No man is made of steel.
The lower case "s" in sAVIOR in this article's title is intentional because surely Superman was no messiah. While some yearn for the true Messiah and some have the Messiah, others worship idols.
There have been many false prophets and mistaken messiahs, but there is only one true God. Nonetheless, in the fantasy world of comic-book hereos, Superman is "king."
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| Cover #1 - Notice in the first cover above: Rolling the stone (car) away from the entrance of the tomb. Notice the end of the front bumper and the red (blood) cape covering the person in red. Notice the reactions. |
This is the original opening monologue for Superman, which goes:
"Superman - strange visitor from another planet who came to Earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men. Superman - who can change the course of mighty rivers, bend steel in his bare hands, and who, disguised as Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper, fights a neverending battle for Truth, Justice, and the American Way."
The comic character "Superman" was first conceived in 1933 in the Depression-era Midwest by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster. Both were teenagers in Cleveland and the children of Jewish immigrants.
The first Superman comic appeared in Action Comics #1 in 1938. The comic was published on April 18, 1938 which would have been Nisan 17, the date of the 2nd Passover festival date which would be just before the 3rd day of the Passover, the day of Yeshua's ressurection. This was also during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
Genesis 8.4 -- the ark came to rest in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat.
June 1938 would have included the days during the "Counting of the Omer" and included the 50th, Pentecost, when Jews celebrate (Shavuot) receiving the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai and Christians celebrate receiving the Holy Spirit.
The writer Siegel is a German (Ashkenazi) Jewish surname. Shuster is as well. A German "Schuster" was a maker or repairer of shoes. The stories being heard from Siegel and Shuster's relatives out of Germany must have been horrific!
During the rise of Nazi Germany the Jews certainly needed a Savior. Jewish survival was at stake. But if these comic creators were going to be successful they had to know that their "messiah figure" would have to appeal to a Christian audience too. About 75% of America was church going at that time. That was the "American way."
As America entered the war, the world needed hope. Millions of Americans prayed for "truth, justice and the American way" to prevail.
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Notice the eagles wings and the resemblance to the American Seal (See below). Notice the issue is #14. That is the gematria of King David. The history and origins of the Great Seal are fascinating, but were probably lost on the young creators of the Superman comic. |
If the Jewish comic book writers were consciously or subconsciously seeking to create a "messiah figure," they would naturally draw inspiration from the bible. Parallels would be nearly unavoidable with Superman, but there are too many to excuse as pure coincidence. Many people have noticed!
In the story, Superman's birth name, on the planet Krypton, is Kal-El son of Jor-El. (Jo-el is the first born son of Samuel.) “Kal-el” follows the traditional Jewish naming practice of adding the suffix “el,” which is singular for “Elohim,” a biblical name for God. The name Jorel means God will Uplift. Kal, or קל, means "easy" or "light." With the accents at the time, Kal would be read as Kol, or קול, meaning "voice." El in Hebrew, אל, means "God," thus Superman's name in Hebrew is קול-אל, which loosely translates to "the voice of God."
Before Krypton's doom, when Kal-El is a tiny infant, his scientist father and mother, put him in a small ship and send him down the Nile of intergalactic space until he landed safely on Earth. A baby put in a small ship (basket) and sent out to be spared by devine providence is an obvious play on Moses, a savior to Jews.
He landed on Earth and after a time growing up on a rural farm he emerged and went on to become the world’s greatest superhero, saving his adopted planet countless times and becoming a symbol of hope for people around the world. Surely the Jewish writers of Superman, in a world coming apart for Jews, were praying for a Messiah. In a comic strip fantasy context, Superman gave the reader "hope."
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| He could fly, even as high as the stars and when the times call for it, come back to down to rescue us. "Look, up in the sky. Its a bird (holy spirit), its a plane (to take us away). Its Superman." |
A comic book messiah would need to have supernatural powers. Superman was able to see right through walls with X-ray vision, like Messiah could see through the walls we put up and into Man's heart. Superman could leap tall buildings in a single bound and was more powerful than a locomotive.
