Ever notice that the story arc of Superman kind of parallels the story of Jesus?

    

       Now I know this idea is nothing new under the sun.  I mean papers have been written about this notion.  But with the release of Man of Steel less than two months away, I thought I'd reexamine this concept.
     What motivated me to explore this topic was several moments in the latest Man of Steel trailer.  Before reading the rest of this post I suggest you watch it first:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6DJcgm3wNY  All good?  Ok.  Jor-El says to his son Kal-El (aka Clark Kent aka Superman) "You will give the people of Earth an ideal to strive towards.  They will race behind you.  They will stumble.  They will fall.  But in time they will join you in the Sun.  In time you will help them accomplish wonders."  Jesus is an ideal that many Christians seek to "strive towards" (myself included).  The words, "They will stumble.  They will fall" is indicative of how often Christians fall short of this ideal.  It's impossible to duplicate Jesus but we can emulate Him.  Yet if you look at how many great Christians over the years have "accomplished wonders" through the power of Christ it's proof that we can "join him in the Sun."  The old expression "lead by example" holds true here.  Superman and Jesus both led by example, they showed people that we all can become our best selves.
     There's another part early on in the trailer where Superman's birth mother says, "He'll be an outcast.  They'll kill him."  Sound familiar?  If you are a Christian or familiar with Christian ideology it should.  Jesus, like Superman, was an outcast and a rebel.  Maybe the biggest outcast in the history of mankind.  I mean look at the concepts:  Love thy neighbor?  Forgiveness of sins?  All are welcome at God's table not just Jews?  These are radical concepts. Superman's ideas were not too dissimilar from Jesus's.  Truth and justice after all.  And JC was all about truth and social justice.  But as tends to happen with rebels they often are killed.  So too with Jesus.  Again the quote towards the end of the trailer:  "My father believed if the world found out who I really was they'd reject me."  Once Jesus revealed he was the son of God he was crucified, "rejected" if you will.  Heck even Superman (20 years ago) was killed by the villain Doomsday in the DC universe.  Yet eventually his body was in fact resurrected.  Hmmm.  Again sound familiar?
     Another similarity are the supernatural powers both possess.  Superman has the obvious:  super strength, flight, super speed, etc. while Jesus possessed the ability to heal, turn water into wine, feed the 5000, and raise people from the dead. 
     The last  parallel I'd like to draw is the idea of symbols.  Superman has the "S" while Jesus has the cross.  Believe it or not I once read (and this may have changed) that two of the most recognized symbols in the world were the cross and the "S" symbol of Superman.  That's nuts.  Even more amazing is what the "S" actually stands for.  While in some instances the people in the DC Universe have stated that the "S" is the symbol of the house of El, lately (and in the Man of Steel trailer) it is actually the symbol of hope.  So too is not the cross of Jesus a symbol of hope?  A reminder that the grave has been conquered and our souls go on?
     Final thought:  I'm not trying to "prove" anything by this post.  This is merely conjecture.  My intent was not to draw you to Christianity or convince you that Jesus is the Superman of the real world.  I was just thinking that sometimes it's interesting to get a dialogue going.  My blog in some aspects is meant to be thought provoking.  I welcome your feedback on this one.  I have to say this post ended up being a lot more personal than I expected.
     Man of Steel hits theaters June 14th.