This is Pastor Tim’s article which appeared in the Evening Leader on Monday, May 17, 2021
You don’t have to know me very well to know that I am a huge fan of superheroes. Batman and Captain America have always been my favorite characters, but I love them all. I love stories about people receiving larger than life powers, and then using those powers to make the world a better and safer place. I believe those stories invite us all to look inside ourselves and see what gifts God gave us that we can use to better our world.
I have seen all of the movies. I love the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I cheered when the characters were first introduced, I about had a heart attack when Captain America picked up Thor’s hammer, and I cried when Tony Stark died saving the world. Ben Affleck is my favorite Bruce Wayne/Batman, even if the movies he was in were a tad subpar.
I subscribe to some comic news feeds on YouTube that keeps me in the loop on what the upcoming projects are. This is how my heart was broken, and I want to share my sincere pain with you today.
Without a doubt, one of the most iconic superheroes in the world today is Superman. In 1995, I was in the Philippines on top of a mountain. The children came out to me because they thought I was so tall I must have been an NBA player. (That did wonders for my ego). None of them spoke a word of English, so we were playing basketball and having a blast. It wasn’t long before they began to figure out that I probably wasn’t playing in the NBA, so we started drawing pictures in the dust on the ground instead. We drew animals, and I was learning their words and teaching them mine. On a whim, I drew the iconic S shield of Superman. They immediately recognized it and began flying around and striking superhero poses. Even those children knew Superman.
I grew up with Superman. I am too young to remember when Richard Donner and Christopher Reeves Superman movies were released in theaters, but I have seen them and love them for their cheesiness. I loved Henry Cavil in the Superman role the same as I loved Ben Affleck as Batman.
However, I just received word there is a new Superman movie in production. I was interested to learn that it is starring Micheal B. Jordan. Jordan was incredible as the villain Killmonger in the movie of Marvel superhero Black Panther. I was a little disappointed that Henry Cavil wasn’t coming back because Cavil did a great job as the Man of Steel.
But then I found out a man named Ta-Nehisi Coats is writing the script for the new movie and my heart sank. Coats spends a great deal of his time hating America. He consistently writes about how evil and terrible this country is. An America-hating person making a ton of money from America to take an iconic American character and use it as a medium to spew America-hating propaganda. Does anyone see a problem here?
If you know anything about Superman, your first question might be “How can this be, given Superman’s tagline is Truth, Justice and the American Way?” But you need not worry, that tag line has been cancelled and Superman has a new tagline: “Truth, Tolerance, and Justice.”
I am afraid that we are going to get a Superman movie where Lois Lane is changed to Louis Lane, Lex Luther is a transgender woman, and Superman will be fighting for slavery reparations. The worst part of it all is when this movie bombs because of the woke agenda, it will be portrayed as further proof of the evils of our society.
Please, Hollywood, please don’t do this to Superman. Don’t make this movie. Please don’t destroy the most iconic fictional character of our American culture.