WASHINGTON • No longer are planet-destroying extra-terrestrials or billionaire evil geniuses the villains: Superman, the DC Comics superhero, has a new mission protecting hard-working immigrants from white supremacist bullies.

In the latest edition of the Action Comics series, which has published Superman's adventures since 1938, the Man of Steel intervenes to stop an out-of-work factory worker as he is about to kill some immigrants.

Gun in hand, the cartoon villain threatens veiled women and rails at Hispanic workers, accusing them of stealing his job. "You work cheap, don't speak English so you can't talk back or even ask for a penny more. You cost me my job! My livelihood! For that... you pay!" he says, as he opens fire.

Just then Superman steps in, bullets bouncing off his chest, to save the day. "The only person responsible for the blackness smothering your soul is you," Superman tells the white supremacist.

The passage echoes the recent violent protests by US right-wing extremists. In August, a 32-year-old woman was run over and killed by a Nazi sympathiser after a violent rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE