The Last Son of Krypton
Scott Bayles, pastor
First Christian Church, Rosiclare
You know the story. Everyone who hears it can never forget. Once, long ago, a rocket ship dove out of the sky and landed on the humble property of Jonathan and Martha Kent. What happened next would change their lives, and the course of human history, forever. But long before Superman ever set foot on Earth, a father had to make an impossible decision about his son. Let’s go back to the beginning.
Superman, as you may know, hails from another planet—the planet Krypton. Krypton, according to Superman lore, was located some fifty light-years from Earth, where it orbited a red dwarf star, Rao. It is on Krypton that that we discover the first parallels between the son of Jor-El and the Son of God.
While Krypton’s inhabitants bore incredible physical similarities to humans, the culture and civilization were vastly superior. In the comics, the cities of Krypton are depicted with shimmering spires and streets of gold. The many wonders of Krypton include the Fire Falls, a thousand foot wide river of molten rock cascading like Niagra Falls over vertical drops that lead into the underground cavities of Krypton’s crust, and the Jewel Mountains, majestic and prismatic peaks that sparkle on the Kryptonian horizon (picture the Rocky Mountains made out of glass).# Their society was incredibly technologically advanced, they had wiped out crime and poverty, and medical marvels had all but eliminated sickness and death. Krypton was a virtual paradise—a veritable heaven on Earth (or Krypton, that is).
As director of the first Superman movie, Richard Donner’s vision of Krypton would play a huge part in the Superman mythos. In the opening scene of Superman: The Movie, Krypton appears almost like a frozen tundra—the entire planet gleaming white. Crystalline citadels seem to grow right out of the planet itself. Everything about Krypton seems pure and bright. Even the garments of Krypton’s inhabitants are luminous, dazzling white—whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. Sound familiar? It should.
In the DVD commentary for Superman: The Movie, Tom Mankiewicz, who wrote the film’s screenplay, explains, “On Krypton, I was intending for it to be almost semi-biblical.” That’s just what it was.
People sometimes imagine spending eternity in the clouds, floating around and strumming harps unendingly. But that’s certainly not the Biblical picture of Heaven. The Bible describes Heaven as a place that will have rivers, trees, cities, buildings, gates, streets, mountains, and houses (Revelation 21-22). Although its glory will be beyond description, its essential components will be the same as those we find here on Earth. In John’s vision of Heaven, he says, “And the angel carried me away by the Spirit to a very large and high mountain. He showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It was shining with the glory of God and was bright like a very expensive jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal” (Revelation 21:10-11 NCV).
I can’t say that Heaven will actually resemble Donner and Mankiewicz’s vision of Krypton, but the imagery is certainly there. And if Krypton is a figure or type of Heaven, then Jor-El, Superman’s Kryptonian father, must inevitably become a figure for Jesus’ Heavenly Father.
“Marlon Brando as Jor-El, who gave his only son to save the world...” It sounds almost Biblical, doesn’t it? It’s actually a promotional blurb for the 1978 film, Superman: The Movie, staring Christopher Reeve. Jor-El is portrayed as the loving father who willing gave up his only begotten son. The very name El is the Hebrew word for God (as evidenced by names like El-Shaddi or Elohim); a clear allusion that was not lost on Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster—two visionary young men, who happened to be Jewish and familiar with Old Testament terminology. Thus, as Steven Skelton points out, “when El the father sends El the son, it is God the Father sending God the Son—in the truest linguistic sense."
Before Jor-El sends his precious son to Earth, though, he is first presented as a righteous judge. Three insurrectionists charged with “wanton violence and destruction,” stand before the judgment seat of Krypton: Non, a monstrous deviant with the mind of a child; Ursa, whose loathing for her own people drives her selfish ambition; and General Zod. Once charged with the safekeeping of Krypton’s populace, Zod became arrogant and “sought to establish a new order... with himself as absolute ruler.”
