The CW has released the official synopsis for “What’s So Funny ‘Bout Truth, Justice, and the American Way?,” the March 3 episode of Supergirl.
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If that title is familiar to you, that’s because it is the title of the story that first introduced Manchester Black and The Elite to the world back in Action Comics #775 by Joe Kelly and Doug Mahnke. In the issue, The Elite use force to try and prove that Superman treats criminals too gently, and that the world would be better if he stepped aside and let the truly “strong” rule — but that does not work out particularly well for them.
We named the issue as one of our favorite Superman stories ever back in 2013 when fans were excited about Man of Steel. It has also been adapted to film as the movie Superman vs. The Elite, which we thought was pretty good.
In any event, this story (like the old “Must There Be a Superman?” story from the ’70s, which inspired some elements of Kingdom Come) explores Superman’s role in the world, not just as “guy who fights bad guys,” but as something larger–the guy who has to be the moral compass for the other heroes of the world. Superman is so vastly powerful, he could do serious damage to villains–and the rest of the planet–if he wasn’t such a supremely decent person. For that reason, he’s often underestimated as soft, weak or (in the case of readers) uninteresting. This story sees him let loose — if briefly — to illustrate why he can’t do so more often.
You can see the official synopsis below.
SUPERGIRL FACES OFF AGAINST THE ELITE
Manchester Black (guest star David Ajala) breaks out of prison with the help of his new team, The Elite, who are set on punishing the anti-alien forces. Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) pulls double duty as she tries to apprehend Manchester Black and his team as well as deal with a shocking new development with Ben Lockwood (Sam Witwer).
Alexis Ostrander directed the episode written by Eric Carrasco & Aadrita Mukerji.
Supergirl airs on Sunday night at 8 p.m. ET/PT, before episodes of Charmed on The CW. “What’s So Funny ‘Bout Truth, Justice, and the American Way?” debuts on March 3.
