Super Hero vs Sinner’s Hero

"Worship them, and you will become like them"

Children, youth, and even adults are crazy about superhero films, and run to see them the minute they are released. Something within today’s youth and teens likes to fantasize that a superhero would be able to solve all their modern-day problems. 

Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Iron Man, Captain America, Spiderman. All of them, and many others might have wonderful powers and abilities, but they (unlike Jesus) cannot make us like them. Let me tell you why.

The early morning bus to work can be torturous at times because a minute late, and you have to wait another ten or twenty minutes to get the next bus. I sometimes have to run at least twenty to thirty meters to jump onto the bus before it runs off. At moments like those, I wish I were Flash; but then, if I were Flash I wouldn’t have to use any public transport. I wouldn’t mind settling even for Superman, Wolverine or Iron Man.

"Truth is; human nature longs for the fantasy world of being superior or super, the yearning for something beyond natural".

Well, there is no tax imposed on imagination (so far), but the issue is, what do we yearn for or who do we long to become? Are we taking this superhero stuff so seriously that we forget what exactly is real and what exactly isn’t or what is true and what isn’t? 

Be warned because:

"Superheroes have shadowed a lot of truth and we constantly have to be reminded of the ultimate truth lest we forget who we really are on our own – weak, frail, and constantly drawn to sin…"

Growing up as an only child, I created my own imaginary world. I was a superhero with the abilities of an eagle, fully human with golden hair at the centre of my head, and huge wings on my back. I would create a very interesting story in my head where I had to save lots of people. I gave myself difficult tasks as those depicted in most superhero movies. I made my storyline very interesting and personal, so if I got busy doing something else, I could simply take a super break, and continue the story in my head at the next given opportunity.

The problem with that was not loneliness but my dependence was on my imaginary world. To get away from the unpalatable reality of this world, I had to escape into a fictional universe. I was brought up in a Christian home as most people would claim, but Jesus wasn’t my ultimate dependence, I wasn’t intimate enough with him to share my worries. That kind of attitude can arrest children too and misshape the relationship they could have with Jesus. Even the Christians who are fully aware of Christ end up having a battlefield in their mind between comical superheroes and the sinner’s hero.

"I’ve read through a lot of public comments on the subject and some called Jesus their favorite superhero…"

Well, that is a good way to define Batman, the saviour of Gotham. But it isn’t an adequate classification for Christ who, above all, is God (John 1:1), not some imaginary comic character that has flowed out from an illustrator’s Rotring Rapidograph pen.

Moreover, to worship Christ as you do a superhero, would become a form of idolatry. “For who in the skies is comparable to the LORD? Who among the sons of the mighty is like the LORD, a God greatly feared in the council of the holy ones, and awesome above all those who are around Him? O LORD God of hosts, who is like You, O mighty LORD? Your faithfulness also surrounds You”. (Psalm 89:6 – 8). The word of God clearly commands, there is none to be compared to the Almighty, and to do so is a sin against the Mighty God himself.

The truth, as hard as it may sound- Christ is the Savior

Not of Gotham, nor of the Greeks, neither of the Vikings nor just the Israelite, but of the world, for it pleases God to send Him as a sacrifice, freely (John 3:16 – 18). He did it not just to save us from sin as some may think, not even to save us from Satan alone but to ultimately save us from the wrath of God which we truly deserve. (Romans 1 – 3).

           Romans 12:2

"Furthermore, I don’t think any superhero would save the world just to share his identity with us, but Jesus does precisely that…"

Come to imagine Superman dying to save metropolis or some city in the US which he did… and he had to be resurrected again to save the planet from the doom Steppenwolf is planning… the superheroes work hard to defeat him; as usual, Superman was the main guy needed. Now, here is the bad news: we, on the other hand, are not just facing some imaginary doomsday terror, neither are we wrestling only with human enemies in flesh and blood… we find ourselves in combat with all principalities and powers of evil that dwell in darkness (Ephesians 6:12), not imaginary, but real. 

It could be terrifying but the fact remains that the bad news is overshadowed by the Good News: Christ also died, was raised by God, and He ascended to heaven, thus being a mediator and the fulfilment of the promise of the true saviour of the world. In His death, we also die, and in His resurrection, we rise and have access to eternal life (Romans 6;4 – 5) and we are not just granted eternal life with Him but we who are sinners are counted righteous because of His righteousness (Romans 4:22 – 25).

No super hero has the ability to save us from God’s wrath against our sin, which is why we need a true sinner’s hero to set us free…

Hey, I am not against watching or enjoying superhero movies. I really enjoy almost all DC and Marvel series, from flash to marvel’s cloak and dagger, but the point I am trying to drive home is that we must be conscious on how we view these superhero movies, curb ourselves from idolizing them, at the cost of putting Christ first when we face real life issues. God has our best interest always on His mind, and His love is higher than the heavens, unlimited, and beyond measure. Tell me, does any superhero give you that – the feeling of being loved above all, and no matter what?

I rest my case.

(Source: Thrive magazine India pg 7 Superheroes vs Sinner's hero- Cotek Temitayo)