As I discussed in yesterday’s post on the first panel of the first Superman story (see below), Superman redeems the tragic destruction of Krypton, the world of his birth, every time he saves the Earth, his adopted world.
On a more intimate level, every time he saves the world, Superman also redeems the tragic death of his father in particular. The scientist father could not save his world from dying of “old age,” but he did save his “infant son” who would grow up to renew and save another world. In this way, Superman’s father is a redeemer, too.
This is a variation of an archetypal story of fathers and sons, mothers and daughters. The old and dying bestow upon their children the best of their culture, in this case symbolized by a spaceship. The legacy of the past is passed down to the hope of the future—to protect the young from calamity and launch them toward their destiny. The aged redeem the tragedy of their own approaching deaths by promoting new life.
Superman’s origin story is retold over and over, captivating generation after generation, because it speaks powerfully to something primal in the human experience. It is a mythic representation of everyday heroism: how every father, mother, and mentor can save the world.