Superman was created in 1938, since then we have been fascinated with superheroes. People from this world or another, with exceptional character, powers, skills, and abilities, who help us, save us, and watch over us. Of all the superheroes, Superman has been the most repeated, recognizable, and immortalized.. According to most polls, when people are asked to name a superhero, the vast majority say “Superman” first, followed by Batman and Spiderman. Ironman comes in fourth because of the recent successful Marvel movies.
Of all the superheroes, Superman is the most like Jesus; a god like man from another planet, in another galaxy, who came to Earth as a baby, and raised by human parents. He had an entire race or spices of people within him (the Kodak) and grew to have superpowers. Is seemingly all knowing, all powerful and an ability to be almost anywhere (omnipresent) at any time. His sole purpose is to give people hope. The “S” on his chest, is the symbol hope. He selflessly helps and saves people from various life and death situations and defends humanity against bad guys of human and non-Earthly origins and brings “truth and justice” to people’s lives (originally “and the American way” but that part was dropped in recent Superman movies to make Superman more universally appealing). One of the most iconic and repeated pose in almost every Superman movie is the “Crucified Savior” pose with his outstretched arms, feet together, floating in the air or just over the Earth, surveying humanity, watching, and listening for cries for help.. Like Jesus, there are people who misunderstand, are jealous of, and threatened by Superman. And like Jesus, Henry Cavil’s Superman is willingly arrested, handcuffed, and interrogated, like Jesus was in the Gospels. And like Jesus, Henry Cavil’s Superman is killed at the end of “Dawn of Justice” and then is resurrected in the next movie “Justice League” because mere mortals can’t beat the Satan like alien “Steppenwolf” without Superman’s help, like all people need the help of a resurrected Jesus Christ.
So why are we so fascinated with a fictional Superman when we have the real Superman in Jesus Christ?
According to Colossians 1 and 2 Jesus Christ is fully God, and fully Human, who came from Heaven to Earth to give people hope and to help and heal, and save us from various things, most notably from Satan, and the consequences of a sinful nature which is eternal separation from God in Hell. But unlike Superman, Jesus empowers Christians to be like him and promises to take us back to where he came from, Heaven and to reign and rule with him on Earth (see Revelation 19 & 20).
Excerpts from Colossians 1:15-20 say, Jesus is the image of the invisible God, "the first-born over-all creation … He is before all things (meaning eternally self-existent) and in him all things are held together … God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on Earth or in Heaven, by making peace through his shed blood on the cross.” Meaning Jesus is God who heroically saves us by reconciling humanity to himself, through his sin atoning sacrificial death on the cross.
According to Colossians 2:2, the mystery of God is Jesus. The incarnation of God in Jesus Christ. Verse 9 reiterates, “For in Christ (Jesus) all the fullness of deity (God) lives in bodily form (human flesh) and is over every power and authority (meaning Jesus is the supreme, sovereign God in human flesh).” Meaning Jesus is Fully God and Fully Human. Better than Superman.
An incredible thing about Jesus and us is that Jesus is the prototype of what humanity is supposed to be. Colossians 1:15 says Jesus "is the first-born over-all creation.” In Greek the phrase “first born” is the word “Proto-tupos”, where English also gets the word “Prototype” from. Meaning Jesus is the prototype of what humanity (Adam and Eve, you, and me) is supposed to be, which makes verse 27 make even more sense, “Christ in you, the hope of glory”. Jesus comes into a believer by his Holy Spirit causing them to be born again of his Spirit, creating them to be what Jesus already is. Everything Jesus is and does in the Gospels is what believers, disciples, followers of Jesus, Christians are and can say and do. The Superhero creates subordinate superheroes, in his image and likeness, by sharing his glory with us. We are kind of like “the Kodak” in Jesus. Christians are the Super friends of Jesus because Jesus is the super friend of us. Only this isn’t a fictional comic strip, cartoon or movie. It’s real-life fact!
So why are we so fascinated by fiction when we have the real Superman in our lives? I think it’s because we control the narrative of fictional cartoons, comic strips and movies, rather than thankfully surrender to the one and only Superman the world has ever known, seen, or has and the only one we need in Jesus Christ.
One day people will see Jesus coming in the clouds and maybe some will say, “Look up in the sky. It’s a bird. It’s a plane.” No. It’s Jesus the only real Superman the world has ever known.
Blessings
