I got into a superhero kick after watching the original Superman on TV. Here are the 5 best superhero comparisons of Biblical heroes.
5. David (a.k.a. Batman)
Just like Batman, David didn’t really have any supernatural ability. He was however quite resourceful and good at winning fights that he seemingly had no chance to win. He admitted to killing lions and bears in order to protect his sheep. Right afterwards he went and killed the 9-foot giant known as Goliath with his utility belt (or sling). He also lurked in the shadows like the Caped Crusader. When Saul went to relieve himself in the cave where David was hiding, David crept up behind him and cut off a corner of his robe, though he confessed he could have killed Saul.
See: 1 Samuel 17 and 24
4. Elijah (a.k.a. The Flash)
Elijah’s incredible speed allowed him to outrun a chariot over a distance of about 13 miles. Of course he did possess a few powers that the Flash lacks, such as the time when he called down fire to consume 51 men who came to capture him. Of course, they sent another 50 after that to try again and they fell to the same fate.
See: 1 Kings 18:44-46 and 2 Kings 1
3. Moses (a.k.a. Captain Planet)
Earth! Fire! Wind! Water! Heart! Moses used all of those as he led the Israelites out of captivity. Moses’ superpower, like Captain Planet, allowed him to control nature. It started with the plagues of blood, frogs, lice, flies, livestock disease, boils, hail mixed with fire, locusts, darkness and death. He controlled the wind and water when he split the Red Sea and later caused water to stream out of a rock by hitting it. And though I always thought the Planeteer with the Heart ring got screwed, Moses found a way to use heart during the battle with the Amalekites. He stood on a hill watching the battle and whenever he held his arms up the Israelites would begin winning the fight.
See: Book of Exodus
2. Josheb-basshebeth, Eleazar and Shammah(a.k.a The Fantastic Four)
I know there are only three guys not four (just leave out the Invisible Woman), but David actually had 30 “mighty men”. However as the author makes it known multiple times, none of the thirty attained to these three. Josheb-basshebeth, the captain of the three, used his spear to kill 800 men at one time. Eleazar found himself facing the hated Philistines alone, but he fought them until he was exhausted and when the rest of his army came to help him, they found Eleazar had already slain them all. Shammah stood his ground against an army when his own fled. As it turned out, the rest of his army was unnecessary. Once King David said he would love a drink from the well of Bethlehem, which at the time happened to be at the base camp for the Philistines. So the three men together broke into their garrison and drew him some water from the well while fighting off the Philistines.
See: 2 Samuel 23
1. Samson (a.k.a Superman)
Samson is the ultimate superhero of the Bible, just like Superman is the number one superhero of all time. Remember the time he killed a lion with his bare hands or the time he killed 30 men who threatened his wife. How about when he killed 1000 men with the jawbone of a donkey? My favorite is when the men are waiting by the city gates to kill him, so Samson goes and rips the gates off their hinges and carries them to the top of a hill. Just like Superman though, Samson had one weakness. Hair was Samson’s Kryptonite. But after Delilah shaves his head and he is captured, they forget that hair tends to regrow and in his last show of strength he pushes out on two pillars that hold up the building where he is being judged. The building collapses killing all 3000 of those who came to watch him die.
See: Judges 13-16