Colossians 3:12
Since God chose you
for this new life of love,
you must clothe yourselves
in the wardrobe
God picked out for you:
tenderhearted mercy,
kindness,
humility,
quiet strength,
and discipline.
SEVENAPPLES COMMENTARY
As the most recognizable superhero
on the planet, everyone knows that
the man with the “S” on his chest
stands for “truth & justice & hope.”
But what most people don’t know
is who created Superman,
and why… At the height of WWII,
after years of brutal oppression and
mass genocide in Nazi Germany,
two Jewish teenagers from
Cleveland, Ohio named Jerry Siegel
and Joe Shuster decided to do
something about the overwhelming
evil they were seeing in their world.
Using their creative gifts and talents,
these two teens began drawing
pictures and writing stories;
soon-after, Superman was born.
And because every superhero needs
a great origin story, Jerry & Joe
based their creation on the Greatest
Story ever told. Superman, like the
American Jew of the 1940’s, arrived
to the U.S. from a foreign land.
His entire family, in fact his whole
race, had been wiped out in a
holocaust-like disaster on his home
planet. And just like baby Moses,
and the thousands of German-Jewish
parents who were being forced to
send their children away on
kinder-transports, Superman’s
parents had to sacrifice their
relationship with their son for
the sake of the greater good.
In creating the idea of Superman,
Jerry & Joe decided that the source
of Superman’s powers should be
the light of the sun, because they
knew the sun is a constant source
of hope. They decided the main
power to give Superman would be
super-human strength, because
they knew that the evil in our world
can sometimes seem impossible to
overcome. They decided to give
Superman the power of flight,
because they knew the depression
of war can sometimes seem
impossible to rise above. They
decided to have Superman embody
the Old Testament commands of
doing good, loving others, and
healing the world wherever he
could – because they knew that
God’s ways work. And finally,
they named Superman, “Kal-El”,
which in Hebrew means “Voice of
God,” because Jerry & Joe knew it
was time for some light to be spoken
into the darkness.
Within months of Superman’s
creation, the United States would
enter WWII and Superman would
begin appearing in comic books
and newspapers around the world,
inspiring millions as an unstoppable
force for good. He overpowered
indestructible Nazi armor. He
overcame elusive Japanese
submarines, and on the cover of a
1944 issue of Superman, the Man
of Steel would overthrow Hitler
himself.
IMAGE DETAILS
Superman’s Day Off
Pear Fincher Museum of Fine Arts
Spring, Texas
Summer 2019
Art By: Jennie Ottinger
