8. There's Nothing Funny About Truth, Justice And The American Way
People think Superman is boring. People think Superman is old-fashioned. People think that, in the light of morally complex heroes like Batman and Spider-Man, there isn't any reason for Superman to exist any more. Those people are wrong, and writer Joe Kelly set out to prove that with his legendary one-off story What's So Funny About Truth, Justice And The American Way? Principally a rebuttal to recent hit series The Authority, Kelly cast his own version of those murderous "superheroes" in the form of the Elite, who lacked the Man Of Steel's compunction against killing, happily dispatching criminals left and right. And despite his belief that they'd find this approach totally repugnant, Superman found that the public loved this new approach to dealing with supervillains, and that he was seemingly surplus to requirements. It's a saddening trend that was happening on and off the page, as the Superman books regularly failed to reach the blockbuster sales figures of The Authority. Still, he's a hero, and he isn't just going to stand idly by and let people - bad guys or not - get killed in cold blood. So he enters a knock-down, drag-out fight with the Elite, culminating in the battered, bruised yet triumphant Superman seen above. Who knew the big blue boy scout could look so badass?
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
