Superman drops ‘and the American Way’ for inclusive motto, DC Comics announces

Superman, the Man of Tomorrow fights for humanity. DC Comics CCO and publisher Jim Lee drove that message home at the 2021 DC FanDome when he announced that the Man of Steel’s longtime motto would undergo a new change.

“To better reflect the storylines that we are telling across DC and to honor Superman’s incredible legacy of over 80 years of building a better world, Superman’s motto is evolving,” Lee said. “Superman has long been a symbol of hope who inspires people, and it is that optimism and hope that powers him forward with this new mission statement: truth, justice and a better tomorrow.”

Superman has always been “faster than a locomotive,” “able to leap tall buildings in a single bound,” and fighting for “truth, justice, and the American way.” Or, that’s what mass pop culture has assumed. In reality, the whole “Look, up in the sky!” speech containing Superman’s motto was only codified when he made the leap (over tall buildings in a single bound) to radio. For the Adventures of Superman radio series, which ran all through the 1940s, WOR-AM writers imagined the comics hero fighting a “never-ending battle for truth and justice,” and no more.

It took many creators and historians to notice that the Cold War paranoia added an extra word to this phrase. Clark Kent’s first screen-live action appearance was in The Adventures of Superman TV series, his motto got the “and the American way” bump. Christopher Reeves inscribed the phrase into his character. Superman 1978.

DC Comics is rethinking its slogan to help Superman prepare for his next 80-years. The progressive move follows news from earlier in the week that Jonathan Kent — half-Kryptonian son of Clark Kent and Lois Lane, and DC’s new Superman — will soon embark on a same-sex romantic relationship. DC is finally ready to change the preconceived notions about American heroes.

An announcement was made with new artwork to commemorate the transition.