# "Truth, Justice And The American Way"- No more \[Superman New Motto\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 16, 2021, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truth-justice-and-the-american-way-no-more-superman-new-motto/952617 "2021-10-16T23:39:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2021, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truth-justice-and-the-american-way-no-more-superman-new-motto/952617/21 "2021-10-17T15:48:52Z")
As I’ve mentioned before, in other contexts, I’ve been listening through the old Superman radio show from the 1940s, starring Bud Collyer as Clark Kent/Superman. What’s interesting is that, although the opening narration is very similar to the familiar litany from the TV show, it’s not identical. In particular, on the radio, Superman fought “a never-ending battle for truth and justice.” No mention of the American way. So it has not _always_ been part of Superman’s mission. I don’t know this for a fact, but I would not be surprised if they added “the American way” in the 1950s, as part of the McCarthy scare. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2021, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truth-justice-and-the-american-way-no-more-superman-new-motto/952617/22 "2021-10-17T15:50:57Z")
WWII, iirc. ---
**Author:** ![Capn\_Carl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Capn\_Carl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capn_Carl)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2021, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truth-justice-and-the-american-way-no-more-superman-new-motto/952617/23 "2021-10-17T15:59:11Z")
The 6th Marx brother? ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2021, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truth-justice-and-the-american-way-no-more-superman-new-motto/952617/24 "2021-10-17T15:59:26Z")
Could go cynical. “Truth, Justice… _or_ The American Way” ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2021, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truth-justice-and-the-american-way-no-more-superman-new-motto/952617/25 "2021-10-17T16:04:25Z")
Well, early on he _was_ “The Man of Tomorrow”… > [@Broomstick](#): > > Ma and Pa Kent report the foundling officially, then offer to adopt the boy. Since they’re in the middle of freakin’ Kansas it’s just assumed the boy is from somewhere around there i.e. born in the USA. The usually paperwork is then completed as for any other such foundling. Yes, traditionally foundlings are treated under the law as locally born. And remember _when_ the character was created: it would have been unusual but not abnormal to report a foundling. The _Smallville_ variation about the fake papers is an acknowledgement that if you move the scene to the _end_ of the 20th century, you get a whole lot more bureaucracy to work through and the presumptions are different. > [@MrAtoz](#): > > In particular, on the radio, Superman fought “a never-ending battle for truth and justice.” No mention of the American way. So it has not _always_ been part of Superman’s mission. I remember way back on TV syndication back home in PR catching the George Reeves Superman shows on Spanish dub, and it was reworded in Spanish to be _“La Verdad, la Justicia y la Libertad”._ ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2021, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truth-justice-and-the-american-way-no-more-superman-new-motto/952617/26 "2021-10-17T16:19:10Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > What’s interesting is that, although the opening narration is very similar to the familiar litany from the TV show, it’s not identical. IIRC, the opening changed with the fifth episode. And it was never the “official” motto of Superman because [it wasn’t from the comics](https://screenrant.com/superman-truth-justice-american-way-origin/) and so wasn’t canon: > It was the radio show which first coined the use of “truth, justice and the American way”, at a time when all three things seemed in short supply. By then, America was embroiled in World War II with no clear victory in sight. Interestingly enough, the “the American way” was apparently dropped by the radio show in 1944, after the tide turned in the Allies’ favor. However, it would be revitalized in the opening narration of the 50’s George Reeve television show, which often saw Superman fighting Communists and other threats. Superman himself didn’t actually say the line until 1978, in the Christopher Reeve classic film. Remember that the _Adventures of Superman_ series debuted in the depths of the McCarthy era when again everything had to be super-American. It’s culturally interesting how thoroughly the radio and television openers stuck in everybody’s minds for generations after they went off the air even though the ongoing comics didn’t pick it up except occasionally. Superman has been treated as Earth’s hero rather than just America’s for a very long time in the comics. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2021, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truth-justice-and-the-american-way-no-more-superman-new-motto/952617/27 "2021-10-17T16:25:11Z")
To me, a liberal Wisconsin progressive of the 70s, “The American Way” meant the freedom to pursue whatever path you wanted without the government interfering, unlike those godless commies. As long as it didn’t hurt anyone, you could (try to) be anything you wanted, move anywhere you wanted, be an inventor, rock star, president. The only limitations were your own. You may say I’m a dreamer… ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2021, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truth-justice-and-the-american-way-no-more-superman-new-motto/952617/28 "2021-10-17T16:28:41Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > To me, a liberal Wisconsin progressive of the 70s, The American Way” meant the freedom to pursue whatever path you wanted without the government interfering, unlike those godless commies. Which is what the farthest of the right say now. So culturally interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2021, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truth-justice-and-the-american-way-no-more-superman-new-motto/952617/29 "2021-10-17T16:34:29Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Ma and Pa Kent report the foundling officially, then offer to adopt the boy. Since they’re in the middle of freakin’ Kansas it’s just assumed the boy is from somewhere around there i.e. born in the USA. The usually paperwork is then completed as for any other such foundling. As an aside, legally speaking, this makes Superman a natural-born citizen. A foundling is legally treated as if they were born in the place where they were found, unless that status is challenged, and it can only be challenged before the child turns 18. So Superman could run for President if he wanted (without any of the convoluted sci-fi rationalizations the comics have invented for that). ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2021, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truth-justice-and-the-american-way-no-more-superman-new-motto/952617/30 "2021-10-17T16:39:45Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Which is what the farthest of the right say now. I hoped someone would notice. The right says the same thing, true, but they omit the “as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone” part, that I didn’t forget. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2021, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truth-justice-and-the-american-way-no-more-superman-new-motto/952617/31 "2021-10-17T16:40:09Z")
