We All Love Heroes
There are two reasons we love superheroes, especially as nerds.
One is that we want to be heroes.
To our families, to our friends, to our communities.
We want to protect those we love.
The other reason is we love to see justice being served.
Most of us want to see criminals put away, broken homes restored.
We cry out on social media about people being treated unfairly.
In my opinion, the average person wants to see people treated rightly.
That is part of the appeal of comics.
Heroes have always been a part of our history.
No better medium, except for one (The Bible), displays the importance of heroic deeds and the need for heroes.
Even the Punisher, an anti-hero of sorts, looks to dish out justice to criminals.
Justice is a hallmark of comic book stories.
Jesus was an advocate of justice.
We see this in Matthew 23: 23. (NASB)
Here, Jesus is scolding the religious leaders that ignored the plight of others.
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the Law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are things you should have done without neglecting the others.
Jesus challenged the religious leaders of His day to be just, show mercy, and care for the needs of others.
This is what makes Jesus the ultimate superhero.
Allow me to see how Jesus compares to our favorite superheroes.
Why Jesus Is The Ultimate Hero
I want to share how Jesus compares to popular heroes in geek culture.
SUPERMAN
Superman is perhaps the most powerful of all comic book heroes.
(He’s my personal favorite.)
Superman has great power but often leads with doing the right thing.
A verse we can reference is Micah 6: 8 (NASB)
…what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and walk humbly with your God?
Also, Superman died while fighting a powerful foe known as Doomsday.
He fought to protect people who couldn’t save themselves.
This is a parallel of Jesus dying on the cross for our sins.
The verse points to 1 Peter 3: 18. (NASB)
For Christ also suffered for the sins once for all time, the just for the unjust…
Jesus sacrificed himself willingly as an act of love for us.
SPIDERMAN
We have all heard the famous quote…
“With great power comes great responsibility.”
This was a quote that Peter Parker heard from his uncle.
We should always do right with the gifts, skills, and the blessings we have been given.
There is a story in the Bible, popular among Christians about responsibility.
It is known as the parable of the talents. (Matthew 25: 14 – 30)
To sum up this parable, a master entrusts talents to his 3 servants.
(Let’s think of a talent as currency in which workers were paid.)
2 of the 3 servants made the most of the talents, multiplying them.
However, the third servant did nothing with his talents, burying what he was given.
The master returns and scolds the servant that did nothing with his talents.
He was called “wicked” and “lazy.”
This tells us to do all that we can with what we have.
To add to this, Peter Parker was a kid that didn’t look like a superhero.
He was a regular kid that took on responsibility of protecting others.
Jesus didn’t look like the chosen son of God when he walked the earth.
He was mocked by those who hung Him on the cross.
Matthew 27: 29 states…
When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews.”
Jesus was underestimated, in the same manner that someone like Peter Parker was.
Even as ordinary people, we can make an extra ordinary contribution to the world.
Especially as children of God.
Conclusion
We may not be able to shoot light beams from our eyes.
We may not be able to pick up a building with one hand.
There is a good chance that we don’t have the bankroll to fund crime fighting technology like Bruce Wayne.
But we all can be heroes.
We do this by serving our neighbors with our gifts, time, money, talents, and skills.
Giving to the poor, visiting the sick, praying for our friends, giving an encouraging word to others are examples of simple heroic acts we all can do.
Let us find simple acts of heroism to do each day.
And we too can be like Superman and Spiderman.
Thank you for reading this.
My name is John and this is the Nerding Out Loud blog.
Nerding Out Loud is about looking at nerd culture from a Christian perspective.
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