# Superman says you can slap a jap! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 23, 2005, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superman-says-you-can-slap-a-jap/309500 "2005-06-23T05:58:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superman-says-you-can-slap-a-jap/309500/1 "2005-06-23T05:58:50Z")
[God damn, that guy is a dick.](http://www.superdickery.com/dick/1.html) ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superman-says-you-can-slap-a-jap/309500/2 "2005-06-23T06:03:44Z")
This is the second or third time I’ve seen that site linked here. Are these for real? I’m not a comic book aficianado by any stretch of the imagination. ---
**Author:** ![cckerberos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@cckerberos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cckerberos)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superman-says-you-can-slap-a-jap/309500/3 "2005-06-23T06:07:32Z")
> [@The Sausage Creature](#): > > This is the second or third time I’ve seen that site linked here. Are these for real? I’m not a comic book aficianado by any stretch of the imagination. Yes, they’re real, although in many of the cases the cover is a shocker meant to sell the book rather than an accurate depiction of the contents within. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superman-says-you-can-slap-a-jap/309500/4 "2005-06-23T06:13:24Z")
Wow. Thanks for the explanation. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superman-says-you-can-slap-a-jap/309500/5 "2005-06-23T06:25:04Z")
Damn. Just…Damn. Was Crack given to Comic book writers back then as part of their pay? ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superman-says-you-can-slap-a-jap/309500/6 "2005-06-23T07:22:27Z")
> [@HPL](#): > > Damn. Just…Damn. > > Was Crack given to Comic book writers back then as part of their pay? Nope, it was just their editor’s way of making them suffer. The idea being that you _knew_ Supes **wasn’t** a dick, so you had to pick up the magazine to find out what was going on. The editor’s would come up with the cover **first** and then force the writers to figure out what the hell was going on. ---
**Author:** ![righto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@righto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/righto)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superman-says-you-can-slap-a-jap/309500/7 "2005-06-23T08:14:51Z")
Did the link change or something? What was so offensive about it? ---
**Author:** ![righto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@righto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/righto)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superman-says-you-can-slap-a-jap/309500/8 "2005-06-23T08:24:34Z")
Oooh, there’s more than one page. Okay, it makes sense now. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superman-says-you-can-slap-a-jap/309500/9 "2005-06-23T13:06:17Z")
> [@HPL](#): > > Was Crack given to Comic book writers back then as part of their pay? [Could be.](http://stlcomics.com/gallery/crack5.jpg) –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superman-says-you-can-slap-a-jap/309500/10 "2005-06-23T14:43:26Z")
We _were_ at war with Japan at the time. “Slapping” them is putting it mildly (and “Jap” was standard on the front page headlines of most newspapers). ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superman-says-you-can-slap-a-jap/309500/11 "2005-06-23T14:47:47Z")
[Superman and Batman both have law licenses??](http://www.superdickery.com/dick/2.html) And Batman is a _criminal defense attorney??_ ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superman-says-you-can-slap-a-jap/309500/12 "2005-06-23T15:07:15Z")
Although the Fleischer Bros. created some of the best animated shorts ever in their Superman films, the crew that continued the series with such installments as [Japoteurs](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034913/) and [Eleventh Hour](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034700/) had a difficult time not pandering to the more offensive sensibilities of the post-Pearl Harbor years. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superman-says-you-can-slap-a-jap/309500/13 "2005-06-23T16:08:10Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > Although the Fleischer Bros. created some of the best animated shorts ever in their Superman films, the crew that continued the series with such installments as [Japoteurs](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034913/) and [Eleventh Hour](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034700/) had a difficult time not pandering to the more offensive sensibilities of the post-Pearl Harbor years. You can watch [Eleventh Hour](http://www.archive.org/details/superman_eleventh_hour) on the Internet; given that we were at war with Japan, it’s not all that offensive. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superman-says-you-can-slap-a-jap/309500/14 "2005-06-23T18:50:46Z")
Link no longer goes to the pic the OP thinks he has linked to. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superman-says-you-can-slap-a-jap/309500/15 "2005-06-23T18:54:32Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > We _were_ at war with Japan at the time. “Slapping” them is putting it mildly (and “Jap” was standard on the front page headlines of most newspapers). “Jap” was also in use in ads at the time. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superman-says-you-can-slap-a-jap/309500/16 "2005-06-23T19:03:51Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > You can watch [Eleventh Hour](http://www.archive.org/details/superman_eleventh_hour) on the Internet; given that we were at war with Japan, it’s not all that offensive. I’ll give you that (going from memory) they don’t resort to the worst type of caricaturing that other animated pieces from the time did, but there’s still something a little strange about Supes essentially being a terrorist (even if it’s for the Allies). ---
**Author:** ![Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ed655f/32.png) [@Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crown_Prince_of_Irony)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superman-says-you-can-slap-a-jap/309500/17 "2005-06-23T19:10:36Z")
Racial slurs aside, I like this Supes much better than the wussy goody two-shoes I’m used to seeing. . . 😉 ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superman-says-you-can-slap-a-jap/309500/18 "2005-06-23T19:10:39Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > I’ll give you that (going from memory) they don’t resort to the worst type of caricaturing that other animated pieces from the time did, but there’s still something a little strange about Supes essentially being a terrorist (even if it’s for the Allies). I have a DVD around somewhere with a number of these Superman animated shorts. This one in question bothered me, and not for the racial overtones of some of the others, or for Superman being a terrorist. In it, Superman ruins ships in a Japanese drydock, and sabotages other work. But he’s freakin’ _SUPERMAN_. Why’s he messing around in secret instead of, you know, raising the flag atop Mt Suribachi? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superman-says-you-can-slap-a-jap/309500/19 "2005-06-23T19:15:10Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > I’ll give you that (going from memory) they don’t resort to the worst type of caricaturing that other animated pieces from the time did, but there’s still something a little strange about Supes essentially being a terrorist (even if it’s for the Allies). A saboteur. He’s going after military targets and manufacturing plants. A terrorist targets people; a saboteur targets machinery. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2005, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superman-says-you-can-slap-a-jap/309500/20 "2005-06-23T19:24:18Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > A saboteur. He’s going after military targets and manufacturing plants. A terrorist targets people; a saboteur targets machinery. Yes, fair enough. Completely passable in the historical context but still a bit alien to the TJ&TAW guy I’m used to. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/superman-says-you-can-slap-a-jap/309500.md?page=2)