Is Superman a God?

[Brash]

I happened to run into an interesting website.

http://www.johnath.com/~david/etc/superman.html

Let the theological discussions on Superman begin.
:eek:

[CaptainAwesome]

Superman is not a god, no matter what powers he has. Historically, Gods have always been creators. They have always been able to act outside human reality to create something new. Superman acts within the same laws reality that everyone else in the DCU has to obey, making him not a god.

[Brash]

Yea, but did you take a look at that website that I posted up?

Superman is not a God, I agree with you. But he keep discovering new powers ALL THE TIME... I mean, the Superman of the past and the Superman of now are two very different characters. Superman of 10 years ago didn't know that he could die and come back. for example. (Jesus?) What if he discovers he can create things? I mean, is it that far fetched? Is it, in all actuallity, from what we've seen this character go through, that impossible?

Now maybe that'll get the ball rolling.
Check that website i posted up.

Brash

[colossus34]

Actually Superman is traditionally interpretted as a prophet or savior and not as a GOD! So I don't think its a good thing when everyone is predicting that in the next 30years he will have the power to create, alter the fabric of time and space etc...this is just wrong.

[CaptainAwesome]

Afer carefully reviewing the site in question, I have come to the conclusion that the person apparently doesnt know what a retcon is, or the difference between what is in standard Superman continuity and what is not. For example: Superman the Movie is not part of standard continuity, yet he cites that as one of his sources. Also, many of the changes to Superman over the years have been explained as part of his history, durring one retcon or another. So Superman does not suddenly develop new powers all the time as the author of the site wold have you believe, and instead the powers he has are powers that he was born with.

Also, that chart is bogus, because in the 1980's Superman was depowered majorly in the John Byrne retcon "Man of Steel." The chart shows a steady increase in powers when almost anyone can tell you that is not true.

[Brash]

That is good to know... I haven't kept up on my comics that much. I just sthought it was an interesting idea.

I now see the BS

Brash

[CaptainAwesome]

That is good to know... I haven't kept up on my comics that much. I just sthought it was an interesting idea.

I now see the BS

Brash
I think it could be a cool Elseworlds story, where Superman finds out one day that he has become a god as a result of all the power he has absorbed from the sun.

In fact, if you are interested in Superman and you are just getting back into comics I suggest you check out Grant Morrison's All Star Superman. The premise is basically what would happen if Superman had only 12 months to live. The issues are all pretty much stand alone so it wouldnt be too hard to pick up on the story. Its really fun.

[J. Robb]

Superman could be pretty godlike if he wanted. He could create an otherdimensional paradise to live in while acting on Earth in secret. If he demanded worship, I think a lot of people would oblige. If Darkseid can be considered a god, there's no reason Superman couldn't.

Luckily for Earth, Superman doesn't want to be a god. He wants to be a human who just happens to have some special powers. But how long can he fool himself? It's hard to consider yourself human once you've outlived your friends and family by several centuries.

[Eliseu Gouveia]

"- Ray, whenever someone asks you if you are a god, you answer YES!".

[chriskenny]

Haha. Great quote!

[Jack Zodiac]

Mythologically, plenty of gods from several pantheons exhibit even less in terms of power and intellect than Superman. All a god has to be is extremely powerful or gifted beyond any human in a certain field of expertise. They also have to be born via other deities, so, in definitive terms, no, Superman can't really be a god.

He is very god-like, though. He's arguably the strongest hero on Earth, has ridiculous intellect, and is the sole owner of some of the most advanced technology in the world, "indistinguishable from magic." He's even iconic of nature. Like Ra, Sol, Dhatar, Shen Yi, or Helios, he's associated with the sun due to his powers. So, he's definitely god-like.

[Lorendiac]

For what it's worth: In a serial in "Action Comics Weekly" back around 1988, Superman discovered the existence of a cult that worships him as a god. He emphatically said he was not a god and didn't deserve such worship. You would think that he ought to know more about his own divine nature (or lack of a divine nature) than anyone else, right? :)

(Granted, there's no telling what he'll be saying about himself by the year 2030 . . .)

[Sizzle]

Wasn't he god like in DC 1,000,000 or something like that, so powerful that he lived in the sun? I could be mistaking that for a different story though.

[NenaBoneta]

But you guys know how supermans weakness is kryptonite...If super was a god he wouldnt have a weakness being valnerble to kryptonite,Hes close to a god but not qwite there,maybe hes a demigod

[Jack Zodiac]

Wasn't he god like in DC 1,000,000 or something like that, so powerful that he lived in the sun? I could be mistaking that for a different story though.

No, that was the story alright. Again, he wasn't a god, but he was god-like. Even moreso by that point. He can and does occasionally dive into the sun at his current level. The sun doesn't hurt him in any way, not even its heat, due to it being the source of his power.

But you guys know how supermans weakness is kryptonite...If super was a god he wouldnt have a weakness being valnerble to kryptonite,Hes close to a god but not qwite there,maybe hes a demigod

That's a little beside the point. Practically every god in the whole of mythology had some kind of personal weakness. The best example would be the Greek pantheon. Zeus was a horndog, Hera was jealous, Ares was quick to anger, Athena was snarky, Hephaestus was insecure and overcompensating, etc. All of these were character weaknesses that other gods, and even humans, exploited in efforts to manipulate them. Superman doesn't really have any character weaknesses. He's an incredibly moral person, and entirely secure with himself. If anything, compassion is his only character weakness. Kryptonite is too basic a weakness to compare to him as a god.

Yeah, he isn't a god, but Kryptonite isn't one of the reasons why.

[Zanku]

When the person posts a picture of electric red superman and says "maybe he's shooting a sun at someone" then, I know they dont know what the f*ck they're talking about.

[Your Imaginary Pal]

He was more powerful in the 60's & 70's than he is now. Even in the 50's what normal people did he had a SUPER version of. You name it Superman probably could have done it.

That graph is the lamest thing I've ever seen though. The ranges are arbitrary & the exponetial increase of his powers are far from accurate.

[J. Robb]

That graph is the lamest thing I've ever seen though. The ranges are arbitrary & the exponetial increase of his powers are far from accurate.
I like that "Power Level" goes to 6000, but "God" is holding steady at 5000. :)

[Mike Pothier]

I was going to question where the author got the measurments for God, but then I realized it had to be a joke.