Was the character of Superman based on Christianity ?

Question

Don't you think they are so similar ?

1. Superman and Jesus Christ was both not of this earth.
2. Superman was the only beloved son of Ja-El, so was Jesus the only beloved son of God.
3. Superman loved mankind, so did Jesus.
4. Superman had great powers and could do amazing feats, so could Jesus perform great miracles.

Just find the history and story of Superman so similar to Jesus of the Bible. What you guys think?

Answer 1

There are certainly similarities. You must remember that the two young men who created Superman, Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster, were Jewish and a lot of that shows.

Superman is like Moses, who was protected as a baby and rescued by being put into a basket (the space ship) and sent to a place where he would be adopted by Pharaoh's daughter (the Kents) and grow to be a leader and deliverer of his people.

Also, the Kryptonian word El, the family name, which means 'star' in Kryptonese, is a Jewish word for God. So where Kal-El means 'Star-Child' in Kryptonese, it also carries the connotation of 'God-Child'.

Perhaps the greatest paralel between Superman and Jesus Christ is that Jesus came and lived among us as one of us, not using His powers to rule but to serve and to rescue us. Superman does the same by using his Clark Kent identity-- not to deceive us, and not to hide any wrongdoing, but to allow him he opportunity for privacy and rest. This is why, when Lois finally married him, it was because she loved him for his great moral character and not because of his mighty powers.

There was a book that came out years ago which I strongly recommend to your attention, The Gospel According to Superman. The author points out many of these same parallels and takes note of the fact that when Jimmy and Lois are trapped and calling out for Superman's help (as they usually did on the TV show) "Where are you, Superman? We need your help!", they are actually praying the most basic sense of the word: calling out to a superior being for help.

There are many Biblical parallels in Superman's life. It was shown that he was supposed to have been a Green Lantern, but the GL Corps failed to stop Krypton from exploding. But as a result, Superman went on to become an even greater hero than he would have been as a Green Lantern.

I guess the basic question that remains is, who can really help us? Call on Superman and call on Jesus and who is really there and will answer? I like Superman, but I'm putting my reliance on Jesus.

We weren't born on Krypton. We can't make super powers. But there is someone, Jesus, who will make us like Himself and give us power someday. As it says in the first letter to the Corinthians, "Just as we have borne the resemblance to the man from Earth, so shall we be remade in the likeness of the Man from Heaven."

5 DEC 06, 1753 hrs, GMT.

Answer 2

No I don't, unless of course DC plans to make superman:

1- jewish

and

2- a rebel against the existing law with followers.

Also jesus had a menial job (he was not a carpenter, the literal translation was "handworker" which can be more akin to a handyman or someone that did odd jobs and worked with thier hands). Superman is a reporter.

Jesus was also (I would imagine to have followers prior to the days of movies and media when all people had were thier minds) highly intelligent superman is of average to below average intelligence.

Superman doesn't perform "miracles" in hopes of getting people to follow him and I doubt jesus saw himself as an outcast from humanity. superman is an alien, he is an outcast.

I can draw similar, even better connections with daredevil (who actually is roman catholic) or pheonix.

Answer 3

No.

1. Superman and Jesus Christ was both not of this earth.
Neither was Luke Skywalker, E.T. or Captain Kirk.

2. Superman was the only beloved son of Ja-El, so was Jesus the only beloved son of God.
Ask any father with one son who his favorite is.

3. Superman loved mankind, so did Jesus.
Anyone one with a good heart loves mankind. I would list them all, but this text box binds me to only 9999999999999999999999 characters.

4. Superman had great powers and could do amazing feats, so could Jesus perform great miracles.
Superman performed them on film with special effects while Jesus performed them on paper through word of mouth. Superman died because he fell off a horse, Jesus died so Christopher Reeves had somewhere to go (or so they say).

Nice attempt at an analogy, but a little too far off. How about WonderWoman and the daughter of two truck-driving Butch Dykes?

Answer 4

It could be that it may just have resemblance to Christian culture or other neighbouring cultures. Well, Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel were Jews who were inspired by the Old Testament story of Moses and the supernatural golem character from Jewish folklore according to Amy Pedersen, who is writing her doctoral thesis in art history at the University of California, Los Angeles, on superhero comic books.

Check on this article published in the midst of "Superman Returns" mania:
For Some, Man of Steel Has Messianic Echo
http://movies.yahoo.com/mv/news/ap/20060613/115023666000.html

Answer 5

Both Jesus and Superman are very powerful names which generate a lot of revenue to those who represent them. Even if true, could you blame DC Comics for partially emulating Christianity? Look at all the other famous superheroes created since Superman. DC and Marvel struck a gold mine with superheroes whether they took their ideas from the Bible or elsewhere.

Answer 6

well, the main influence for the character of superman was a book called 'gladiator'... there were some religious undertones there, but not a great deal...
superman and other heroes would be more akin to mythology than christianity...
btw, his dad was jor-el, not ja-el...

Answer 7

No, he was not based on Christianity despite the similarities. However, just because something is secular, does not mean it doesn't contain truth.

P.S. Superman's father was Jor-El, not Ja-El...

Answer 8

But Superman's father sent superman to earth because their world is about to be destroyed. Unless your refering to the new movie where there is segment about sending his only son to earth because ....

And don't get me wrong I'm not a Chritian Zealot. For contradicting about sending ka el to earth.

Answer 9

Superman is a cartoon I think, but then again maybe not. No really superduperman is just a figment of one persons thought pattern. Now xmen, that's a whole different story. Cause they all were mutated from some other source.

Answer 10

You know, I thought about this too, and I realized how much they make them seem alike.

I think of Jesus as my real Superman... except greater than Superman.

I love Superman.

(I just read what the person above me said, and that makes a lot of sense, great job.)