John DeVore has a cape, too. It’s just invisible.
You can’t see it, but it flaps gloriously behind his MSNBC column as he bravely punches down at Trump voters. Again. His heroic mission? Defend the dignity of James Gunn’s upcoming Superman movie from the yokels in flyover country who are, apparently, too stupid to understand the difference between “woke” and “kindness.”
Not misguided. Not skeptical. Not even annoyed by the forced moralism of Hollywood.
No, too dumb.
In DeVore’s world, the MAGA crowd isn’t frustrated by the endless parade of ideological preaching disguised as entertainment. They’re confused by it. Like a toddler watching a blender. Bewildered. Gasping. Afraid of color.
And that’s the kindest interpretation he offers.
Truth, Justice, and a Face Full of Smug
DeVore’s entire column reads like a wet cocktail napkin at a Brooklyn wine bar. He spends several hundred words stretching out a tired narrative: that conservatives aren’t really angry about Superman’s character being reimagined as a kind-hearted alien immigrant raised in Kansas. No, they’re pretending to be mad. It’s all a performance. Performance of what, you ask?
Stupidity.
He mocks Trump voters for being unable to parse what’s plainly a universal message: that Superman is good, kind, selfless, and… wait for it… woke. Because “woke,” according to DeVore, just means being decent.
And if you have a problem with that, congratulations, you’re on the wrong side of “kindness.”
That’s the trick, isn’t it?
Take a word millions of Americans associate with cultural overreach, race essentialism, gender indoctrination, and state-approved censorship, then repackage it as “kindness” and act shocked when people aren’t lining up to applaud.
MAGA, as Imagined by MSNBC
DeVore’s caricature of the average Trump voter is about as nuanced as a skit from Saturday Night Live.
Here’s the whole picture he paints:
- They think Superman’s kindness is code for liberal weakness.
- They confuse immigration with invasion.
- They don’t understand that “immigrant” is supposed to be a metaphor.
- They can’t separate morality from manipulation.
- They pretend to be offended just to “own the libs.”
- They don’t get that Superman has always been woke, historically speaking.
- They see capes and instantly assume there’s a drag queen underneath.
What’s most insulting is not that he accuses MAGA voters of disagreement. It’s that he accuses them of not knowing why they’re disagreeing at all.
He infantilizes them.
Conservatives, in his mind, aren’t arguing in good faith. They’re kids with spoons banging on high chairs. They don’t actually know what “woke” means. They just hear it on Fox News and repeat it back like parrots after an aneurysm.
Flying Past Reality at the Speed of Smug
What DeVore skips, and what most legacy media can’t stomach, is that millions of Americans have no issue with immigrants, kindness, or Superman. What they do have a problem with is cultural hostage-taking: the idea that every franchise, every reboot, and every summer blockbuster now comes pre-loaded with moral messages curated by the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee.
They don’t hate Superman. They hate the bait-and-switch.
They’re tired of going to the movies and getting scolded.
They’re tired of being told that if they don’t like this exact rendering of a character, with these exact modern ideological ingredients, then they are less than. Less kind. Less moral. Less intelligent.
DeVore skips over that nuance because it’s easier to mock MAGA than to understand them. He’s not interested in debate. He’s interested in domination. And he does it all while pretending to be the virtuous one.
James Gunn’s Immigrant Angle: Forced or Faithful?
Let’s deal with the actual issue: Is Superman supposed to be an immigrant story?
Sure, in a broad metaphorical sense, he’s from another world. But no, he didn’t sneak into America with forged documents and a sob story. The Kents didn’t hide him in a basement. They adopted him. Raised him with morals. Gave him a name, a work ethic, and a legacy of service. He didn’t join MS-13. He joined the Daily Planet.
He’s not “undocumented.” He’s unparalleled.
Yet DeVore (and Gunn, arguably) want to reinterpret that origin through the lens of modern leftist politics. And MAGA calls foul. Not because they can’t understand it, but because they do.
They see the game.
When Everything Is “Woke,” Nothing Is
The Left’s strategy is simple. Redefine “woke” as “common sense” or “human decency,” and suddenly, anyone who opposes it is against decency itself.
Disagree with a DEI initiative? You’re against fairness.
Object to radical gender curricula? You’re anti-science.
Criticize the latest Superman remake? You must hate immigrants and kindness.
The shell game never ends. And DeVore plays it with flair, casting MAGA as fools who are too weak-minded to grasp that they’re being handed a gift, not propaganda.
If only they’d just sit down, shut up, and eat the message.
Infantilizing the Right Is the Left’s New Favorite Sport
The most revealing part of DeVore’s essay isn’t what he says about Superman. It’s what he reveals about himself. He doesn’t see MAGA as opponents. He sees them as a lower species.
There’s no curiosity in his critique. No effort to understand why half the country might be allergic to modern Hollywood. Just a sneer. A laugh. A well-lit snark bubble passed around MSNBC’s writers’ room.
In that world, MAGA voters are:
- Too dumb to decode metaphors
- Too scared to accept change
- Too hateful to enjoy art
- Too backward to deserve input
It's not analysis. It's mockery in a tuxedo.
Let’s Talk About What’s Actually Weak
Weak isn’t disagreeing with a film’s premise.
Weak is pretending that disagreement is the same as confusion.
Weak is hiding behind the word “kindness” while ridiculing people for not clapping fast enough.
Weak is believing everyone who didn’t go to NYU or Columbia must be an idiot who only likes things that explode.
The entire progressive media ecosystem has trained itself to believe that MAGA’s greatest sin isn’t resistance. It’s illiteracy. And the arrogance that comes from that belief is what’s really destroying cultural trust.
Final Thoughts
This isn't about giving MSNBC a platform. It's about calling out a smug writer who thinks he's the most intelligent person in the room. I'm so bloody tired of the "educated class" telling me that I'm not smart enough to understand the nuance of a comic book hero.
John DeVore didn’t write a column about Superman. He wrote a confession. He confessed that, deep down, he thinks half the country is too dumb to be part of the conversation. That they can’t tell kindness from propaganda. That they mistake decency for a threat. That they howl at the sky when someone speaks in metaphor.
And then he calls them cruel.
That’s the real trick.
He accuses them of cruelty while painting them as morons. He brags about moral superiority while sneering at the morality of others. He calls them insecure, all while wrapping himself in a Superman who no longer fights for “the American way” but for the curated virtue of the day.
If DeVore wants to write fiction, he should try screenwriting. The story he’s telling about MAGA isn’t journalism. It’s fantasy. And not the good kind.
