Superman Goes Woke
by Jeff Baker
AUTHOR’S NOTE: The following column is an expanded version of something I posted on my blog (link below) a day or so ago. I am indebted to J. Scott Coatsworth for allowing me to share it here. —-jeff
“I cut my teeth on you Ratzi scum…” —–The Golden-Age Superman, in a 1973 Justice League comic book.
Far-right activists are screaming that Superman has become “Woke.”
Having read comics for almost sixty years, I can vouch for our favorite Kryptonian.
Of course, Superman is “woke!” He always has been! Of course, today’s conservative MAGA crowd think that’s a bad thing, but it isn’t. In the comics published during WWII, Superman fought fictional Nazis and his image was used in fundraisers geared to combating the Axis. Today, MAGA conservatives embrace open NAZI enthusiasts like Elon Musk and his Hitler-praising A.I.
By the way, pro-Hitler artificial intelligences were staples of comics long before Musk appeared on the scene.
During the Civil Rights era, the Man of Steel was featured in public service ads promoting “Brotherhood.” (You can call it “Wokeness” if you want!) This was back when conservatives like Rev. Donald Wildmon (founder of the American Family Association, one of today’s Conservative powerhouses) was crusading against letting Black people in the stores, schools and other places where the White folks go.
Most of this anti-Woke crowd don’t realize that Superman has Jewish roots, right down to his creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster who patterned his origin story on the story of Moses from the Bible.
“Woke” is easy to say and remember. It’s catchy and it fits on a bumper sticker. MAGA appropriated it and twisted it from Black leaders in the past few years. The term has become a handy substitute for the anti-Black, anti-immigrant, anti-LGBT, antisemitic slurs that white supremacists can’t get away with anymore. Right now they are squawking about the altering of the phrase “Truth, Justice and the American Way” in the new Superman movie. That line has been part of Supes’ media appearances since WWII and intensified it’s meaning during the Cold War. In a comic I read during the Reagan Administration Superman said; “We fight for truth and justice, but not necessarily our way.”
In an era where some Americans are embracing our home-grown ICE Gestapo and propaganda outlets that tell them what they want to hear and reinforce their bigotries we need good examples like our fictional hero Kal-El of Krypton.
Damn right he’s Woke!
And always has been!
Jeff Baker writes about reading and writing sci-fi, fantasy and horror and other sundry matters on or around the thirteenth of every month. He read and watched Superman in comics, TV and movies since he was a kid and he believes a man can fly. He has (as Mike Mayak) a story in the upcoming anthology “Five Seconds Of Power.” He posts weekly fiction on his blog https://authorjeffbaker.com/ and wastes time on Facebook https://authorjeffbaker.com/ and Blue Sky https://bsky.app/profile/jeffbakerauthor.bsky.social as well as Mastodon (as “Mike Mayak”) https://bsky.app/profile/jeffbakerauthor.bsky.social