It's a great time to be a comic book nerd! What once was solely the province of the local comic shop or the convention hall full of individuals cosplaying as their favorite superhero has become culturally en vogue. Superhero and comic book properties are dominating popular culture in a way that seemed unthinkable only a few years ago. This summer the multiplexes will be dominated by Avengers Age of Ultron, as well as the upcoming Marvel Studio's Ant-Man and a reboot of the Fantastic Four. Meanwhile, 2016 promises to be a veritable cornucopia of superhero cine-magic with no less than seven comic book properties coming to the silver screen including: Batman vs. Superman, Captain America: Civil War (AKA Avengers 2.5), and the third installment in the latest X-Men trilogy: X-men: Apocalypse. This is to say nothing of comics' takeover of TV with the CW piling up ratings with both Arrow and The Flash as well as the upcoming spin-off DC's Legends of Tomorrow. At the same time, Netflix has garnered critical and fan acclaim with the recent release of the first season of Daredevil, Fox has shown us what Gotham was like when Bruce Wayne was just a wee, angry young lad, and even Play Station has gotten in on the action with their adaptation of the lesser known property Powers. I write all of this not to demonstrate my knowledge of all things nerdy, but to pose a larger question: what is it about these brightly clad superheroes performing selfless deeds of derring-do that has so captured the American zeitgeist? While I will in no way pretend to be an expert on matters of large scale sociological import, I will offer this simple explanation: I believe that the current cultural fascination with superheroes speaks to a deeper felt need that people have. In an increasingly troubled, chaotic and uncertain world, people are crying out for an all-powerful, selfless savior to come to their rescue. In short, the modern day superhero is pointing to none other than Jesus Christ the original Superman!
In order to see how Jesus is the archetype for the modern superhero, we must ask: what is a superhero? Typically, the comic book superhero is a being of immense power and/or skill who uses their gifts to help those who cannot help themselves. We are all too familiar with the maxim: "absolute power corrupts absolutely." It is increasingly true in our day those in power use their power and influence not for the betterment of their fellow citizens, but rather for their own personal gain. I believe this is why the idea of the superhero has become increasingly popular in American culture. It is precisely because we have so few genuine heroes to spark the modern imagination that the superhero has become lionized. Reality TV stars, celebrity debutantes, corrupt captains of industry and self-serving politicians have replaced people of actual virtue and character. Furthermore, most modern "heroes" in both literature and film are far too dark, gritty and conflicted to serve as real sources of inspiration. Superheroes, on the other hand, offer us men and women dressed in unambiguous primary colored garb, possessed of immense power, who use this power to save complete strangers without asking for recompense. Moreover, they remain uncorrupted by the tremendous power they possess. This is not to say that there are not dark and gritty heroes and antiheroes in the world of comics. Obviously, Christopher Nolan's dark vision of Batman was wildly successful. However, typically, when one thinks of comic book heroes, characters like Superman and Captain America spring to mind; paragons that typify the ideal of virtuous, self-effacing heroism.
Jesus Christ, as revealed in the narrative of the New Testament, is the archetype for this type of selfless hero who sacrifices everything to save the world. Jesus revealed to a religious leader named Nicodemus in John 3:17 that this was his entire purpose in coming to the world: "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him." Moreover, Phillipians 2:6-8 makes it clear that Jesus demonstrated extraordinary meekness by restraining his power so that he might save all of mankind: "...who though he existed in the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking on the form of a slave, by looking like other men, and by sharing in human nature. He humbled himself, by becoming obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross!" Indeed, Christ declared that in God's kingdom, greatness is demonstrated through heroically self-sacrificial service: "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions use their authority over them. It must not be this way among you! Instead whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Now, to some of you, this may sound a bit absurd and like a gigantic case of spiritual overreach. However, I can prove that in modern superhero and genre fiction, heroic self-sacrifice is almost always presented with obvious Christological symbolism. Here's Brandon Routh's Superman from Superman Returns falling to Earth in crucifixion position after saving the planet from a rogue continent filled with Kryptonite:
More recently, here is Henry Cavill's Clark Kent mulling over his soon-to-be heroic destiny in Man of Steel. Notice that behind him is a stained glass window replete with an image of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane mere hours before facing the cross:
Later in Man of Steel, in case the first image was too subtle, after Superman's father knowingly tells him, "You can save them...you can save them all," Cavill's Superman takes a page from Routh:
Let's be honest, Superman is basically space Jesus with a cape! And while it took Superman almost an entire year to come back from the dead in the comics during the 90's, Jesus did it 2,000 years earlier and in only 72 hours! In all seriousness, though, if you have never really considered or taken seriously the claims of Christ, it's not too late. Jesus unambiguously states in John 14:6 that he and he alone can save us from sin and from death: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me." While this claim is exclusive and offensive to many, Christ's call is not made from an arrogant place of power, but rather from a heroic heart of humility and grace: "Then Jesus said, 'Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls (Matthew 11:28-29).'" As for those of us who already claim the name of Christ and have received the salvation he freely offers, it is incumbent upon us to proclaim his message to a world that is desperately searching for a hero. But we should not be inviting people to look heavenward and proclaim, "It'sa bird...it's a plane...it's Superman!" Rather, we must carry the gospel of Christ because "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12)."
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