Though the terrorists stand before an entire counsel, Jor-El alone would make the final judgment to either condemn them or set them free. Zod makes one final attempt to persuade Jor-El to disagree with the counsel and join him in his quest for world domination, but Jor-El’s nobility would not waver. Before Jor-El make his final pronouncement, Zod demonstrates his unyielding thirst for power, shouting threats even as he faces condemnation, “You will bow down before me, Jor-El, I swear it. No matter if it takes an eternity, you will bow down before me—both you, and then one day, your heirs!”
Because Zod and his followers did not stay within their own position of authority, but abandoned their proper place, they were judged guilty and cast into a dark abyss, known as the Phantom Zone, “an eternal living death.”
The Bible says, “And remember the angels who did not keep their place of power but left their proper home. The Lord has kept these angels in darkness, bound with everlasting chains, to be judged on the great day” (Jude 1:6 NCV). I imagine that pronouncing judgment against his fallen creation was one of the hardest things God ever had to do. However, because he is holy, God must maintain his standard of holiness.
If the characteristics of God could be listed in order of importance, holiness would have to be at the top. Night and day, without ceasing, the inhabitants of heaven cry out, “Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God the Almighty, who was and is and is to come” (Revelation 4:8). God’s holiness is also why sinful people cannot inherit eternal life. Because God is holy, he must, like Jor-El, condemn evil and unrighteousness. But because God is loving, he provided away for sinful people to be redeemed—he send his one and only Son.
As Jor-El returned to his quarters, his thoughts weighed heavy. As one of Krypton’s greatest scientists, Jor-El new that his beloved planet was undergoing cataclysmic changes that would soon lead to it’s utter destruction. The Counsel, who did not believe Jor-El’s predictions, order him to keep silent—neither him nor his wife would be allowed to leave Krypton. Desperate and without other options, Jor-El decides to send his infant son, Kal-El, across the heavens, through the vastness of space—to a new home.
As Jor-El and Lara place their precious baby boy into the starship (which looks suspiciously like the Star of Bethlehem) that would carry him to Earth, Kal-El’s loving father promises his son, “You will carry me inside you all the days of your life. You will make my strength your own, see my life through your eyes, as your life will be seen through mine. The son becomes the father, and the father becomes the son.” Concerning this climactic scene, Tom again comments, “The metaphor was clearly there, when Jor-El sends Superman to Earth, with God sending Jesus to save humanity.” Les Daniels, author of Superman: The Complete History, writes, “Superman recalled Moses, set adrift to become his people’s savior, and also Jesus, sent from above to redeem the world.”#
There is, of course, a significant difference. While Jor-El rocketed his infant son across the galaxy because Krypton faced imminent destruction, God sent Jesus to Earth for the sole purpose of saving the world through his Son. But, even though Jor-El had ulterior motives for sending Kal-El, he also had in mind what his son could do for the people of Earth. One of the many prerecorded communications Jor-El left for his son, contained this almost-Scriptural message: “They can be a great people, Kal-El, if they wish to be. They only lack the light to show them the way. For this reason above all… I have sent them you, my only son.”
Jor-El sent his only son to be a light to the people of Earth. Our Father in heaven sent Jesus for the very same reason. Jesus boldly declared, “I am the light of the world. The person who follows me will never live in darkness but will have the light that gives life” (John 8:12 NCV).
Jesus came from heaven to Earth to show the way. When Thomas questioned, “How can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. The only way to the Father is through me” (John 14:6 NCV).
Another significant difference worth mentioning, though, is that Kal-El had no say in his destiny to live among mankind—Jesus did. The Bible says, “Jesus Christ... though he was God, did not demand and cling to his rights as God, but laid aside his mighty power and glory, taking the disguise of a slave and becoming like men. And he humbled himself even further, going so far as actually to die a criminal’s death on a cross” (Phil. 2:5-8 TLB). Many Christians, I think, never realize the significance of what Jesus gave up, willingly trading the throne of heaven for a manger in a stable. I wonder how many times, throughout his life, Jesus longed for home.
A recent episode of Justice League Unlimited, titled For The Man Who Has Everything (which is actually based on one of the best single issue comic book stories ever told), offers some thought provoking insight. The story begins with Batman and Wonder Woman streaking through the Antarctic in the Amazon Princess’ invisible jet, on their way to Superman’s Fortress of Solitude to surprise him for his birthday. Accessing a secret underwater entrance, they continue through the icy passageways discussing along the way what each of them got Superman for his birthday.