Superman's weakness was kryptonite. Like chumetz (leaven bread on Passover), even the smallest crumb (sin) of kryptonite in the room would weaken him.
Clark Kent was a humble man and wouldn't display his superpowers for just anyone. People would challenge Clark to show them his abilities, but he wouldn't give them a sign. Once the situation was dire, Clark Kent would strip off his clothes and change into Superman.
The Shin is the letter you see on the case (cover) of the Mezuzah protecting practically every Jewish home. The Mezuzah fills a command/mitzvah in the Torah to God's commandments on the doorposts of Jewish homes andvour gates. Those bible passages are on a tiny parchment scroll inside the Mezuzah. On the reverse side of the parchment are written the three Hebrew letters, Shin (ש), Dalet (ד), Yud (י). This is an acronym for the Hebrew words, שומר דלתות ישראל, meaning, “Guardian of the doors of Israel”.
The case for Superman’s Jewishness can also be related to his need to hide his identity. Over thousands of years, many Jews couldn't publicly express their religion. So Jews hid and many changed their names. Superman had to hide his identity as Clark Kent.
Like Superman had to hide his identity as Clark Kent, early comic pioneers such as Jacob Kurtzberg and Stanley Lieber changed their names to Jack Kirby and Stan Lee. Ironically, despite all of the Jews bringing comic books into the mainstream, very few—if any—comic book characters were made to be explicitly Jewish.
Hitler made exposing Jewish identity of utmost importance and the one group that Superman’s Jewishness was not lost on was the Nazis. While Superman creator, Siegel, may not have been able to actually make Superman Jewish, he made his opposition to the Nazis a major driving force for the character. “Action Comics” often featured Superman battling with the Nazis or Nazi stand-ins during the 1940s. To many Americans this was merely a display of patriotism. However, in the weekly Nazi newspaper Das Schwarze Korps, Superman was called one of the “fantasies of Jerry Israel Siegel.” It has been said that Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels declared that “Superman is a Jew!”
In the decades after World War II, many non-Jewish writers have taken on the character and infused him with their own Christian perceptions. Many Christians have considered Superman to be a Christ-like figure. The most recent movie iterations of the character, directed by Zack Snyder, have been immersed in Christian imagery. But imagery of a Jewish Messiah has been present in the Superman story from the very first cover illustrations.
Sadly, a world in need of a Savior will some times turn to idols. We know what the Israelites did when Moses appeared to not be coming down from Mount Sinai. In this early cover below, a golden calf comes to my mind.
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| Notice the inscription on the base, in the cloud caption and the pigeon doves. |
I want to come back to Superman's crest. Again, I said it reminds me of Hebrew letter "shin." (ש)
The letter shin can make either a "sh" sound or "S" sound. What determines this when the Hebrew has vowels is whether the little dot (the somech) is on the upper right or the upper left side of the letter.
שׂ - left is pronounced Sin
שׁ - right is pronounced Shin as in Shalom and Shadai
While Superman is clearly an "S" sound, it seems to me that the artist in this version of the crest deliberately slipped a little dot into the upper-right side to suggest a Shin שׁ.
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| 2022 cover for the "Darker Crisis" series. Isn't in interesting how the artist used a clever technique to make Superman less white. There is still no mistaking the Shin. |
In Hebrew, the Messiah is often referred to as Melekh Mashiach מלך המשיח which translates to 'the Anointed King'. The story of Superman as king of the world continues to this day. So do the religious undertones and overtones. They've also taken on a darker theme.
THERE IS ONE TRUE GOD!
Moses said to the people, Don't be afraid! Stand firm and see the Lord's salvation . . . Read Shemote (Exodus) 14:13-31.
Devarim - Deuteronomy - Chapter 32:8-12