Dean Cain’s ‘Superman’ Criticisms Seem Even Dumber Thanks to This Clip of Fred Willard
James Gunn’s new Superman movie has been receiving largely positive reviews from both critics and audiences – but one person who isn’t a fan (despite not having seen it) is ex-Superman, and Andy the Talking Hedgehog star, Dean Cain.
The former star of TV’s Lois & Clark responded to Gunn’s assertation that his film is an immigration allegory by complaining that Hollywood has made the character too darn “woke.”
“We know Superman is an immigrant – he’s a freaking alien,” the conservative actor told TMZ. He also complained about the character nixing references to the U.S.A. in his famous catchphrase. “If you want to create a new character, go ahead and do that. But for me, Superman has always stood for ‘truth, justice, and the American way,’” Cain argued.
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Of course, Superman hasn’t always stood for the “American way” – that line originated with the old Superman radio series, and was only added in during World War II. The phrase didn’t even appear in a single Superman comic book until 1991. Not to mention the fact that some of Supe’s early adventures found him battling corrupt landlords and fighting the KKK.
If that wasn’t “woke” enough for Cain, there was once a TV show that found the DC hero opposing a fascist U.S. president who promised to make America “great again” – which Superman and Lois Lane immediately called out as a racist dogwhistle. And, incidentally, Superman was played by none other than Dean Cain.
The Lois and Clark-verse’s commander in chief was named President Garner, and portrayed by the late great Fred Willard of Best in Show and Fernwood 2 Night fame. But in the episode “Meet John Doe,” Willard’s character is brainwashed into endorsing a rival presidential candidate, who turns out to be a time travelling supervillain from the future named Tempus.
In a clip that’s gone viral in the wake of Cain’s comments, Tempus and Garner give a televised press conference in which they promise to make “this country great again.” “Again?” a horrified Clark Kent asks. “Like back in the days of slavery,” Lois observes. Thankfully, Tempus didn’t follow-up this statement with a prolonged monologue about Arnold Palmer’s junk.
Once Tempus claims the presidency, he gets the Immigration and Naturalization Service to target Superman and publicly question the legality of his U.S. residency. So much for Superman not being an immigration story, Dean.
If these same scenes had appeared in the new Superman movie, Cain’s head probably would have just exploded, Scanners-style during that TMZ interview.
Also, perhaps Cain shouldn’t be giving anyone advice about Superman projects, considering that he’s the same guy who thought it would be really “hip” to reveal that the Man of Steel was secretly a virgin.
