The Myth of These Times

Superman is an ideal example of a contemporary myth hero. His story is interesting and very common. Superman portrays supernatural origin just like every mythical hero.  A distressed father is troubled by his society which is about to perish due to ignorance as well as pride. Jor-el is concerned about how he will save his only infant life named Kal-el (Soares 748).  He launches a rocket which contains his son across the lights to a planet earth where he believes the atmosphere to be suitable for human existence.  A short while after launching the rocket, his planet Krypton is destructed by the explosion of the sun as he had warned the council.  The rocked lands on earth at a place named Smallville, Kansas. Kal-el was found by Jonathan and his wife, Martha Kent. They took him to their land and named him Clark.  18 years later, Jonathan dies after suffering a heart attack, and it is during this time, that Clark awakens to a psychic call (Soares 756).

Clark discovers a gleaming crystal where the remains of his rocket were.  He later moves to Arctic due to solitude, and during this time, Jor-el appears to his dream and revealed to him about his origin and explains to him his powers and mission (Soares 756).  Clark took up the task and started training. 12 years of training, his powers were fully developed and he leaves Arctic wearing a blue and red suit displaying the house of the El family peak on the chest.

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Clark relocates in Metropolis where he becomes a reporter for the Dairy Planet. He stays here lands him to the unreciprocated attraction to a colleague named Lois.

During their courtship, Lois gets involved in a flight accident, and during this time Clark decided to use his powers for the first time in public to save the love of his life. Following the incidence, Clark was no longer hesitant to use his powers in public. He later arrests thief’s escaping from the police at a market; he rescues a cat which belonged to a girl from a tree in Brooklyn Heights (King 168). After such several rescue incidents, Lois interviews Clark and composes an article and names it Superman. 

In the meantime, a scientist and a businessman Lex Luther discover Clark powers and his weaknesses. He develops a plan after learning that the US forces are launching a double nuclear missile experiment, which will leave him a fortune in real estate following the purchase of vast acres of land in barren deserts.  Luther lures Clark to his underground home, talks to him about his plan and later exposes him to Kryptonite, which weakens his powers since he knew Clark would not agree to his selfish plans (King 169). He tricks him that the first missile will be directed towards the east direction in New Jersey and directs the other one to San Andreas Fault. An accomplice of Luther is angered by this plan since her mother resides where the first missile was headed. He opts to save Clark whose powers are instantly weakening under a condition that he will first stop the missile towards New Jersey. He successfully diverts the missile to outer space but the second one explodes around San Andreas Fault (King 170). Clark lessens the outcomes of the nuclear explosion like pollution from shoring up the Earth, but the damages were extensive and led to the collapse of Hoover Dam as well as Hollywood Sign. Lois car fell into a crevice resulted by the collapse and dies of suffocation, while Clark was busy rescuing other people from the reverberations.  Superman was angered by losing her girlfriend and decided to disobey Jor-El’s caution never to distort human history. He opts to heed Jonathan words that he was on Earth for a reason (King 170). Clark rewind times so as to save Lois but also lands Luther and other manipulative characters to prison and dashes for further missions. 

 

Analysis of Superman

Introduction

Humanity is believed to source their origin and explain their way of life from the ancient times. In the same manner, the ancient man used godly stories and gigantic ones to understand the world; the contemporary man exploits the heroes and villains stories for the same purpose. A significant reflection of mythology is reflected in comic books, which are considered modern mythology. The modern man uses comic books to explain the world that surrounds him in a fantastical manner. Such characteristics are clearly depicted in iconic Batman, The Silver Surfer as well as Superman just to mention a few.  The characters embark upon these deep universal, philosophical and cultural impressions, for instance, the savior, nature of good and evil, anti-hero as well as inner man’s struggle (King 167). This paper will analyze Superman a character filled with radiant and mythical concepts as portrayed in contemporary mythology.