Clark Kent certainly could, but Superman’s status was, until he was granted citizenship status by an act of Congress, a little more nebulous. Basically he would be an undocumented immigrant with a pretty strong case for refugee status, given that there’s no place he could be deported to. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2021, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truth-justice-and-the-american-way-no-more-superman-new-motto/952617/32 "2021-10-17T16:45:17Z")
It doesn’t matter where he was born, or what legal steps were taken, because he isn’t a human being. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2021, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truth-justice-and-the-american-way-no-more-superman-new-motto/952617/33 "2021-10-17T16:57:45Z")
Even as a preschooler watching The Adventures of Superman reruns in Canada in the sixties it sounded anticlimactic. Announcer: Truth! Me: Yay! Announcer: Justice? Me Yay! Yay! Yay! Announcer: And The American Way! Me: ??? Such a narrow, provincial concern seemed so out of place with Grand Ideas like Truth and Justice. And I couldn’t even read yet. I apologize for capitalizing so many words but concepts like Truth, Justice and Superman demand it. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2021, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truth-justice-and-the-american-way-no-more-superman-new-motto/952617/34 "2021-10-17T16:58:43Z")
He’s not a human, but he is a person. And Superman and Clark Kent are the same person. Presumably, in any hypothetical where he’s running for President, that fact would be publicly-known. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2021, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truth-justice-and-the-american-way-no-more-superman-new-motto/952617/35 "2021-10-17T16:59:45Z")
Not “Truth, Justice, and the Spanish way”? I picture the Spanish way as being somewhat more relaxed than the American way. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2021, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truth-justice-and-the-american-way-no-more-superman-new-motto/952617/36 "2021-10-17T17:00:14Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > It was the radio show which first coined the use of “truth, justice and the American way”, at a time when all three things seemed in short supply. By then, America was embroiled in World War II with no clear victory in sight. Interestingly enough, the “the American way” was apparently dropped by the radio show in 1944, after the tide turned in the Allies’ favor. Note: the above quote is actually from the link **Exapno\_Mapcase** provided, not from **Exapno** himself. The episodes that I’m listening to now are from June 1941, so before the U.S. actually entered the war (though they do feature a German villain–so German, indeed, that his name is Mr. Deutsch!). The opening narration here is definitely just “truth and justice.” So the American way probably comes along once the US was actually at war. The narration has changed a few times over the course of the radio series, as far as I can recall. Early on, he fought against “crime and oppression.” In 1941, rather than being “faster than a speeding bullet,” he “can race a speeding bullet to its target.” As I understand it, a lot of things that we indelibly associate with Superman actually had their origin in the radio show. Stuff like “Up, up, and away!” or the existence of Jimmy Olsen, not to mention Kryptonite. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2021, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truth-justice-and-the-american-way-no-more-superman-new-motto/952617/37 "2021-10-17T17:02:24Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > As I understand it, a lot of things that we indelibly associate with Superman actually had their origin in the radio show. Stuff like “Up, up, and away!” or the existence of Jimmy Olsen, not to mention Kryptonite. …not to mention flying! ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2021, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truth-justice-and-the-american-way-no-more-superman-new-motto/952617/38 "2021-10-17T17:08:33Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > He’s not a human, but he is a person. This one can be tricky. In my home jurisdiction’s Civil Code, the definition of a natural person is _“any human being”_. You’d have to go into some meaty legal arguments as to whether only a natural person can be a natural born citizen. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2021, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truth-justice-and-the-american-way-no-more-superman-new-motto/952617/39 "2021-10-17T17:13:41Z")
Batmanuel was that way, of course the running joke was that his fighting skills were not up to superhero’s level. > **[Batmanuel](https://tick.fandom.com/wiki/Batmanuel)** > > Batmanuel is a fictional character from The Tick live action series. An obvious parody of Batman, the character was similar to Die Fledermaus of the animated series. Played by Nestor Carbonell, Batmanuel has no obvious superpowers or extraordinary... ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2021, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truth-justice-and-the-american-way-no-more-superman-new-motto/952617/40 "2021-10-17T18:03:43Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And Superman and Clark Kent are the same person. Presumably, in any hypothetical where he’s running for President, that fact would be publicly-known Couldn’t good ol’ Clark go off on a five-year sabbatical in Tibet or something? Why would Supe’s secret identity need be revealed? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truth-justice-and-the-american-way-no-more-superman-new-motto/952617.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truth-justice-and-the-american-way-no-more-superman-new-motto/952617.md?page=3)