If you watched the new Superman movie and are new to the character, or are new to the character in general, I have one strong recommendation for you.
Read Superman Smashes the Klan.
[Image ID: The cover of Superman Smashes the Klan #3, featuring Superman standing with Roberta and Tommy. A cityscape stretches behind them. End ID.]
While it's not at the very top of my full introductory reading list (though only behind a couple of origin stories), I think it is a very good intro for any new fans right now. It's a completely self-contained story, with no knowledge of comic continuity or DC in general required.
The story is exactly what the title promises it to be, which is already a perfect selling point. Read this story if you want to see Superman beating up Nazis.
It is also a whole lot more. It's about immigrant identity, assimilation, and self-acceptance.
The main character is Lan-Shin—or Roberta, her English name, as she is called for the majority of the story. She is a Chinese-American kid whose family moves to the Metropolis suburbs, but quickly threatened to leave by members of the Klan of the Fiery Kross.
Of course, this is an unsubtle reference to the KKK. The comic is based on a 1946 arc of The Adventures of Superman radio show, where Superman defends a Chinese-American family from the "Clan of the Fiery Cross".
As Yang writes in an essay at the back of the graphic novel, the villainous Clan of the Fiery Cross "had the same costumes, rituals, and beliefs as the real-life Ku Klux Klan" (p 236). By exposing these secrets to a wider audience, apparently told to the writers by anti-Klan activist Stetson Kennedy, the show changed public perception of the KKK in America.
"Some believe that Superman's radio defeat of the Clan of the Fiery Cross led to the real-life Klan's public image downfall. After being portrayed as bumbling, hateful rubes on a children's show, the Ku Klux Klan would never again command the same level of respect it had once enjoyed." (Yang, p 237)
[Image ID: A restored 1949 poster of Superman standing before an audience of children. He says to them:
"...and remember, boys and girls, your school—like our country—is made up of Americans of many different races, religions, and national origins, so..."
The message continues in the caption:
"...if YOU hear anybody talk against a schoolmate or anyone else because of his religion, race, or national origin—don't wait: tell him THAT KIND OF TALK IS UN-AMERICAN.
HELP KEEP YOUR SCHOOL ALL AMERICAN!"
End ID.]
(Source)
In his modern reimagining of the story, Yang very beautifully weaves the storyline of Superman defending a Chinese-American family into an exploration of Clark's own immigrant identity.
It features the transition of Superman's Golden Age powers to his Silver Age powers as a device to symbolise his self-acceptance and refusal to assimilate.
The Golden Age powers amounted to being "Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound." (the opening mantra of The Adventures of Superman)
The Silver Age far extended his abilities, and most significantly gave him the power to fly. While the Golden Age powers may be considered a great amplification of a human's existing abilities, flight is distinctly alien.
As he battles the KKK outwardly, Clark also struggles inwardly as, not wanting to appear alien to the public, he assimilates and does not reveal the extent of his abilities. However, as the story illustrates, that is not a sustainable solution.
[Image ID: The cover of Superman Smashes the Klan #1, where Superman stands while brandishing a truck over his head next to Roberta, who is standing defiantly. In the foreground, a mob with weapons and blazing torches, with pointy-headed silhouettes, threatens them. End ID.]
I'm not going into any more detail as this is not an analysis, but a pitch.
Superman Smashes the Klan is one of the best Superman stories in recent memory, and I think anyone interested in the immigrant themes of Superman (2025) should read it.
