Superman Got Hit By NAFTA, too

 All-Star Superman released in released in 2005. It was a different time, although the undercurrents of many current political and cultural movements were just starting to rear their heads. In 1994, despite Ross Perot's repeated objections, NAFTA was put into law, and the great sucking of American industry began. Despite having declined from the dizzying heights of American industry in the 1950's, the industrial base of America was still quite powerful. Incensed by the victory in the Cold War, though, American political leaders promoted free trade and neoliberalism, fueled by Fukuyamist thought and the embrace of the end of history. It did seem quite peaceful, but as anti-establishment social movements once again began bubbling back into prominence throughout the early 2000's, and now with the rise of populism and the quite interesting events of the past decade or so, it does seem like history has not really ended and we are simply transitioning into a new era of problems, more internal than external. But, what does this have to do with Superman? I present the below panel. 

In All-Star Superman, the titular hero is exposed to a deadly dose of radiation that will eventually kill him. However, due to massive leaps in science and genetic technology, perhaps he will be saved, but even if he does die, then there could just be another Superman created. He could be replaced. Technology had advanced so far that even Superman could have his job taken by a machine. It is easy to see the parallels between many Americans during this 2005 period and Superman. Technology and society were advancing, and no amount of protest or struggle from anybody, even Superman, could change things.

It is easy to see the overlap between what is happening to Superman and what many in America were feeling during this time. No man, no power even, could struggle against the shifts in society happening, where the old post-war way of life was destroyed with automation and a more global economy and society. NAFTA, and other such changes and tweaks, are like the radiation Superman faced, as it slowly killed a subset of the American society. Of course, something being slowly killed can still try to strike back, hence the current political climate. History, though, like Superman comics, never really end though. They just transition to another era.