What's So Funny About Truth, Justice & the American Way?
| "What's So Funny About Truth, Justice & the American Way?" | |
|---|---|
Cover of Action Comics 775 (March 2001).Art by Tim Bradstreet.
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| Publisher | DC Comics |
| Publication date | March 2001 |
| Genre | |
| Title(s) | Action Comics #775 |
| Main character(s) |
Superman The Elite |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Joe Kelly |
| Penciller(s) |
Doug Mahnke Lee Bermejo |
| Inker(s) |
Tom Nguyen Dexter Vines Jim Royal Jose Marzan Wade Von Grawbadger Wayne Faucher |
| Letterer(s) | Comicraft |
| Colorist(s) | Rob Schwager |
| Editor(s) |
Eddie Berganza Tom Palmer, Jr. |
| Superman: The Greatest Stories Ever Told, Volume 1 | ISBN |
"What's So Funny About Truth, Justice & the American Way?" is a story that appeared in Action Comics #775 as published by DC Comics in March 2001.
Written by Joe Kelly, pencilled by Doug Mahnke and Lee Bermejo, and inked by Tom Nguyen, Dexter Vines, Jim Royal, Jose Marzan, Wade Von Grawbadger and Wayne Faucher.
The title is a reference to the Nick Lowe penned rock song "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding".
The story was largely conceived as a response towards the popularity of the Wildstorm Comics series The Authority, a deliberately provocative work that explored the moral responsibilities of human beings powerful enough to overturn tyrannical regimes single handed, and which became incredibly popular and influential within the comic industry during its original 29 issue run. "What's So Funny About Truth, Justice, and the American Way?" is largely seen as a rejection of the principles presented by Warren Ellis and Mark Millar, who wrote the original Authority series regarding the super-hero genre of comics.
The story's title is a play on the well-known Superman phrase "Truth, Justice and the American Way" and "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding?", a song written by Nick Lowe and popularized by Elvis Costello.
This tale features The Elite, a team of super-powered anti-heroes fronted by Manchester Black, who gained worldwide popularity for viciously killing their foes. Despite the acclaim and approval that the Elite are enjoying, Superman believes that they are in the wrong, continually defying the Elite even after they save a city. As tensions between them finally culminate in a mass showdown - taking place on Jupiter's moons at Superman's request - Superman, taking advantage of the fight being taped, makes it appear as though he has "killed" the Elite members - really using his speed to get them out of harm's way at the last minute so that nobody sees it - to show the public that violence is never a positive thing, stating that he will never stop fighting his way to show the world what it could be.
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Wikipedia