Drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr. stated that the song's lyrics were "largely about how when we were younger we felt invincible.

[7] Lyrically, the song is a self-reflection of Brandon Flowers' cockier early years and described by himself as a way of reconciling that wide-eyed character with the man he is now.

[11] Starting on May 6, 2017, the band tweeted a series of photographs and short videos to tease their then-untitled fifth studio album.

[12][13] Among the tweets was a photograph of Flowers wearing a silver jacket with gold lettering spelling out "The Man".

Ryan Dombal from Pitchfork described "The Man" as an "over shiny, strutting funk descended from James Brown's '80s anthem 'Living in America'", saying Flowers brags about himself to the point of ridiculousness.

As American masculinity continues to evolve, and threatens to fall back on ugly old norms, The Killers try to have it both ways here, poking fun at dick-swinging supremacy while serving up something that could reasonably soundtrack a rough-and-dusted pickup truck commercial.

"[20] Writing for DIY magazine, Will Richards praised Flowers' confidence on the song and called it "huge, bombastic and fearless".

[29] The video, filmed in Las Vegas, features Flowers portraying five characters—a gambler, a lounge singer, a playboy, a motocross racer, and a karaoke singer—that are connected by their obsession with ego and fame.

By the end of the video, all of Flowers' characters begin to fall apart as their success fades: the gambler loses his car; the curtains close on the lounge singer; the girls all ditch the playboy; the old tapes show the rider's career-ending accident; and the karaoke singer gets beaten up for flirting with a customer's wife.

A cover by English jazz-pop singer Jamie Cullum was released as the lead single from the soundtrack to the 2018 heist film King of Thieves.