When they finally find Superman, they discover that he has been paralyzed by a dangerous organism called the Black Mercy—a telepathic species of plant. The Black Mercy acts as a parasite, leaching onto a host organism, reading the deepest desires of the heart, then feeds the individual a totally convincing simulation. In effect, it causes Superman to dream about that which his heart desires most—a dream from which he cannot awaken. What do you suppose a Superman dreams of?
In the imaginary dreamworld created by the Black Mercy, Superman lives out his life as if Krypton had never exploded and he had never left. Waking up, he casts his eyes through the window of his futuristic home to see waves of grain turned amber by the light of Krypton’s red sun. Kal-El takes a moment to appreciate the beauty of his homeworld before nudging awake his wife—a cheeky redhead who bears an uncanny resemblance to Lois Lane. Before the two of them can share a good-morning kiss, Kal is reminded by Kelex (his little flying robotic assistant) that the back forty needs inspecting and that Kal and his son, Van-El, are expected at the science center to meet with Jor-El.
In Superman’s heart, he longed to be back home on Krypton—with his father and a family of his own. Meanwhile, back in the Fortress of Solitude, Batman uses every gadget in his utility-belt, unsuccessfully trying to removed the botanical parasite from Superman’s chest, while Wonder Woman is locked in pitched battle with a megalomaniac named Mongul. Mongul is the one who sent the Black Mercy to Superman as a “surprise” birthday present. With Superman out of the picture, he figures, no one could stand in his way of interplanetary conquest.
Back in Superman’s dreamworld, as the day progresses, Kal continues to notice strong periodic tremors—earthquakes similar to those experienced before Krypton’s original demise. Unfortunately, Kal seems to be the only one who notices them. Everyone else on Krypton, including Jor-El, carries on as if nothing were wrong.
Pleading with an unconscious Superman, Batman shouts, “He’ll kill her Clark, and then he’ll kill us all. Shake it off. Come back to us, please.”
Standing atop the observation deck of his father’s laboratory, Kal begins to realize something is wrong—the world around him is not right. As Superman starts to become aware that Krypton isn’t real, his dream falls apart. With the tremors growing worse, Kal-El kneels down before his son and opens his heart, “Van, when you were born, it was the happiest day of my life. When I first saw your beautiful little face, your tiny fingers squeezed my hand so tight, like you never wanted to let go. I’ve watched every step, every struggle, I’ve... but Van... oh, help me... but, I don’t think you’re real. I don’t think any of this is real.”
“Don’t say that daddy.” Van-El cries, wrapping his arms around his father, “Please, you’re scaring me.”
“No, no. I don’t want to scare you, Van.” Kal-El continues with tears streaming down his face, “You are everything I ever wanted in a son. This is everything I ever wanted in a life. But I’ve got responsibilities, Van... I have to go now.”
And with that, volcanic blasts erupt all around them. The ground comes apart at their feet. Krypton cannot escape her fate, even in the imagination of her last son. With a world-shattering explosion, Krypton is no more—again. Superman wills himself awake from his dream-state. He surrenders the home he longs for and the life he always dreamed of, because his friends and his adopted world need him. Superman “did not demand and cling” to the home he loved, but willingly laid it aside to save a world that needed him.
Is it too much to imagine that Jesus shared a similar dream every day of his life on Earth? At home in eternity, Jesus had all of creation at his feet. He had all the glory and praise of Heaven. With the Father and the Spirit, he reigned over the universe. But he “did not demand and cling to his rights as God,” Instead, he willingly “laid aside his mighty power and glory” to save a world that needed him. This is the message of Krypton, Jor-El, and his son—that God the Father loved you so much that he gave his only Son so that you might believe in him. Jesus loved you so much that he left the glory of his perfect home in Heaven, so that believing in him, you would not perish but have eternal life. Both the story of Superman and the story of your salvation begin with a loving Father who sent his only Son to save the world.
