It is generally accepted that Superman is a Christ figure. Kal-El was sent by his father, from the heavens, to Earth, where he displays superhuman powers. He uses these powers to save people and fight evil. While this salvation is from physical danger, more recent adaptations, particularly the television Smallville and the film Man of Steel, have Kal-El explicitly told by an AI in the form of his father that he has been sent to be a beacon of hope and a model of goodness to inspire the people of Earth to greatness.
One aspect of Catholic devotion to Jesus is the veneration of his blood, commonly referred to as the “Precious Blood.” Jesus’ blood is frequently referred to in the New Testament, specifically in its relation to our salvation.
“Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, who has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and Father, to him be glory and power forever [and ever]. Amen.” (1 Revelation 1:4-6)
Both Smallville and Man of Steel include Kal-El’s blood as a component of his saving mission. In Man of Steel, Jor-El sends a “codex” containing the genetic template of every Kryptonian along with Kal-El in the ship that escapes Krypton’s destruction. It is revealed later in the movie that Kal-El actually is the codex, meaning he carries the means of salvation for his people in his blood.
Kal-El’s blood makes a number of key appearances as a plot point throughout Smallville’s run. In the second season, Clark is infected with kryptonite spores and while he is being treated, a blood sample is taken. Due to the unusual nature of the blood, it is of great interest to both Lex Luthor and his father Lionel. Lex ends up stealing the blood sample though Clark retrieves it. When the sample is exposed to kryptonite, it appears to boil, indicating that the effect of Kryptonite on Superman is based in his blood.
More importantly, the blood of Kal-El has salvific properties. In the third season, it is revealed that the blood sample was used to create the appropriately named Lazarus Serum, which can resuscitate someone who has died. Later, in the ninth season, the blood is used to create an antidote to a zombie virus that was also synthesized from the same sample of blood. In the tenth season, it is revealed that Lex used the sample to fix a problem with rapid aging that was causing clones of himself that he had created to rebuild his body to deteriorate. This generated a hybrid clone of himself and Clark, who is known as Conner Kent, a.k.a. Superboy.
Kal-El’s blood is also inherently salvific, not just when it is synthesized into a life-saving compound. In the fifth season finale, Brainiac releases General Zod from the Phantom Zone, wherein he imprisons Clark. In the sixth season premiere, Clark meets his father’s assistant Raya, who escaped the destruction of Krypton by entering the Phantom Zone. She tells Clark that Jor-El set up a secret portal that can be accessed by a member of the House of El, in case one of Jor-El’s family members got trapped in the Phantom Zone. Clark activates the portal by placing his blood on it.
In the first case, Clark shed his blood to save himself (and Raya, who managed to escape with him). Later, he sheds his blood to save others. In the ninth season, Clark must deal with a younger clone of Zod. He is eager to not repeat the mistakes that he feels his father made with the original Zod and keep the Major from going on the path to become the infamous General.
Before Krypton’s destruction, Jor-El had made an Orb containing the genetic profiles of Zod and his Kryptonian army, so the Kryptonian people could live on in the event of their planet’s destruction. Before the Orb was sent to Earth, he eradiated it with blue kryptonite, so that the clones would not have superpowers under the yellow sun. When some of the clones are abducted and killed by a man out to prove that aliens exist, Zod attempts to save them and is mortally wounded. Clark saves him by cutting his own hand with kryptonite and then letting some drops fall on Zod’s wound. Not only is Zod brought back to life, but he now has the same powers as Kal-El, which he passes on to his followers by giving them his blood.
In the ninth season finale, Clark must stop the now superpowered Kryptonian clone army from taking over the world. He confronts them on a rooftop in Metropolis and activates a Kryptonian artifact that will send all Kryptonians to a new planet, including him. At the last moment, Zod pulls out a blue kryptonite dagger, while appropriately quoting John Milton. The blue kryptonite takes away both his and Clark’s powers, so the device does not affect them. The two engage in a physical fight. When he realizes the Zod is gaining the upper hand, Clark allows himself to be stabbed in the side with dagger. This causes Zod to regain his powers and thus be taken away by the power of the artifact, like the other clones. The last shot of the finale is Clark, wounded in his side, falling to the earth with his arms spread cruciform, in the most striking Christ figure imagery since the pilot episode.
In the tenth and final season, having recovered from his fight with Zod, Clark enters the Phantom Zone once again, this time accompanied by his friend Oliver Queen. There, they encounter the Zod clone, who was banished to the Phantom Zone by his former followers for murdering the clone of his wife Faora and their unborn child. Zod forces Oliver and Clark to fight each other in gladiatorial combat and it appears that Oliver has betrayed Clark when he mortally wounds him with a sword. However, Zod prevents him from killing Clark because he wants to finish off Kal-El. The fight is revealed as a ruse when Oliver takes the Phantom Zone crystal from Zod and throws it to Kal-El, who uses his blood to activate it and escape the Zone with Oliver.
Thomas J. McIntyre
Thomas J. McIntyre is a teacher and amateur historian. He holds an MA in History from Georgia Southern University. In addition to the Voyage blog, he writes for Catholic 365 and on his personal blog "Pope Damasus and the Saints." He resides in Louisiana with his wife Nancy-Leigh and daughters Kateri and Alice.