DESECRATION

Though Faster than a Speeding Bullet, Supes is Brought Down by the James Gunn

"The people there are profoundly simple, and profoundly confused. Weak of mind, spirit, and body. Lord over the planet as the last son of Krypton," said Jor-El

"Dispatch of anyone unable or unwilling to serve you, Kal-el. Take as many wives as you can, so your genes and Krypton's might and legacy will live on in this new frontier," Lara continued.

Finally Jor-El commands: "Do us proud, our beloved son. Rule without mercy."

These are the words of Jor-El and Lara, the Kryptonian father and mother of Kal-El, the man who would be raised on Earth as Clark Kent. Superman.

At least, this is the story in the 2025 James Gunn rendition of Superman opening this weekend.

A number of reviewers have pointed out that this addition to the Superman lore violates the legacy and spirit of the original creation. That's putting it lightly. What it does is overwrite the very DNA of the character, robbing him of aspects of his humanity deliberately encoded into both his mind and purpose as the defender of truth, justice, and the American way.

When Superman was first published in 1939, it was a story of an Übermensch who came from afar. He was a man of incredible abilities; his prowess could easily out perform the greatest of modern man's engineering feats, be they bullet, skyscraper, or locomotive.

To offset that fearsome power was a heart of humility. Superman could have taken over the world if he wanted, but that was the last thing on his mind. His personal goal? To fit in.

Superman's creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster were both Jewish immigrants to America and their story of Superman reflects their own challenges of making a life for themselves as outsiders seeking to reap the American dream enjoyed by our nation's insiders.

Let's face it, the whole superhero genre is well-nigh Rabbinical. Batman's Bob Cane and Bill Finger were Jewish. As were Jack Kirby and Joe Simon who created Captain America. Kirby went on to collaborate on many major comic book creations with Stan Lee ranging from Iron Man, to the X-Men, to Thor, and even to Black Panther.

Readers of Sacred Scriptures know that the Old Testament book of Judges is itself an ancient collection of Hebrew superheroes like Samson, Deborah, and Gideon. The term "judge" had nothing to do with a man in a black robe in a courtroom. Its original meaning designated a great man or woman who would manifest God's will on earth whether it be by intelligence, tactics, or even brute strength.

In other words: a hero.

The Book of Judges is God's version of the Justice League. It's not hard to see the connection between those stories and the stories that would one day be brought to life on the pages of American comics.

The story of Superman is full of nods to Jewish tradition. The outline of his emblematic S in an inverted triangle with the top corners cut off is a shape that can be traced on the inside of the Star of David.

Kryptonian names like Jor-El and Kal-El contain the theophillic "el" syllable found in Hebrew names like Samuel, which in Hebrew is “Shemu'el,” combining "shem" (name) and "El," or “God.” Another example is “Othniel,” or in Hebrew, “Otni’el” meaning “God’s lion” with “otni’” meaning “lion” or “strength” and “El” meaning “God.” It's so heavy-handed it would be like a Christian populating a planet where everyone is named Chris, Mary, Jesus, and Joseph.

Another very obvious nod is the origin story where a baby Superman is sent into space by his parents to save him from the fate of his dying planet. It has echoes of the story of baby Moses laid in a basket of reeds and sent onto the River Nile.

In both situations, the idea was never to set in motion a plan of conquest. Moses would lead, but not Egypt or the Egyptians. He would lead his own people in a desperate struggle for freedom by striving to be righteous and embracing stoic self-sacrificial suffering.

In both situations, the focal characters are saved by chance. Moses is raised by the very Pharaoh who enslaves his people. Superman happens to land on a hospitable planet and in the middle of a great nation.

In both stories, the man has to discover his purpose as a kind of savior to his people.

Siegel and Shuster likely utilized these thematic elements because they recognized their inspiring nature. After all, these same elements are echoed in the story of the hero of heroes, Jesus Christ.

Christ, as the Son of God, comes to Earth. He is a man and yet also not like other men. He is a leader and a savior, yet not a tyrant. Not a conqueror.

By emphasizing this aspect of the story of Moses in the story of Superman, the comic's creators highlighted ethical aspects of both the Old and New Testaments that would draw people of different religious backgrounds together as they recognized Superman’s humble, and therefore powerful, heroism. Though he is a quintessentially Jewish character, Superman has always been beloved by Christians as well. After all, the Savior of Man is Himself also quintessentially Jewish.

