Analysis Of Superman As A Modern-Day Moses
Since 1938, Superman has been one of the most well-known characters in the world. Anywhere you go, there is a good chance you will see some sort of merchandise or advertisement for Superman. Superman’s origin begins with him being sent to earth by his parents, away from a planet that is facing its doom. He grows up with his adoptive family and uses his powers for good to help the people of earth from evil.
Moses is one of the most recognizable characters in The New Testament. His devout devotion to following God is comparable to no other character and he is seen as a model for following God. His ability to perform miracles and save others is undeniable through the many passages in Exodus.
From the last two paragraphs, I’m hoping you can see what I’m hinting at. Superman is the modern-day Moses, well at least the closest thing we’ll get to a modern-day Moses. Through the next few pages, I will list a few reasons as to why this is true Included in this paper will also be a few other ways the Old Testament is hinted at through the Superman franchise.
The origin stories for both Moses and Superman are almost eerily similar. Moses’s birth mother could no longer hide Moses after 3 months and decided to send him down the river in a papyrus basket. He was eventually found further down the river by the daughter of the pharaoh. She took him in and raised him as her son. Similarly, Kal-El (Clark Kent’s Kryptonian name), was sent to earth by spaceship by his parents who saved him from their planet that was soon to be destroyed by its sun. He was adopted by the Kent’s and grew up on the planet earth.
Both Moses and Superman are people who help those in need by performing superhuman deeds. Moses performed many miracles and insane acts of power during Exodus. During their exodus from Egypt, Moses sends the 10 plagues, parts the Red Sea, and strikes a rock to bring forth water to his people, all with the powers given to him by God. Likewise, Clark Kent saves people from many things; car crashes, evil villains, and even de-railed trains. His powers are spectacular, and to normal humans, they are impossible. The powers of Moses and Superman can both be seen as if they were given from a higher power due to the fact that no normal human would be able to have them.
Even though Clark Kent is a perfect rendition of the modern-day Moses, there are a few other ways the Old Testament has influenced the franchise. Superman was created in the late 1930’s by Jerry Seigel and Joe Shuster. These men were both Jewish, and it seemed to influence their new comic character.
When a normal person looks at the Superman logo, it has no real meaning other than Superman himself, but to a more knowledgeable eye, there is much more. When compared to the Hebrew alphabet, there is a noticeable similarity between the Superman logo and the Hebrew letter for L, also known as lamedh. This presents the idea that the logo could possibly have more than just one meaning.
A second reason to bring up the background of the creators is to address Clark Kent’s birth name, Kal-El. The connection can immediately be seen by anyone who has any knowledge of the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible. The name Kal-El has the word El in it, which in Hebrew, means God. With more research into his full name, it can be seen that the full name of Kal-El actually means “voice of God” in Hebrew.
Even when some don’t understand, this paper shows that Superman is very heavily influenced by the Hebrew Bible. The creators perfectly incorporated both big and small elements of the Hebrew Bible, as to make the story interesting and new yet familiar in a way the reader might not be able to place at first.
