Superman To Fight For 'A Better Tomorrow' So Obviously Terrible People Are Piiiiiissed
The video features well-known comics fans [checks notes] Leo Terrell, Lara Trump, Raymond Arroyo (who made extremely homophobic remarks to Laura Ingraham when discussing the sexuality of Superman last week), and Alicia Acuna. Arroyo and Terrell particularly complain about DC Comics "changing the origins of Superman" to cater to "wokeness."
This narrative was furthered when Fox News published a story of the colorist on "Superman: Son Of Kal-El" quitting over this change. They were so excited to add their new favorite phrase "cancel culture" to their Superman outrage that they created a new word which has yet to be corrected as of this writing:
We can only assume that Superman's "wokness" is delicious, out of this world stir-fry.
In its article, Fox News links to disreputable Comicsgate propaganda website Bounding Into Comics. Both articles published part of a rant colorist Gabe Eltaeb gave during a four and a half hour YouTube livestream run by Comicsgate's self-appointed leader, former DC Comics artist and bigot Ethan Van Sciver.
After telling an anecdote about The Joker creator Jerry Robinson, Gabe Eltaeb went on a rant that was published in most conservative websites.
I'm tired of this shit. I'm tired of them ruining these characters. They don't have a right to do this. [...] It's not about gay or anything like that. What really pissed me off was saying truth, justice, and a better world. Fuck that it was Truth, Justice, and the American way. My Grandpa almost died in World War II [...] We don't have a right to destroy shit that people died for to give us. It's a bunch of fucking nonsense.
Arguably, no one is destroying or taking anything away by adding more diversity and creating new characters. But Eltaeb continued with his rant against "SJWs" (Social Justice Warriors), as Comicsgate likes to call anyone not in their hate group.
They call us bigots and racist and shit [...] they're the fucking bigots.
Funny that Eltaeb has an objection with them being called bigots or racist considering the "hightlights" of the livestream (which included comics has-beens Jon Malin, Dan Fraga, Graham Nolan, Aaron Lopresti, Art Thibert, and Billy Tucci) that all these conservative publications left out:
- Van Sciver using a homophobic stereotypical "lisping" voice
- Van Sciver saying they are going to "give Superman HIV"
- Art Thibert referring to LGBTQ+ as a "sexual preference"
- Making a "joke" about a character raping the new Superman
- Jon Malin, after Dan Fraga asking "What's next after this," saying that they will pivot to pedophilia and saying "You're gonna have Batman fucking Robin."
- Gabe Eltaeb comparing LGBTQ+ to bestiality after Malin's rant
That last part (and possibly leaking story information weeks prior to Van Sciver to get the hate machine going) is why Eltaeb was probably fired, as posited by this piece by Bleeding Cool and this pinned tweet from Eltaeb (whose Twitter is now in protected mode) in which he describes being "pushed" out rather than "quitting."
Twitter
Eltaeb's and Fox News's meltdowns are both a word salad of conservative dog whistles and ahistorical. "Truth, Justice and the American Way" did not originate with the first Superman comic books by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. In fact, Superman's original motto in his first appearance in Action Comics#1 was one that today would fit more progressives like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or Bernie Sanders or, as Comicsgate likes to say, SJWs:
Superman for President in 2028!DC Comics
As noted by this piece in Variety, the version of the motto conservatives are screaming about was created for the "Superman" radio serial in the early 1940s during World War II. But even as early as 1948, in Superman's first film serial, it was adapted to "Truth, Tolerance and Justice," as noted by the writer of Superman Smashes The Klan:
