Superman: Space Age is a wonderful find for anyone who misses the old silver age Justice League/Superman comics. While keeping a contemporary outlook, the book manages to instill a sense of nostalgia and innocence that the era is now known for.
The story centers around the penultimate and ending story for the era, the Crisis on Infinite Earths, that collapses the multiverse and kicks off the post-silver age. While we might recognize characters like Pariah and the Anti-Monitor, they somehow seem more believable and even more interesting in this retelling.
Although I could spend more words on how fitting the art is and how well scripted the characters, I can't help but be drawn to the central question of the book. What would we do if we knew that the end was near?
Of course, someone like Superman or Green Lantern would become aware of the coming unstoppable destruction that we all know is coming. So, what would they do? What would their final actions be like? How would the rest of the earth's superheroes respond?
More importantly, the book causes us to ask ourselves the same question. I related to Pa Kent's farm boy wisdom when Superman asked Pa what he would do. The response is (paraphrasing here) I would just keep on being me. So, maybe I think I would do something extraordinary because I knew that my time was limited, but in reality, I think I would just keep doing what I'm already doing. Maybe we all would.
Matthew 7:17-18
Maybe this is a stretch, but I see something similar in Jesus Christ's words in Matthew 7:17-18. In this passage He uses the metaphor of good fruit can only come from a good, or healthy, tree. So, the kind of person you are dictates the kind of behaviors you produce. Maybe looking at what we do, and how others perceive us can help us understand what kind of person we truly are.
But then what? Suppose you don't like what you see? How do you turn off being someone you hate and begin to be someone you love?
An Imperfect Equation
James 1:23 reminds us that when we see ourselves we can remember who we are (or maybe who we want to be) by doing the things that someone we want to be like would do. It's not a perfect equation. I think it's a cycle of doing good, that helps you become a little better, maybe a little bit wiser or more caring. Then, you live out your newfound heart or values and grow a little more.
As much as I love the doctrines of the Bible, I've come to realize that it's the stories that really seem to move the needle on becoming a new creation. Trying to force yourself to believe something doesn't work. Living out a faith that sacrifices reinforces the core story of Christianity and creates a living doctrine of who Christ is and what He has done for us.
Now, we get to be stories too. We get to live in a way that we would continue to live, even if we know total destruction is coming.
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