In the last article, we saw that Christian theology heavily influenced Superman’s origin story and character in past movies. Superman’s benevolent parents send him to guide humanity and be a “light” to them. 

Superman (2025) turns this Christian message on its head. At first, it seems as though Clark’s Kryptonian parents are exactly like the Jor-El and Lara (Superman’s mother) of past portrayals. In the Fortress of Solitude, Superman’s Arctic base, Clark listens to a message from his parents. This message definitely seems messianic. Lara explains, “we have searched the universe for a home where you can do the most good and live out Krypton’s truth.” Jor-El then says, “that place is Earth”. Unfortunately, the message is damaged and only a portion of it can be played. 

So far, so good, right? Well, it turns out that Superman’s parents didn’t really have the best intentions in mind for Earth. Superman’s nemesis Lex Luthor later exposes the missing portion of Jor-El and Lara’s message, revealing a sinister, imperialist plot. 

Jor-El tells his son, “The people there (Earth) are simple and profoundly confused, weak of mind and spirit and body.” So Jor-El commands Superman to “lord over the planet as the last son of Krypton” and to “rule without mercy”. Lara twists the knife with this spectacular advice: “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.”  

Message Denied

Obviously, Clark and the denizens of Earth don’t receive this message so well. So, a distraught Clark turns to his adoptive human father, Jonathan Kent, for advice. Jonathan, in a tenderhearted tone that reflects his down-to-earth wisdom, tells his son that “parents aren’t for telling their children who they’re supposed to be”. 

We can already see how Superman (2025) changes Clark’s Christian origins somewhat radically. Instead of godlike, benevolent parental figures, Clark’s Kryptonian parents are chauvinistic and authoritarian. Clark’s messianic mission is nothing more than an imperialist plot. And we learn that not only should Clark’s biological parents be rejected as moral guides, but actually no parent should tell their children who they’re supposed to be (including divine parents?). It’s not hard to see how these are all significant departures from the Superman of previous films. 

Superman turns more humanist as Jonathan Kent reveals more of his philosophy of identity. Jonathan says, “Your choices, Clark. Your actions. That’s what makes you who you are.”

Sartre’s Superman

Students of existentialism will recognize this message very quickly. It is the classic existentialist motto, “existence precedes essence”. Existentialists such as Jean-Paul Sartre taught that the fact that you exist (existence) comes before facts about what you are (essence). In other words, you start off in the world as an existing thing, but we have no idea what kind of thing or person you are. Why? Because it is your own choices that define what or who you are. Until you start making your own choices and defining who you are for yourself, you are a blank slate, and your essence is indeterminate. 

In his book Existentialism is a Humanism, Sartre explains his philosophy in detail. He writes, “What do we mean by saying that existence precedes essence? (…) If man as the existentialist sees him is not definable, it is because to begin with he is nothing. He will not be anything until later, and then he will be what he makes of himself”.

This view sharply diverges from traditional philosophy, which holds that essence precedes existence. For example, there is such a thing as a universal “human nature” which human beings participate in or take on when they are conceived. But Sartre writes, “there is no human nature, because there is no God to have a conception of it”. Beyond rejecting traditional philosophy, this statement illuminates the atheistic element of Sartre’s existentialism. It also closely relates to Superman’s origins in Superman (2025). 

Kryptonian Enlightenment

As we saw, in stark contrast to the previous Superman films, Superman does not have benevolent, quasi-divine parents to define his identity and mission for him. His parents, like all forms of “organized religion”, turn out to be moral frauds, and Clark must cast their teachings aside. Since he has no guide (like Sartre has no God), Clark must figure out the meaning of life for himself.

As Clark himself declares to his nemesis Lex Luthor at the climax of the movie, “I’m as human as anyone. I love, I get scared. I wake up every morning, and despite not knowing what to do, I put one foot in front of the other, and I try to make the best choices I can. I screw up all the time. But that is being human. And that’s my greatest strength.” 

Maybe nobody created Superman’s new origin story with an anti-religion or anti-theist agenda. But it’s still telling that Superman (2025) not only replaces Superman’s Christian origins and mission, but conspicuously and intentionally subverts them.