Superman or 'Superwoke'? Right-wing critics of the new DC movie say the latter

Superman arrived on Earth a refugee from a dying world, adopted by farmers in the American heartland.

Superman arrived on Earth a refugee from a dying world, adopted by farmers in the American heartland. But as the Man of Steel lands in theaters with a new reboot this weekend, some conservative critics are taking issue with the superhero saga being framed as an immigrant's story.

The outrage, primarily from right-wing commentators, began percolating in the last week, before many had even seen the film. The criticism centers around recent comments made by director James Gunn, who underscored how Superman’s immigrant identity is weaved into the film’s storyline.

“I mean, Superman is the story of America,” Gunn told The Times of London newspaper in an interview published last week. “An immigrant that came from other places and populated the country. But for me it is mostly a story that says basic human kindness is a value and is something we have lost.”

Gunn has since repeated similar refrains during the film’s press tour, fueling sentiments from critics who say he has unnecessarily politicized the superhero.

Superhero comics have historically not shied away from political themes — Captain America, for example, famously punched Adolf Hitler on a 1941 comic cover, and Superman fought the Ku Klux Klan in a 1946 radio broadcast.