So, my friend, Gustavo Silva, has started a new series about superheroes.  No, not like in the comic books, but how much of how they perform is really based in science.  I even recommended he check out a book that I read a long time ago (The Physics of Superheroes) to help bolster his case.  (That book is really developed to help explain principles of physics to “Everyman”, not to discuss Superheroes, though.)   And, it got me thinking…

Parents are worried about the safety of their child.  Should they keep the child with them, where he would be virtually certain to be killed?  Or, should they send him away to be cared for by others, where he would be virtually certain to reach adulthood?  They decide to pack him up in a vessel and send him on a journey- to where, they really don’t know.  Where the seemingly innocent  find the child, raise it as their own, and provide it with love, food, and education to help the child become an asset to society.  As an adult, this individual has a mild-mannered side, unless and until he encounters evil- to which he immediately responds. Before you jump the gun, consider two scenarios.

The first one involves Yocheved and Amram.   In ancient Egypt, where it has been decreed that all male children shall be killed.  They place their infant, Moshe [Moses] in a small ark, and let him (and it) float along the river of life (the Nile).   To be found by Bitya (the daughter of Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt), who raised Moshe, providing him with an education fit for a king.  (Why not?  She was a princess!)  Moshe becomes one of the ruling class, until one day he sees an overseer whipping a (Jewish) slave.  And, renders justice.

Scenario two.  Two parents, Jor-el and Lara, know their world, Krypton, is about to be destroyed.  (By the way, Amram means exalted nation, Jor-el means G0d will lift up; Yocheved means shining light or G0d’s glory, as does Lara.)  So, they pack up their son, Kal-el (the voice of G0d), send him off in a spaceship to who-knows where.  Where he lands in Smallville, and is found by the Martha and Jonathan Kent, who love and raise the boy as their own.  (Martha means mistress- which is reminiscent of the fact that the name of Pharoah’s daughter is not provided in the second book of the Tora; Jonathan means G0d’s gift).  Clark (the name they provide Kal-el, similar to the name-giving Bitya provided the boy she found) becomes the fighter for justice (and the “American” way).

This borrowing from the bible is not so original; after all, many authors have done so over the ages.  And, given the fact that the creators of Superman were two mild-mannered Jews, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, it’s even less surprising.

But, the fact of the matter is that we don’t have to read this as fiction.  We can all be “Superman”.  No, we don’t need super-powers.  But, we can help make this world a better place, spreading our light wherever we go.   No need for  x-ray vision or flying; just noticing and focusing.

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