A theory I have worked up over the last couple of years that
I figured I should publish sooner than later.
A lot of people like to try and dissect every part of the
fictional lives of their individual heroes. This mentality led to people coming
up with nearly every aspect of Superman’s life. Today I aim to prove that
Superman is indeed an active and participating member of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Disclaimer: this article is not endorsed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in any way. no offense is intended as this article is just to point out similarities and not establish the doctrine of any church or religion. As religion is always a touchy subject I ask that before commenting that you read the article, particularly the end of it, and refrain from making any rude, unfriendly, and nasty comments.
Part 1: Krypton and its theology.
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| Rao, The god of Krypton. considering that God has gone by many different names throughout history it is not hard to believe that this is the same guy worshiped by religions the world over. |
Starting in the late 40’s and being emphasized in the 60’s,
Superman has been highly influenced by his Kryptonian heritage. Let’s take a
closer look at the theology and the government of Krypton for a second.
First thing to understand is that Kryptonians believe in the
god Rao as their main deity of worship. In ancient times, as was the case on
earth, Rao influenced nearly every aspect of Kryptonian culture to the point
where even the Sun was named after the god. Over the years, Rao appointed
priests to not only run the church but to also run the government. This theocracy
is similar to the kings within the Old Testament where God would appoint a
prophet to anoint a king and to keep the king in check. These priests eventually
made up the council of the planet where after hundreds of years of peace we
start seeing things go downhill.
As social justice became a higher concern than religion and
Rao’s will, Krypton started allowing Women into their theocracy and the
governing council of the church. The LDS church believes that while all people
are created equal, men are gifted with the priesthood to govern the church and
the women are gifted with motherhood capabilities. Under this set up all
members of the church and the world in general are able to continue to live in
peace.
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| The Kryptonian Birthing Matrix. established to artificially breed and manage Kryptonian DNA, rendering traditional families all but obsolete on Krypton. |
In “Man of Steel”, Jor-el has an opportunity to explain the
downfall of Krypton. The point that he starts with is artificial birth control.
The council began to change the definition of family and passed certain laws to
alter the family unit by eliminating natural birth processes and, as was the
case in 1985’s “The Man of Steel” eliminate marriage entirely. This began the
un-stabilizing of the planets’ core and brought upon the “calamities foretold
by both ancient and modern prophets” (The Family: a proclamation to the world. A
document held in high regards by the LDS faith).
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| WE WARN that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets. - The Family: A Proclamation to the World |
In “Superman: Earth One vol. 3” General Zod reveals to
Superman that Jor-El was not only a member of the council that governed
Krypton, but was the head member of that council (this makes Superman the heir
to the throne of Krypton). Under this implication we can safely say that Jor-El
was the prophet of krypton, which in “Superman: The Animated Series” in the
episode titled “Bizarro’s World” was mentioned to be near the end of Krypton’s
7th age. This corresponds to the book of Revelations “Seven Seals”,
the pattern of dispensations on the earth, and the “seventh seal” that the LDS
church believes the latter days to be (the “Latter Day” part of the name means
that a fundamental belief is that we are in the “Last Days” before the savior
will make his second appearance on the earth). Jor-El, having the foresight
that a prophet would have, warns the council to change their ways and to enter
the “Phantom Zone” as a type of ark. No one listens, Jor-El saves his only son
and his brother Zor-El listens and saves his only daughter. This is Kal-El and
his cousin Kara Zor-El who eventually grow to become Superman and Supergirl.
Part 2: The Kent years
The Kent’s find a spaceship in one of the fields that they
own. Inside the ship is a child that they name after Martha Kent’s maiden name:
Clark.
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| While nothing in the book says it straight out, the math works out just fine. |
Clark Kent grew up on a farm with amazingly high moral
values. These morals effect the way the Clark lived his life when he was a
teenager in Smallville. In “The Man of Steel”, Clark finds he has an amazing
talent for Football. So much so that nearly every scout in the country was
ready to offer him a full scholarship to play college football. After seeing
this display, Johnathan Kent pulls Clark aside and explains the whole alien
thing. This changes Clarks view on things and then we have a 5 year gap between
his graduation and when he becomes Superman. What happened in those 5 years?
