DC’s been doing a weird thing lately — slowly but surely, its iconic trinity has been signing up to Twitter, with their own, in-character accounts. First came Wonder Woman. Superman’s just arrived. Batman is surely inevitable, but for now? Clark Kent may be the unsuspecting king of DC twitter.
As Wonder Woman’s official twitter has been around the longest, it’s given us more of an insight into the bizarre eclectic mix of in-and-out-of-character tweeting we can probably expect going forward from these official accounts. It’s kind of a smart way to promote what these heroes are up to in the comics, related media, and merchandise, even if it’s a bit weird to see Diana powerfully declare that she, Champion of the Amazons, has arrived in one tweet, only to @ the official Wonder Woman 1984 film account the next.
The champion of the Amazons has officially arrived. pic.twitter.com/zwLFlwZHCM
— Wonder Woman (@DCWonderWoman) June 17, 2019
No matter the year, she’s ready for action. How excited are you for @wonderwomanfilm? #WW84 pic.twitter.com/6qGnl0eElE
— Wonder Woman (@DCWonderWoman) June 19, 2019
It’s odd, right? Anyway, we’re here to talk about Clark’s foray into social media rather than Diana’s.
In its nascent days, it is a bit purer, freer of that alien mix of corporate and earnestly in-character tweeting. In between opening with the incredibly Kansas dad-joke tweet you can see in the header art above, and sharing one of the most touching comic book panels from a Superman story ever, there’s been just one ad for Syfy’s Krypton show. So… please try not to let your brain ooze wide open trying to square the canonical circle on that one.
But we should point out that one of the other incredibly Superman-y things Clark’s twitter has done (which is great) is immediately wade into the ongoing immigration debate in America.
Superman tweeted his own animated PSA last night, using an old 1960 comic strip about the UN’s Year of the Refugee. First published in World’s Finest Comics #111 by Jack Schiff and Curt Swan, the PSA was one of several in a series. It sees Clark overhear two children eschewing a young refugee from their social circle, so he gives them a reminder of the hardship immigrants and refugees face in their attempts to flee horrible injustices and become part of a new society:
For over 80 years, Superman has showed us the best in humanity. #ThrowbackThursday #TBT pic.twitter.com/5fkvfYly3G
— Superman (@DCSuperman) August 8, 2019
It’s not just timely given, well, everything happening in America right now — it reminds us all that yes, this symbol of truth, justice, and the American way is also a refugee himself.
But it’s also absolutely what Clark would do if he were given a platform like Twitter to share his thoughts: be the symbol of hope he has been for nearly a century, reminding us to follow in his footsteps, and recall that without people opening their arms to those in need, we make a mockery of values we like to think define our nations in the first place.
That, or depending on the comic book reality, expose Batman’s identity to the world, but that’s neither here nor there.
I can’t think of anything more purely Clark Kent than this. Although to be honest, the “it me” joke does come in a close second.