As DC charts a bold, new future for its flagship superhero Superman, one of the biggest announcements coming out of the virtual event DC FanDome 2021 was a change to the Man of Steel's traditional motto of standing for "Truth, Justice and the American Way." DC Publisher and Chief Creative Officer Jim Lee announced that, to reflect Superman evolving to modern times and dedicated to build a better world beyond any geopolitical borders or nationalities, Superman's new mission statement moving forward has changed to the Man of Steel standing for "Truth, Justice and a Better Tomorrow." However, this change isn't the first time Superman has switched up his usual mission statement regarding the American Way.
The most notable time Superman dealt with a change in his public stance regarding the American Way occurred a full decade ago in 2011's Action Comics #900. The oversized anniversary issue included the short story "The Incident" by eventual DC Extended Universe architect David S. Goyer, Miguel Sepulveda, Paul Mounts and Rob Leigh. After being involved in an incident in the Iranian capital of Tehran, Superman's actions angered both the American and Iranian governments, resulting in Superman being menaced by the American National Security Advisor. Unfazed by the government's threats to make him fall in line and tried of being perceived as an instrument of the government, Superman publicly renounces his American citizenship before the United Nations and proceeds to continue his superhero activities with a global scope rather than retain any association with a national entity.
The move was certainly not without its own controversy, with major news outlets providing coverage on the announcement, including some backlash who felt the move was unpatriotic for the iconic character. For his part, Goyer would observe that he saw Superman publicly renouncing his citizenship not as a slight towards the United States but one to protect for any actions he took overseas that the government would be able to disavow and distance themselves from. The move also came at a time when Superman's secret identity hadn't gone public; Superman may no longer consider himself American, but Clark Kent retained his citizenship along with the secret of his double life while editor Matt Idelson questioned if the story should be considered as part of the main DC Universe continuity at all. For their part, Lee and then-Co-Publisher Dan Didio would issue a written statement to the New York Post shortly after Action Comics #900's publication stressing that the character still embodied and exemplified American values.
Action Comics wasn't the first time the American Way aspect of the mission statement was downplayed or altered entirely. In 2006, Superman Returns stopped just short of including the American Way when Perry White restates the Man of Tomorrow's motto, openly pondering if the resurgent superhero still stands for "Truth, Justice and all that stuff" in a move that led to speculation if the change was made to make the film better appeal to international audiences in a move that also received some backlash online.
The old Superman slogan would receive its own reassessment and reframing during the Future State: Superman - Worlds at War miniseries as the superhero's legacy was evaluated in his absence in an alternate future timeline.
With the official change now made public by Lee's FanDome announcement, it appears that DC is making the character more global than ever while featuring a proactive way to change the world and inspired humanity. And while this announcement is virtually guaranteed to generate its own online backlash, it falls in line with Jon Kent stepping up to succeed his father as the new Superman, taking on a more voice-of-the-people approach to heroism as he attempts to be the Superman Kal-El never could, including a bigger picture perspective as the new Man of Tomorrow.