YMMV / Superman Smashes the Klan

• Anvilicious: The story is heavy-handed with its anti-racism message, with everything from the title to the art of Superman fighting Klan members reinforcing that truth, justice, and the American Way demand rejecting the KKK's ideology. One particular point of emphasis prior to the climax is how racists are nothing more than gullible marks for privileged, wealthy jerks or con artists who actively exploit their hatred to turn a profit, which calls to mind modern day grifters who are paid good money in order to tell racists what they want to hear. And that's absolutely true. In financial terms, the KKK was a pyramid scheme.
• Awesome Art: Gurihiru are utterly and physically incapable of not drawing everything they do in a genuinely cute anime style.
• Complete Monster: Matt Riggs is the Grand Scorpion of the Klan of the Fiery Kross, leading the Metropolis chapter the group, who wants to "purify" America of all nonwhite people. When his nephew Chuck gets into a fight with a Chinese-American boy named Tommy Lee during a baseball game, Matt decides to induct Chuck into the Klan. Matt and his Klan followers go to Tommy's house, burn a cross on their yard and attempt to firebomb the house. After that fails, Matt Riggs kidnaps Tommy and plans to have him tarred and feathered. Later, Matt attempts to bomb the Unity House children's community center, feeling it is a threat to American purity, not caring how many people die in the process. After the Daily Planet offers a reward for the unmasking of any Klansmen, Matt and his followers attack the Daily Planet and kidnap Lois Lane, Perry White and Police Chief Henderson, with Matt Riggs planning to murder them all. After being captured by Superman, Matt Riggs escapes from prison, murders his boss, the Grand Mogul of the Klan, for not being a true believer in the cause, and steals his weapons to use against Superman. Matt attacks a baseball game to lure Superman out, and when Matt tries to murder Tommy Lee, Chuck attacks his uncle to stop him, leading Matt Riggs to try to kill Chuck as well. After Superman overloads his laser gun, Matt Riggs reveals he has a bomb under his cloak and he plans to blow up himself and take everyone in the baseball stadium with him.
• Crosses the Line Twice:
  • After one of the Klansman blows up the Unity Center, he initially thinks he died a martyr. Then the rabbi working at the building points out that the Klansman's foot is on fire, which is funny enough on its own. But then the Klansman ignores the rabbi and instead reacts in horror there being Jews in "Heaven".
  • The panel of Matt insisting that the Klan doesn't stand for hate and that "there isn't an ounce of hate in our hearts" while wearing his full robes and hood and talking to his would-be victim is both audacious in its Double Think and surprisingly realistic depiction of how in denial many racists are of their own bigotry.
• Moral Event Horizon: Matt Riggs crosses it when he turns his gun on Chuck (his own nephew) for standing up to him.
• Nightmare Fuel:
  • Matt Riggs revealing the Klan meeting to Chuck. Chuck is terrified, but his obedient nature with his Parental Substitute, not to mention being afraid of him, keeps him from speaking up.
  • The day after Matt kidnapped Tommy, he reveals his plan to blow up the Unity House, while thinking his nephew loyally supports him.
• Sacred Cow: This is considered one of the best Superman comics in the late 2010s, with it coming out in a time of rising racial tensions only making the issues it tackles even more relevant. Any attempts to criticize this comic will inevitably end up being met with scorn.
• Spiritual Successor: In the 1990's, DC had published Batman: Dark Allegiances which featured Batman going up against the Klan-based White Legion in the years leading up to World War II. However, this story is considerably lighter than its predecessor, with a lower body count and less of a dark background for some characters (Catwoman in this case).
• Tear Jerker: Chuck tries to say Matt isn't so bad the idea that maybe it's not so bad to want to just live with one's own race, which infuriates Tommy since he almost died trying to escape Matt's attempt to tar and feather him. Chuck admits he didn't mean that, and talking about how Matt took in him and his mother after his father died, Chuck doesn't want to believe that his family is evil. Even after he says that, Tommy still doesn't feel any better.
• Woolseyism: The Brazilian translation changes the villainous organization's name from "Klan of the Fiery Kross" to "Klan of the Kandent Kross", leading to a more accurate acronym.

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