Messianic tone of Superman is obvious and calculated
By JACOB ADELMAN
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES - As one of society's most enduring pop-culture icons, Superman has often been observed as more than just a man in tights.

And as the hype machine shifts into high gear for the upcoming release of Superman Returns, some are reading deeply into the film whose hero returns from a deathlike absence to play savior to the world.

"It is so on the nose that anyone who has not caught on that Superman is a Christ figure, you think, 'Who else could it be referring to?' " said Stephen Skelton, who wrote a book examining parallels between Superman and Christ.

In his early 1930s comic-book incarnation, Superman was a hero of the New Deal, aiding the destitute and cleaning up America's slums, said Tom De Haven, author of a book about Superman's status as an American icon and a novel about the hero's high school days.
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