SupermanHawaii.com

by Napua Ahina

WARNING: Spoilers ahead!

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Since ancient times, people have enjoyed stories of heroes and their adventures. The trials and victories of gods, demigods, and even mortals have passed through the ages and found their way into the 21st Century. Countless books, plays, movies, and comicbooks have universal elements which date back to early mythology. There are some superheroes with very obvious mythological origins (i.e. Wonder Woman). While others have similarities so subtle that they may have been subconscious and unintentional (i.e. Captain America and Achilles with their famous shields).

It comes as no surprise that the very first comicbook superhero, Superman, would also have ties to ancient mythology... One frequent comparison is to Hercules for his strong-man abilities, frequent battles against giant monsters, and his desire to make the world safe for mankind. This is also true for the new Superman Returns movie. I was very surprised with the many obvious (and some probably unintentional) references to old mythology woven throughout the dialogue, plot and cinematography.

Dialogue

Probably the most noticeable instance of ancient mythology making an appearance in Superman Returns was during Lex Luthor's retelling of the Prometheus story to Kitty. (Note that Lex's version was slightly altered because Prometheus wasn't a god, he was actually a Titan.)

A more subtle reference was with Jor-El's monologue about the son becoming the father and the father becoming the son. This is a very strong recurring theme in Greek mythology. A famous example is the story of Uranus/Cronos/Zeus dynamics. There is a lot of familiarity with this legend and Jor-El not being able to raise his son although saying he'll always being with him, and Superman having a similar relationship with his own son. The underlying theme of the father/son relationship remains the same.

Plot

The Prometheus story worked itself into the plot and took a nice twist as we eventually became aware that Superman was the real Prometheus... willing to sacrifice himself to save humanity. I felt this was a nice way to keep the element of the martyrism without being overtly religious and cliché (since Superman is all-too-frequently compared to Jesus).

Another strong theme that shows up in the movie is hubris. Hubris is a specific character flaw/plot twist that was popular with the ancient Greeks and very prevalent in their stories (and often common-place in modern times as well). Hubris is exaggerated pride that leads to a fall or defeat. In Superman Returns it's Lex Luthor who suffers from hubris by thinking he can defeat the hero and ultimately suffers for it in the end.

A more subtle ancient reference was with Superman's son, Jason. This reminds me of the legend of Phaethon. Phaethon was the son of Helios (Greek god of the sun) and a mortal woman. Like Jason, Phaethon seemed mortal and the truth of his heritage was kept secret. Phaethon's one exhibition of divine power was in the few moments he successfully drove his father's sun chariot. But since he was also half human he eventually lost control of the horses. This is similar to Jason who seemed very human and frail most of the time except for one brief display of his inherent powers.

Cinematography

A moment that could arguably have been inspired by Greek myth is the growth of the kryptonite island by casting the crystals into the water. This is reminiscent of the legend of Sicily which says the island was created by a rock that was thrown into the ocean during the war between the gods of Olympus and the Titans.

However, the most relevant use of ancient mythology in the visual sense was with various Atlas poses throughout the movie. Atlas was a Titan whose punishment for defying the gods of Olympus was to eternally hold the heavens above the earth.

The world-famous image of a strong-man holding up an immense object is unmistakably an icon of Atlas. The first pose was when Superman lifted the space shuttle off of the airplane. Another was near the end of the movie when he lifted the krytponite island and hurled it into space. But my favorite is when he caught the Daily Planet globe from falling onto the street (holding the metal wire frame orb over his head in a pose strikingly similar to the bronze Atlas statue at Rockefeller Center in New York).

Whether intentional or not, Superman Returns is filled with elements of ancient Greek mythology (more so than any other superhero movie I can think of. A close second would be the recent Punisher movie which took a lot from Homer's Illiad). It's astonishing to think that legends about heroes that were first imagined thousands of years ago are still being told today. From Jason & The Argonauts to the X-Men, heroes remain as timeless rolemodels and their stories will also pass into legend.

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