Jesus Vs. Superman (Which is more convincing?)

[The Reality Salesman01]

Growing up, I was a huge fan of comic books. There have been countless debates about who would beat who should they ever have to fight, and really, unless kryptonite is in the equation, Superman is your trump card. He's faster than a speeding bullet, he can fly, his impervious to everything but Kryptonite, he's got ice breath, plasma vision, and if he plowed directly into the sun, it would only supercharge his abilities. So, short of having a stash of kryptonite or being able to block the sun, Superman is the king of the ring.

Being 28 years old, the old Superman movies didn't have the effect on me that they did on my parents. I was spoiled by the advance of special effects being made in the entertainment industry, and Christopher Reeves couldn't match the impression of Superman I had from the comic books, and as the new movies came out later, they seemed to fall flat when compared to the Iron Mans and Dark Knight movies that topped the box offices. Man of Steel got it right. If you were ever inspired by Superman's combination of raw power mixed with selfless altruism, then this movie will definitely entertain you. Hanz Zimmer, who's most recent work was done on the History Channel's The Bible series was interviewed about the perceived parallel between The Bible's Jesus Christ, and DC Comic's Superman. He confirmed that it was intentional correlation that they were trying to make, and before even knowing this, it was something that stuck out to me within the first 30 minutes of watching the film. My question is this...If the people that wrote The Bible would have had more creative imagination when describing their protagonist, and the Jesus character had more God-like abilities, would it have been easier to believe? Would a character like Superman be a more convincing son of a God? I think so. But lets look at the similarities in the plot...!!!SPOILER ALERT!!!

Compare and contrast with me...

Superman
Cal El (superman) is born to the king of Krypton. He was the first natural birth Krypton had seen in centuries and would be the key to securing the future of Kryptonians. He was the one and only son, sent to Earth, where he would be thought of as a God and would be the protector peace, and ensure the safety of mankind and earth.

Jesus Christ
Jesus was born of a virgin mother, and was God's one and only son sent to earth to save mankind from evil. He was perceived as a God, and was promised to be the savior of mankind and ensure eternal salvation of the souls of mankind.

How did they gain believers and followers?...

Superman
Superman was powered by the sun, and soaked up the radiation. It made him more powerful than any creature on the earth and made him virtually invincible. He could lift giant structures of considerable mass, he could fly at speeds over Mach, shattering the sound barrier, Plasma beams could be fired from his eyes that can disintegrate anything that opposes him, He could freeze things with his breath and was capable of seeing things from what can only be described as a 4th dimensional perspective as he looked through objects in a manner that no human could be capable of. He was virtually invincible to any damage from dangers that humans are vulnerable to, and defied the laws of physics that they are bound by. People of DC comics believed in Superman's abilities.

Jesus Christ
Jesus performed miracles. He cured the sick and healed the blind. His supernatural capabilities were that he was seen walking on water, and at one point, he was killed, and then came back to life. He could take fish and bread, and multiply it. He informed humans of a certain torturous evil that would only be escapable through him. He saved souls from being damned with his Jesusnous. People believed in Jesus' abilities.

Significant events caused by humans. The decisions made by the Heroes, and how their fathers impacted the outcomes.

Superman
The people of earth were made aware of Superman's existence among them by General Zod (Evil Kryptonian), and they were frightened as they were told that if they did not find him and turn him over they would all be killed. Cal El wanted to honor the request of the people and trusted his abilities to be great enough to overcome anything that was in store for him. He went without protest to General Zod. When he was there, his suspicions were confirmed when he learned that Zod intended to destroy earth and the people that inhabited it in order to erect a planet of his own choosing with different inhabitants. Superman was rendered impotent while aboard the ship and could do nothing to stop Zod. The artificial atmosphere of the Kryptonian Ship was not hospitable to the conditions from which Superman derived his powers. If something did not change these conditions, Superman would be rendered impotent and unable to save himself and the people. However, the consciousness of Superman’s father was programmed within the ship. His father was able to over-ride the ship’s programming and alter the atmosphere which enabled Superman to regain his powers and use them to support his cause and defeated Zod and protected the people of Earth.

Jesus Christ
When certain people had learned that Jesus was being regarded as the King of The Jews, they were not pleased. Jesus had known for a long time that his ability to save the people of earth would be made manifest through his death, as this was his father’s plan. Jesus was condemned to be crucified on a cross by the very people he was sent to save. He went into his prosecutor’s custody. Jesus was tortured, beaten, whipped, cut and spat on. He was nailed to a cross and had a crown of thorns mounted on his head. He was bleeding like a man and was susceptible to every known danger that existed to all other humans. He did perform any miracles and at one point cried out to his heavenly father asking why he had been forsaken in this manner. God did not answer audibly for others to hear, however, many believers of Jesus are convinced that his dad just wanted him to feel human suffering so that he may know what its like to suffer the way that all humans do without God saving them. God let Jesus die on that cross, and before he did, it is said that Jesus’ last words were requests for forgiveness for the very people that were killing him. Later, Jesus rose from the dead and disappeared forever, leaving behind instructions for how to rejoin him in a heavenly afterlife. It is said that because of Jesus’ death, his dad will spare the people of Earth that follow the instructions left for them through the teachings of his son. People of Earth continue to tell stories of Jesus and his father who they also accept as their God, convinced that they too will receive the same favorable afterlife.

While it seems that they both share a lot of things in common, Superman is clearly the more impressive character. His abilities and raw power are more inline with that of the power of a God, and he was able to accomplish his goal without getting nailed to a cross. Superman’s father did not let him die, and instead knocked down the boundaries that prevented Superman from exercising his abilities of awesome power. Superman was fighting and evil source that his father was unable to destroy himself. Jesus was trying to save people from being destroyed by his father. This part seems a bit counter-intuitive, and requires an extreme amount of gullibility to swallow. At any rate, the movie was awesome, and I found it hard to ignore this comparison that was being made. Amazingly enough, I haven’t seen any religions being practiced to worship Superman, but that’s probably because Cal El never went around convincing people that his dad would eternally torture them in their afterlife if they didn’t worship him. If he had, I think Superman’s power would have been more than convincing enough to gain a following.