In Superman: Birthright” we are told what happened. Clark
was spending his time doing service and increasing his skills as a writer. “Studying
abroad” is what he calls it. During this time he has gained enough credits to
gain a bachelor’s degree in journalism. Clark said he was 25. Let’s do math. It
takes four years to gain a bachelor’s degree assuming he takes a semester long
break in-between. If he works full schedule, 3 semesters a year he should have
a bachelor’s degree in roughly 3 years, but let’s say 4 for good measure. That leaves
him at 22 when he should have started. Left home at 18, 19 was the minimum age
for missionary service at the time…
It’s plausible that Superman served a mission before he
entered the public view as “Superman”. While nothing in that particular book
proves it I can imagine that with Superman’s mentality of always doing well and
serving others that he would be the kind of person that after learning about
his special circumstances on earth would immediately go out to give back to
God.
Part 3: Clark Kent/ Superman
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| The Hot Chocolate instance Takes place in "For All Seasons" #4 "Winter" |
Mankind is introduced to The Superman. In the book “The Man
of Steel” we follow the adventures of Lois Lane in her attempt to stop Superman
long enough for an interview. Before the interview starts she offers him white
wine and Brie. Superman turns both down stating that he “doesn’t generally
drink” and that he “never acquired a taste for Brie”.
LDS theology holds onto a doctrine called “The Word of
Wisdom” stating, among other things, that members should abstain from drugs, alcohol,
Coffee, tea, smoking and eat healthy foods such as grains, fruits, veggies, and
other things that you have probably been told your whole life are healthy for
you.
So what? Lots of people don’t drink wine. In a later book
titled “Superman: for all seasons” we witness further strange behavior when
Pete Ross orders himself, Lana Lang, and Clark a coffee on a cold winter
evening. Clark goes out of his way to make sure that his is a Hot Chocolate
instead. He abides by his own standards yet doesn’t shove his beliefs down the
throats of his friends as LDS members are counseled to. To the outside world,
it would be strange for Superman to specifically turn down coffee as no one
else really see’s anything wrong with that, but for members of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints this is simple.
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| this screenshot from "Superboy" season 1 episode 2 also supports my statements |
Another law within the LDS church is the Law of Chastity, which teaches that no one should have any sexual relations except between a husband and wife who are lawfully married. this is another interesting addition to the mythos when you consider that Superman, canonically speaking of course, has never had sex with any woman other than Lois when he is married to her. this goes as far as "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures Of Superman" which was a T.V. series based in the 90's. The series it'self is meant to be a romance and it succeeds, yet in one of the episodes we learn that Clark is indeed a virgin before he is married to Lois. his reasoning was something along the lines of "I don't want to do something like that because I would have to reveal everything about myself, and I want to make sure it's with the right person". how great is that? Superman keeps the Law of Chastity.
The thing that really nails home the theory for me though is
located within “The Adventures of Superman #500”. Johnathan Kent, grieving over
Clark’s death, goes into a coma. The story involves Johnathan going through all
the stages of the afterlife to find Clarks soul and bring him back (we aren’t
sure if this works, but I believe that this would be the point that revived Clark
before his triumphant return). In the hospital room, Martha Kent speaks with
Lois Lane who describes the pain of losing Clark and nearly losing her husband
but explains that she will be ok as the Kent’s have always believed that their
family would be re-united in the afterlife anyway. While a common belief amongst
many people, only the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints teaches that
marriage and families are eternal. This is a restored idea that only the LDS
church abides by as it is only taught in scripture revealed to the prophet and
presidents of the LDS faith. While Johnathan is in the afterlife, he witnesses
Clark being taken up to a higher plane than simply “Heaven”. This is another belief
held by the LDS faith as they believe that there are certain degrees in heaven
and one must live righteously and make covenants in order to move on to the
higher degrees of heaven.Part 4: acknowledgements.
Over the 75 years of stories there is really no perfect
model for Superman’s religion. We see plenty of contradictories to this theory
as well as to any other theory that is brought up about Superman and his
religion, but does that matter? The beauty of fiction and art in general is
that the meaning is given by the author alone, but is given life by the
beholder who sees a bit of themselves in the story. For some, they abide by the
Jewish theory (stemming from the religion of his two creators) or some protestant
theory (branching from the different churches that Superman is seen around),
yet in the end, the only thing that matters is that the reader connects with
the story. Anyone can chalk up the inconsistencies to be artist representations
of what they mean rather than what they are, but that is the beauty of Fandom. We
listen. We watch. We enjoy. And in the end, we create.
What do you think? What are some ways that you have seen
your favorite stories connect to you? Let’s talk about it in the comments and
be sur to share this article with a friend! Have a great rest of your week!
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