They're lying. They changed it because they didn't want to offend foreigners, since the foreign box office actually matters these days. Plus, they think American are stupid...

How can one love a superhero who's afraid to take a stand? What eloquence is there in advocating "all that stuff"?

If they can't say "American way", how about at least more specificity: "truth,justice, and love"; "truth, justice, and goodness"; "truth, justice, and the pursuit of happiness."

But I'm curious: did the marketers ask for this change because standing for the "American way" would hinder international sales? Or because it would hinder domestic sales to liberals?

b - Actually, I think a lot of foreigners are curious about, and respectful of, the "American way." They want to know what that is so they can mimic it and achieve our success. It's as likely to be Americans that they're afraid of.

pj: Ah, but Hollywood THINKS that 100% of all foreigners hate the US, and so that drives their product. It's remarkable that an industry can be so ignorant about its customer base, but there are so few big studios and they're so interconnected that it can afford to be quite monopolistic in practice.

Didn't plan on seeing it anyway.

After I read that, me neither.

Who wants to see a movie put put by culture-traitors and folk enemies?

I wondered before the movie was released whether the phrase would become "truth, social justice, and the American way."

Well, at least Supe still has the red, white and blue uniform (though I suppose if pressed, the filmmakers would say they represent the colors of France...).

I read somewhere that the red has been changed from red-white-and-blue red into a muddy brownish red.

B,

"They're lying. They changed it because they didn't want to offend foreigners, since the foreign box office actually matters these days. Plus, they think American are stupid..."

I think you're closer to the mark with your second sentence. In a big-budget movie, there are invariably scenes shot twice, once with PG-13/R-rated language (and often, nudity) and then a network TV version with things toned down. So it would have been a snap to shoot the scene both ways and not offend American (or at least Red State) audiences. (Or even simpler, just redub the offending latter half of the "Truth, justice and..." line in foriegn versions) That they deliberately chose not to tells you all you need to know about what the little artists' enclave on the coast thinks about the rest of the country.

America was more noble in the 1940s? Jim Crow, Jewish quotas in the Ivys, Japanese Internment. I see.

But by God George W. Bush was not President.

Isn't the point the cynicism in Langella's remark?

In WW11, we had a comic book hero called Johnny Canuck who used to single-handedly destroy panzer divisions before breakfast. I have no doubt if he came back today, he'd be a human rights activist or maybe a mediator.