Superman motto 'American Way' is back

Director James Gunn, who assumed the head of DC Studios in November 2022 along with Peter Safran, announced via press release on Wednesday that, in addition to his corporate leadership duties he would be directing a new Superman film, Superman: Legacy, and that film will reinstate the Last Son of Krypton's iconic mission statement: he fights for truth, justice and the American way.

According to the press release, "Superman: Legacy tells the story of Superman's journey to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as Clark Kent of Smallville, Kansas. He is the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way, guided by human kindness in a world that sees kindness as old-fashioned," reports the Daily Mail.

Gunn followed up the press release with a Twitter thread confirming he was directing the picture and posted an image from Grant Morrison's famous run on the Superman comic from 2005 in All Star Superman, a series that focused on the character's core values and ideology.

Superman comics ditched Superman's mission statement in July 2021 with writer Tom Taylor's take on the character in the series Superman: Son of Kal-El. In Taylor's run, Superman is no longer known as Kal-El, who would often don the secret identity of mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent, but rather his son Jonathan Kent, who takes over as Superman following Kal-El's disappearance in DC continuity.

In an argument with Batman's son, Damien Wayne, Superman said he wanted the "S" on his chest to stand for "Truth, justice, and a better world."

Tom Taylor's vision of Superman also had the character come out as bisexual. Taylor's book was canceled after 18 issues.

DC’s chief creative officer and publisher, Jim Lee, commented on the creed's change in 2021 and said, "To better reflect the storylines that we are telling across DC and to honor Superman’s incredible legacy over 80 years of building a better world, Superman’s motto is evolving."

"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," Lee added.

The first issue of Action Comics, which introduced the world to Superman, was published in 1938. The character was created by two children of Jewish immigrants who fled to America to escape the anti-Semitism of Europe, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The two established Superman's canon: that he was the last son of a dying planet, rocketed to earth and recovered by two Kansas farmers, who raised the character with an unflappable moral compass reflective of American values. Only a few years later, in the 1940s radio program "Adventures of Superman," the canon added that he fought for "truth, justice, and the American way."

The creed was adopted as the US fought fascism across the globe in World War II.

The move to globalize Superman gained traction with Bryan Singer's 2006 film Superman Returns when the editor of the Daily Planet, Perry White, asked "Does he still stand for truth, justice, all that other stuff?" 

In a 2011 issue of Action Comics, Superman renounced his US citizenship and said, "I’m tired of having my actions construed as instruments of US policy. 'Truth, Justice and the American Way,' it’s not enough anymore. The world’s too small. Too connected."