5 Milestones In The Story Of Superman

Not very many people know this, but the plot of the original Action Comics story of Superman, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, was eerily similar to the nonfiction “story” of the life of Jesus Christ. When you compare the story of Superman with the life of Jesus, you can see the similarities.

Last week, I wrote about how good fiction writers develop stories by building five milestones into the plot of every story. Here are the five milestones and where they can be found in the stories of Superman and Jesus:

1. Milestone 1: The Introduction – Introduces the main characters and provides important background information about them. It also sets the scene for the rest of the story, including which one of the characters is going to end

Jesus replied to his mother that He was not yet ready to begin his public life. She ignored His comment and turned to the servants and told them to “do whatever He tells you.” Jesus then proceeded to turn water into wine, which forced Him into the public light. After that, nothing was ever the same for Him.

3. Milestone 3: The Perilous Event – An event that occurs that causes the hero to end up in such a perilous situation that you wonder whether the hero is going to survive.

Superman – The perilous event occurred when Lex Luther exposed Superman to Kryptonite, the only substance that could kill him. At that point, one had to wonder if and how Superman was going to make it.

Jesus – The perilous event occurred when Jesus was arrested by the Temple guards of the Sanhedrin in the Garden of Gethsemane. He was later brought before Pontius Pilate who had no intention of going along with the chief priests’ plan to execute Him. In order to teach Jesus a lesson, Pilot allowed the people who had arrested Him to tie Him to a pillar and brutally whip Him until His bruised and torn flesh was bleeding. Then they pounded a crown of sharp thorns into His head and mocked Him as a

That’s why every human being loves a story that includes the formula for the hero’s journey. And that’s why good fiction writers will always be able to capture the hearts and minds of their readers when they use the same formula that was devised by God when He allowed His Son to come to Earth to save mankind.

If you look deeply into the life of any saint, you will find the five milestones of the hero’s journey. If I had the time and space, I could lay out for you the introduction, the inciting incident, the perilous event, the light at the end of the tunnel, and the awesome climax that took place during and after the lives of each of the saints, including St. John Paul, II, St. Teresa of Calcutta, St. Thomas Aquinas, and St. Maximillian Kolbe.

The only way you and I can live the true hero’s journey that God planned for us is to always remain in the state of grace and to live our lives as devout Catholics who have a burning desire to develop a greater love for God, while serving others by performing the Corporal and Spiritual Works of