Last week, I talked about how I’m a geek and a Superman geek at that. I wanted to fill you in on why he’s the one I chose to become obsessed with when I was still a young girl. (Warning, this post will be filled with random geek facts. You’ve been warned.)
I am forever grateful to my mother for introducing me to Superman through Lois and Clark the New Adventures of Superman. It’s a series from the 1990s starring Teri Hatcher and Dean Cain. It’s fantastic. Look it up.
In one of the series DVD sets, there’s an interview with the woman who created the show. She was telling her motivation for making the series: In the past, all Superman related shows and movies had two main characters, Lois and Superman. But she wanted there to be three main characters, Lois, Superman, and Clark. And she did it. I didn’t fall in love with Superman first, I fell in love with Clark first. When I see Superman struggling, I don’t cry, “Oh, Superman.” I say, “Claaaark!” If I had watched another TV show or movie first, I don’t think I would have this foundation, but I think it’s important.
Clark was a man who encouraged Lois to be a better woman. He invited her into her true identity. He invited her to be vulnerable and compassionate. And he didn’t dominate her and control her. His love for her awakened her to who she was meant to be. And vice versa. Lois invited Clark to become the man he was meant to be. Strong and bold and a good leader.
The Superman comic was created at a time when the world needed heroes. They needed men to step into the light and take the lead and become role models. They needed people to be courageous and bold. And Superman really spoke into that and encouraged many a young boy to become a man. He’s the best because he’s always fought clearly in the light and for the light.
He’s also highly stacked. No one can really defeat him. I mean he’s got the laser vision, x-ray vision, super breathe, flight, super strength, speed, impenetrable skin… But that’s not why no one can defeat him. They can’t defeat him because they can’t reach his goodness.
Every time, in my past, when I had a discussion about why Superman was the best, males would always say, “He’s no fun because he’s untouchable.” And I think what they might have been saying is, “I can never be like him.” Brothers, that’s not true. Well, it is true that you can’t come from Krypton with the sun as your source of energy strengthening your cells past the point of any human. But, you can come from a Kingdom not of this world with the Son as your source of energy strengthening your soul past the point of lost humans. And you can fight in the light and for the light. You can be at a level of goodness that no one else can reach unless they, too, have Jesus. You can have a Father who talks to you while you’re in your fortress of solitude. (Even if your fortress of solitude isn’t in Antarctica.) You can invite women to be who they were intended to be and you can let women invite you to becoming the man you were meant to be.
Superman, for me, is a great metaphor for Jesus. I see him everywhere. Which is why I can’t hardly watch the end of Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. I cried for hours after the first viewing.
So, did I take a mythical character too far? Maybe. But Jesus has used him to expand my understanding of Him in only good ways. And he used Superman to help me see how men have what it takes to be men. They are enough. They are strong enough, they are bold enough. Especially those who use the Son as their source.
Kate And the Deaf 