Superman like other mythical heroes has a mystical origin.  He lands on earth as the only survivor of the destructions which occurred on his planet. He is raised by human parents who realize his ordinary powers and being.  He poses dual identity as an ordinary person as well as that beyond humanity. This mythical analogy reflects Moses from the Christian Bible (Ford 1). His parents saved his life when the king Pharaoh authorized the killing of all male newborns. His mother placed him in a water reed basket floating him on river Nile. He was later rescued from river Nile by the king’s daughter and was raised in the royal family. Moses too had a dual identity; he was an Egyptian prince as well as the redeemer of his Jewish community (Ford 1). Just like the Silver Surfer, they both originate beyond the range of humanity; they are sent to earth from a place advanced from our planet, portraying power beyond common understanding (King 168). They both are willing to sacrifice so as to rescue humankind from oppression and suffering. Both Superman and Silver Surfer myths represent power, godlike figures and are heroes. However, Superman, unlike Silver Surfer, illuminates perfect humanity since he is brought up by earthly parents, and he undergoes cultural values and norms as a child.

Superman transcends a typical vigilante; he commits himself to rip off the criminals in Metropolis. His name ‘super’ signifies more than ordinary. This is evident on the way he roams the heavens making him inaccessible and sacred.  He possesses divine qualities, which symbolizes the supernatural origin attributed to all mythical heroes.  This depicts that myths play a crucial role in the identification of a culture which surpasses all ethnical diversities.  In a similar manner, heroes, therefore, promote a model to which people can relate, for instance, the America ideal. In the contemporary world, Superman symbolizes a universal religion that surpasses other faiths. A universal religion, in this case, is majorly concerned about cultural identity as well as the integrity of American (Soares 755). His struggles and undying desire to rescue the world emerges as an inspiration from his spirit, not because of his power.

As we have seen, Superman possesses a remarkable characteristic of split personality.  While one part reflects the supernatural being and powers, the other one is a clear indication of the reality of the daily world. The first characteristic of the supernatural being symbolizes individual liberty and power (King 170).  The ordinary humble Clark illuminates the limitations faced by the regular people as they live their everyday life. In this case, the fundamental nature of human spiritual ambiguity is clearly portrayed by humble Clark.  Clark split character represents our normal lives where at times we live in fantasy and dreams. At some point, we realize we are just dreaming and get awakened from our dreams, where we have to come to reality just like Clark came on Earth and started living a normal life.

As Superman realized his mission and powers, he began utilizing them and was seen jumping high buildings.  As his work got tough, he started flying.  This character symbolizes the contemporary means of transport where it began with vehicles, trains and now airplanes, which has led to increasing and fastened the mobility of American people and other nations in the world (Soares 750). As such, Superman progressed to become more powerful and he transforms to become a godlike figure. This rise of power and divine character in him represents the United States rank as the most super powerful nation worldwide.

According to his story, Superman lands on earth in Smallvile, Midwest where he is raised by white and Anglo-Saxon parents who are immigrants. During the time when Superman was popular, most of the Americans were Anglo-American representing the immigrants. This was promoted in the movies and TV shows as well as advertisements of the Marlboro man (Soares 754). Superman, in this case, signifies the immigrants of the Americans. Another symbolic aspect can be identified in his originality. His first name is Ka-el his father is Jor-el, the suffix of their names ‘EL’ portrays a biblical significance traced in ancient Israel.  It can be reflected in words such as Isha-el Isra-el, Gabri-el Micha-el. Michael, an angel of God, is portrayed as a mythical hero when he opposed Satan (Ford 1). As such, he represents the Superman’s biblical modified personality.

Conclusion

From the above analysis, it is clear that comic books are a significant reflection of myth of these times as illuminated in the story of Superman as well as Silver Surfer, which are considered contemporary myths. Their superhero characters are used to illustrate the humankind struggles, dreams, fears as well as its hopes. Superman, in this case, has promoted the cultural reality of ruling with justice and alienation of oppression of the people. He portrays freedom and power of the people; he illuminates the growth of technology through his power to fly across buildings seeking justice. Superman symbolizes identity and promotes religion through his origin and Jewish like aspect in him. He fosters Christianity with several biblical illusions. All facts considered Superman is a definite mythical paradigm of the contemporary time.

 

 

 

Work Cited

Ford, James L. "Buddhism, Christianity, and The Matrix: the dialectic of myth-making in contemporary cinema." Journal of Religion & Film 4.2 (2016): 1.

King, Zachary. "The Superhero Historicized, Theorized, and Read." Journal of Modern    Literature 39.2 (2016): 167-170.

Soares, Michael. "The Man of Tomorrow: Superman from American Exceptionalism to    Globalization." The Journal of Popular Culture 48.4 (2015): 747-761.