is significant is that Siegel, working in the generally patronized medium of the comics, had created a secular American messiah. Nothing of the kind was consciously on his mind, apparently: his explanation for dropping Superman down from the sky was that "it just happened that way."And Shuster echoed him: "We just thought it was a good idea."" Superman stories have occasionally exhibited Christian themes as well. Screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz consciously made Superman an allegory for Jesus Christ in the 1978 movie starring Christopher Reeve: baby Kal-El's ship resembles the Star of Bethlehem, and Jor-El gives his son a messianic mission to lead humanity into a brighter future. This messianic theme was revisited in the 2013 movie Man of Steel, wherein Jor-El asks Superman to redeem the Kryptonian race, which corrupted itself through eugenics, by guiding humanity down a wiser path. See also List of Superman supporting characters List of DC animated universe characters List of DC Comics characters Kryptonian Footnotes Bibliography Reprinted in Comics Values Monthly Superman Memorial Issue'' (1992) and Further reading External links Golden Age , Silver Age and Modern Age Superman at the Comic book database Superman on IMDb 1938 comics debuts 1938 establishments in the United States American culture Characters created by Jerry Siegel Characters created by Joe Shuster Comics adapted into animated series Comics adapted into plays Comics adapted into radio series Comics adapted into television series Comics characters introduced in 1938 DC Comics adapted into films DC Comics adapted into video games DC Comics American superheroes DC Comics aliens DC Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds DC Comics characters with accelerated healing DC Comics characters with superhuman senses DC Comics characters with superhuman strength DC Comics extraterrestrial superheroes DC Comics film characters DC Comics male superheroes DC Comics television characters DC Comics orphans Fictional characters from Kansas Fictional characters with slowed ageing Fictional characters with X-ray vision Fictional characters with nuclear or radiation abilities Fictional characters with air or wind abilities Fictional characters with ice or cold abilities Fictional characters with absorption or parasitic abilities Fictional characters with energy-manipulation abilities Fictional characters with fire or heat abilities Fictional characters who can manipulate sound Fictional characters with eidetic memory Fictional characters with density control abilities Fictional characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability Fictional extraterrestrial humanoids Fictional immigrants to the United States Fictional refugees Fictional reporters Fictional sole survivors Fighting game characters Film serial