Superman may be called Clark Kent on Earth, but his real name Karl El It took on a secret meaning when it was realized that its etymology was not Kryptonian – but Hebrew. Iron Man is considered by many to be the world’s first example of a superhero. His suits, superpowers, and emblems are all classic additions to the genre. But unlike many other heroes who have two names, Superman has three—Superman, Clark Kent, and Kal-El, with them paying homage to the character’s origins as a Jewish hero.
Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster are no strangers to the Jewish experience abroad. Children of immigrants themselves, they struggled as artists in 1930s America until Superman appeared on the cover. Action Comics #1 Published in 1938, it was very popular with readers at the time. Siegel and Shuster want a comic strip rather than a book (comics were more profitable at the time), which is why Superman’s first adventure seemed oddly disjointed: it was a collection of sample comics that both literally cut and pasted to fill the pages to write a storybook. But by 1939, Superman’s popularity was so great that he also created his own comic series, in which the name Kal-El (written as Kal-L) first appeared.
The name Kal-El has two parts, each of which can be translated into Hebrew. Kal, or , means “simple” or “easy” – but it’s important to remember that, depending on the creator’s accent at the time, how Kal will be pronounced tomato, or קול, meaning “sound”. El in Hebrew, אל means “God”, so Superman’s Hebrew name is קול-אל, which roughly translates to “voice of God”. But musical instrument God’s – A man of incredible strength who saved lives and fought for the weak and oppressed. Action Comics #1 introduce heroes like “Superman: Champion of the Oppressed!” But The Jewish influence goes beyond Superman’s real name.
Although the story of Superman today is often interpreted as an allegory of Christ, it is actually an allegory of Moses: Krypton was the representative of the Egyptian Jews circa 1200 BC (the period before Exodus). For all intents and purposes, baby Kal-El’s tiny spaceship is a traversing basket through space, not the Nile. Jonathan and Martha Kent replace Queen Nefertari, the wife of Pharaoh Seti I. At the same time, Superman is also an immigrant, far from his homeland and ignorant of his people’s culture; until Superman #113 In 1957, he didn’t even know Kal-El was his real name.
It is unfortunate—or perhaps inevitable—that this quintessentially Jewish story has been absorbed by Christianity. Modern Superman creators, especially those from the DCEU series, love Superman with his arms outstretched in the shape of a cross (as does Brando’s Marlon “I entrust you to them…my only son” Quote from 1978 superman no accident). Of course, the story of Moses also has cross-cultural significance. Unfortunately, Siegel and Shuster are often left out of DC’s creative process (possibly due in part to a lengthy legal dispute over the characters). Although Superman has taken on many identities and undergone major changes over the past 80 years, his real name is still Jewish.