It's such a beautiful and broadly cherished aspect of the Superman story.

So why would James Gunn want to destroy it?

That might be best left up to Gunn himself to answer. By turning Superman into a despondent and reluctant conqueror torn between dishonoring the wishes of his parents or creating a super-harem of human concubines, Gunn has drastically altered and trivialized the character's personal lineage while forsaking an essential aspect of the story's enduring appeal.

There are other clues as to what Gunn's intentions may be sprinkled throughout the story. One of the major human conflicts playing out in the background is the invasion of Not-Palestine by an aggressive Not-Israel. Superman and other DC hero characters intervene in this conflict more than once.

Suddenly it makes sense.

This is Superman for current year America, and in current year America, we aren't allowed to venerate a character created by Jewish artists because that would bring him too close to a certain Middle Eastern country the Left is determined to label as genocidal.

What Gunn has done is to take the Jewishness out of Superman. What this also does is denude him of his inherent Christological resonances as well.

We are left with a man who is both here among us and at the same time possibly biding his time before conquering us. A man whose ulterior motives are suspiciously like those who firebomb (or shoot at) our law enforcement while waving the flag of a different country. A man who may or may not be planning to invalidate our Constitution through colonizing the womb and the loam. Regardless, Gunn means for us to sympathize with his Superman’s plight as the confused Man of Steel bumbles along, angry and frustrated in his attempts to claim his newfound home as his own.

While seeming to underscore the pro-immigrant message of the story of Superman, this new Superman is an avatar representing the Hollywood elite’s revered stereotyping of the Mexican and the Muslim conquest of America and the West. This Superman is not an immigrant in the mold of his creators Siegel and Shuster. He's here as the catalyst bringing about the inevitable revolutionary crisis. Next stop, Super-Utopia!

Director James Gunn hinted at the immigrant nature of Superman but his brother Sean let the cat out the bag:

"While on the red carpet, James Gunn’s brother Sean defended the director from 'MAGA' people — as Variety described them — being critical of his recent pro-immigrant statements. Neither the interviewer, nor Gunn, made any distinction between legal or illegal immigrants.

'My reaction to [the backlash] is that it is exactly what the movie is about,' Gunn said. 'We support our people, you know? We love our immigrants. Yes, Superman is an immigrant, and yes, the people that we support in this country are immigrants and if you don’t like that, you’re not American.'”

Is brother Sean reading too much into the movie's message? Let's take a look at the words of Kal-El's parents one more time.

Jor-El calls the people of Earth "profoundly simple, and profoundly confused. Weak of mind, spirit, and body." These very words would not be out of place coming from the mouth of a wild-eyed, pierced septum, blue-haired TikToker opining on the majority of the American voting public. It's the kind of snooty pronouncement you'd expect from a host of a late night TV show followed immediately with the clapping and barking of the trained seal audience. The film is meant to be a sick burn. It's a biting critique not of humanity or the human condition, but of us Trump-voting rubes in the middle of the country.

You know, the kind of "un-American" people who would get upset over the revelation that the world they live in is suddenly facing a crisis of historic proportions but only because their own kindness, tolerance, generosity and naivety had been weaponized against them.

Fear of betrayal, of being suddenly subjugated by a people who do not respect our culture or laws -- that fear is the real villain in the story of James Gunn's Superman. In order to get us here, he had to sacrifice the story of Kal-El from Krypton and swap it out for the dual-ethnic El Kino from Kryptonistan.

While some may dismiss or even welcome this change to the story of Superman, it's offensive to fans and concerned Americans alike. The story of Superman isn't necessarily sacrosanct. It's undergone numerous changes and updates over the near century that it's been in existence. But this is no trivial or minor story tweak. It changes everything about the character and destroys the good his story has encouraged among the broadminded and even-tempered American public. What Gunn has done is not an adaptation.

It's a desecration.

Matt da Silva once worked at the highest levels of government trust as a Japanese and Mandarin Navy linguist. In addition to working at the tip of the intel spear, he also has the distinction of having served 18 months in federal prison for his involvement in Jan 6. Now he's pardoned and using his intel analysis and writing skills in defense of the 21st century civil rights movement known as the MAGA movement. You can find more of his writings at his substack (which is free). You may also want to give him a follow on X and TruthSocial or watch his videos on his Rumble channel, J6 Matt Cast. Please subscribe!

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