, 2001.

''What's So Funny About Truth, Justice and the American Way?'' is a ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' story. It was published in ''ComicBook/ActionComics'' #775, March, 2001.

* GoneHorriblyRight: The Elite try to convince Superman and the rest of the world that their way of dealing with problems is better. Well... They do. And the [[BewareTheSuperman results]] terrify ''everyone''. [[spoiler: Ultimately subverted, as Superman was only pretending to have started using lethal force and that he was just doing it to show The Elite, as well as the rest of the world, how utterly terrifying he would be if he ever crossed that line.]]

* BewareTheSuperman: This story explores this trope in earnest. The Elite's actions are quick, easy and bloody, collateral damaged be damned. This is seen as "cool" from the normal citizens since it gets the job done. When Superman decides to do it, his attack on the Elite is equally quick, but instead of gory explosions, they ''suffer'' and it scares the wits out of both the citizens and the Elite.

To understand the basis of this story, we must understand what lead to this story. The year is 1998. Creator/WarrenEllis took a hold of the remains of ComicBook/StormWatch after [[Franchise/{{Alien}} xenomorphic aliens]] murdered most of the team and their base was [[ThrowItIntoTheSun sent into the sun to eradicate them]]. Yes, it was canon. These remains would become ComicBook/TheAuthority. The first twelve issues were good... then, Creator/MarkMiller got a hold of the team and turned them into the hyper-violent near-sociopaths they would be known for. At this point, Creator/WildStorm had been obtained by Creator/DCComics, thus was running in direct competition with DC's Big Blue Boy Scout. As the UsefulNotes/DarkAgeOfComicBooks chugged on, one question was on everyone's minds:

* NWordPrivilages: Black claims this when he tells Coldcast to think about "your grandfather's back raw with hickory welts", saying he's one-fifteenth black. Turns into an IronicEcho when Superman mocks Black's leadership skills saying that he can say that because he's a leader.