Reexamining The Great Superman Stories: Part 5
What's So Funny About Truth, Justice & the American Way? by Joe Kelly, Doug Mahnke, and Lee Bermejo
“What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice & the American Way?” was originally published in Action Comics # 775 in March 2001. Written by Joe Kelly, with pencils by Doug Mahnke and Lee Bermejo, the story, as Wikipedia puts it,
“features a moral struggle between Superman and the values of a newer, more violent team of heroes called The Elite. The clash mirrored a real-life debate among the comics community in light of the success of comics such as The Authority, which featured explicit sex and violence.”
We open with a series of four panels depicting Superman rushing off to stop a terrorist attack in Libya, only to arrive too late.
Back at The Daily Planet, Lois Lane, Perry White, and Jimmy Olsen all read the news on the action taken by a new group of metahumans called The Elite (not to be confused with this Elite), to which Jimmy responds, “Days like this, I really, REALLY wish I knew more swear words” (Kelly, et al., 2001, p. 4). In Libya, Clark Kent runs into fellow “reporter” Jack Ryder who rails against Superman.
We then cut to the White House where President Lex Luther is receiving a briefing on the situation.
Luthor is informed that actions of The Elite are polling higher than expected and that the other world leaders are awaiting his response. As calculated as ever the President replies,
Meanwhile in the Fortress of Solitude, Superman and John Henry Irons (aka Steel) discuss The Elite’s manifesto.
"We DO NOT believe in nations. We do not believe in treaties or boundaries or classes or POLITICS... There are the GOOD GUYS, namely us, and there are the BAD GUYS -- namely anyone who treats anyone else like trash to further their own PETTY aims. You ASKED for us, world. Now you got us. Be GOOD, or we'll blow your house with a FIFTY-MEGATON CLOD-SEEKING CLUSTER BOMB. Love, US." (Kelly, et al., 2001, p. 7)
It is at this moment that Superman’s fears begin to take hold.
Alerted to an emergency in Japan, Superman takes flight but as he reaches the situation, he is dropped right out of the sky and unable to intervene as The Elite brutally cut down the band of metahumans poised to strike. After the slaughter, Superman is taken to The Elite’s home base, a bacteria colony from another universe the team took over after dispatching its former owners. Manchester Black, the group’s leader, responds to Superman’s assertion that, “This is not the way the job gets done!” (Kelly, et al., 2001, p. 15).
Superman’s rebuttal falls on deaf ears.
After being transported to Smallville, Clark visits his parents for guidance and advice.
On his way home, Superman overhears disheartening conversations about The Elite, capped off by one that nearly broke his heart.
Later, there is a conflict between Superman and The Elite, after the Man of Steel thwarts an attack by a couple of the Men In Black and some alien friends. When Manchester Black instructs The Hat to kill the perpetrators and in a fit of rage Superman punches him in the face, all of which is caught on camera and broadcast to the world. As The Elite transport away, Black thanks Supes for the “just cause” and that they will see him tomorrow (Kelly, et al., 2001, p.22).
That night, Clark and Lois discuss the impending confrontation.
The next morning, The Elite transport themselves and Superman to Jupiter’s moon Io, along with a slew of cameras to record and broadcast the battle. Within relatively short order, The Elite have the upper-hand on Superman to the point where Black begins to gloat, before Coldcast sets off a massive explosion.
Thinking they have won, Black gloats holding what is left of Superman’s cape, until,
Systematically, Superman takes out each member of The Elite one at a time, leaving Black as the last one standing.
And in that moment, as Manchester Black realizes his defeat, believing that Superman had just murdered his team and lobotomized away his powers, the truth is revealed. .
It is on this final page that we get the thesis of “What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice & the American Way?”
"Dreams SAVE us. Dreams lift us up and TRANSFORM us. And on my SOUL, I swear... Until MY dream of a world where DIGNITY, HONOR and JUSTICE becomes the reality we ALL share -- I'll NEVER stop fighting. Ever." (Kelly, et al., 2001, p. 39)
It could be argued that “What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice & the American Way?” marked the spiritual end of the 1990s for DC Comics. As much as Kingdom Come before it, this issue was a rebuttal to the era of extreme with a capital X, pouches, and antiheroes. While still a few years away, the Dark Age of Comics was coming to a close. Brighter days were ahead…or so it seemed.
What makes “What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice & the American Way?” so special is its bold declaration that there is always another way. This is accomplished by providing a glimpse as to what would happen if the Man of Tomorrow gave in to those darker, easier impulses. The result was terrifying. Yet, it was all a ruse to prove a point. That there is still light in this world and a chance for a better tomorrow.
Plus, I’m pretty sure that this issue’s title is an homage the Nick Lowe classic that was made famous by Elvis Costello & the Attractions, “ (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding.”
References
Action Comics Vol 1 775. (2024, June 4). DC database. Retrieved July 5, 2025 from https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Action_Comics_Vol_1_775
Kelly, J., Mahnke, D., & Bermejo, L. (2001). Action Comics (Issue # 775). DC Comics.
What's So Funny About Truth, Justice & the American Way?. (2025, June 27). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=What%27s_So_Funny_About_Truth,_Justice_%26_the_American_Way%3F&oldid=1297627663
(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding. (2025, March 1). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=(What%27s_So_Funny_%27Bout)_Peace,_Love,_and_Understanding&oldid=1278291084