On the subject of fiction, what is Superman's religion? Carl:
www.adherents.com/lit/comics/Superman.htmlThe Religious Affiliation of Comic Book Character
Clark Kent/Kal-El
Superman
Superman is the archetypal costumed super-hero. He is clearly the most
influential character in the comic book super-hero genre. The character was
created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, both of whom were Jewish. The character
of Superman, however, has always been depicted as having been raised with a
solidly Protestant upbringing by his adoptive Midwestern parents - Jonathan and
Martha Kent. Of Clark's parents, Martha is the more devout churchgoer. Jonathan
also raised his adopted son with staunch Protestant values, but Jonathan has
never been much of a churchgoer.
As is often the case with a character or franchise of extraordinary longevity,
Superman has been reconceived multiple times ("retconned" in comic book
parlance). Throughout all of his incarnations, Superman has maintained his rural
Midwestern Protestant upbringing, although rarely have the words "Protestant" or
"Christian" been explicitly attached to his background.
Elliot S! Maggin, an observant Jew who is one of Superman's most popular and
influential contemporary chroniclers, stated in a 1998 interview that Clark Kent
and the entire family are Methodists. Although possibly not "canonical" (i.e.,
officially established within the DC Universe), this notion has widespread
support; many writers and fans believe this denominational affiliation best
captures and explains the character as he has been portrayed over the years. For
example, popular comic book writer Mark Millar (Superman Adventures; Superman:
Red Son) has written that Superman is a Methodist. Curt Swan, one of the
best-known and most influential Superman artists, was raised Presbyterian but
also attended Methodist churches while growing up (see:
theages.superman.ws/swan.php).
From: Alex Johnson, "At the comics shop, religion goes graphic: Judeo-Christian
themes woven into comic books you might not expect", published on MSNBC.com, 25
April 2006
(http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12376831/;
viewed 2 May 2006); re-posted
by Worldwide Religious News (http://wwrn.org/article.php?idd=21302; viewed 2 May
2006):
Superman, for the record, is probably Methodist, while Batman is most likely a
lapsed Catholic or Episcopalian.
Maggin also said that Superman adheres to "a Kryptonian-based belief system
centered on monotheistic philosophy." There is widespread agreement that, based
on the lack of any depiction of congregational membership or church activity in
his comic stories, Superman has not been a regular churchgoer as an adult.
Superman has, however, occasionally visited clergymen of various Christian
denominations for purposes of counsel, guidance, or confession.
Superman's Moses-like origin and his Midwestern WASP-ish (White Anglo-Saxon
Protestant) persona are widely regarded as a symbol of Jewish assimilation.
Children of immigrant Jews, Siegel and Shuster were not unlike many in their
generation in their desire to fit in to the general goyim population. The
creation of Superman and his alter ego Clark Kent was a manifestation of the
Siegel and Shuster to "pass" in mainstream population and also to assert control
in a world that had often left them feeling powerless, such as when Siegel's
father was murdered.
Above: Influential Superman writer/artist John Byrne rather overtly
invoked the character's strongly Protestant Christian background in this
scene. Jonathan Kent, the father of Superboy, tells his son that he prayed
for him during a recent crisis. The father and super-powered son are
framed in front of a Christian church (note the cross on the tower or
steeple in the background). Later on this same page, Superman mentions
"the solid, moral foundation my foster parents gave" him.
Above: Superman leads a prayer and reads from the Bible at the funeral of
a friend: "Into thy hands we commend his spirit!" [Source: comic book
panel posted at
www.superdickery.com/oneshot/7.htmlFrom: Bruce Bachand, "Interview: Elliot S! Maggin", published in Fanzing (The
Independent Online DC Comics Fan Magazine) Issue #9, August 1998
(http://www.fanzing.com/mag/fanzing09/iview.shtml;
viewed 6 December 2005):
Elliot S! Maggin was the principal scriptwriter for DC Comics' Superman titles
during the 1970's up until the mid-1980's. He has written two Superman novels
(Last Son Of Krypton and Miracle Monday, both which are currently out of
print) as well as numerous other stories, articles, interviews and projects.
One of his most recent publications is the novel KINGDOM COME (which is
available through Warner Books) which came out in February 1998. It is based
on the very successful DC comic book mini-series KINGDOM COME by Mark Waid and
Alex Ross. (It is well worth mentioning that Ross contributes a number of new
painted illustrations to the Maggin novel!). Sales have been steady for the
Maggin novelization. It is over one hundred thousand words full of action,
characterization, and plot sculpting.
BRUCE BACHAND [interviewer]: Do you see Superman as a man who prays and/or
worships God regularly? If so, what would the Man of Steel pray about from
your perspective?
Elliot S! Maggin: I give all my characters religions. I think I always have.
It's part of the backstory. It's part of the process of getting to know a
character well enough to write about him or her. Jimmy Olson is Lutheran. Lois
is Catholic. Perry is Baptist. Luthor is Jewish (though non-observant, thank
heaven). Bruce and Batman are both Episcopalian and I said so in the text
though it was edited out erroneously. Clark - like the Kents - is Methodist.
Superman is something else, but I never did buy all that Kryptonian "Great
Rao" nonsense. I do think Superman essentially adheres to a kind of
interplanetary-oriented Kryptonian-based belief system centered on
monotheistic philosophy, and I've got some ideas about it that I haven't yet
articulated other than as backstory. I think Superman is too humble to ask for
things in prayer, but I think he prays by rote, and constantly, the way some
of us talk to ourselves in the shower.
From: Mark Millar, "Superman: Red Son", published 27 April 2003 in Sunday Times
in Scotland
(http://toothwatch.tripod.com/redson1.html; viewed 10 January 2006):
Mark Millar wrote a feature article about his upcoming three part prestige
format Elseworlds mini series Superman: Red Son, published by DC Comics.
I started at the beginning and went straight for the jugular. Instead of
Superman's rocket ship crash landing in the wheat fields of Kansas, Superman:
Red Son details his landing on a Soviet collective farm somewhere in Ukraine.
Instead of being raised by simple, Methodist farming folk, he is raised during
the cold war with an appreciation for Karl Marx and a devotion to Comrade
Stalin. Instead of making his big trip to the fictional New York of
Metropolis, he makes his way to Moscow to become not only the darling of the
1950s communist elite, but also the country's primary defence initiative...
Writing such a story, which starts with a simple high concept in the 1950s and
brings us up to date (where Superman narrates the whole thing shortly before
his suicide), was always going to be a laugh. Playing around with reversals on
this kind of scale was really my only original intention, but events in the
real world were having a bigger influence on my plans. People say that all the
best science fiction is really a commentary on how we live today, so this
alternate history I was creating was becoming more and more about what America
was becoming, particularly in light of a few hanging chads in a Florida
polling booth. Here was a country that had become an empire. Like Superman's
fictional Soviet Union, it was making pre-emptive strikes on infinite targets
until the whole world bowed before the orthodoxy of its single religion and
nobody was powerful enough to stand in its way. Just as Superman's existence
causes Stalin to proclaim that there was only one real superpower now, events
in the real world created a hyper-powered America, which, I fear, might only
just be beginning to flex its muscles. The more I was writing, the more I
realised this was a cautionary tale for America... Superman: Red Son had
become an Orwellian fable of what happens when too much power ends up in one
pair of hands and when huge power goes unchecked. In the series, we lament the
cold war stalemate because the zealotry of an individual nation was always
neutralised by the nuclear triggers of the enemy. But how do you stop a man
who could take a Polaris missile on the chin? Similarly, how do you stop a man
who declares a war on evil when he's backed up by more weapons than the rest
of the world combined?
