ðə fˈɜːst sˈɛntəns ʌvðə bˈʊk ɹᵻvˈiːlz wˈaɪnstaɪnz ˈɪntɹɛst ɪnðə lˈɪŋk bᵻtwˌiːn pˈɑːpjʊlɚ sˈuːpɚhˌiəɹoʊz ænd dʒˈuːɪʃ tɹɐdˈɪʃən: "bᵻfˌoːɹ sˈuːpɚmˌæn, bˈætmæn, ænd spˈaɪdɚmˈæn, ðɛɹwˌɜː ðə sˈuːpɚpˌeɪtɹɪˌɑːɹkz ænd sˈuːpɚmˌeɪtɹɪˌɑːɹkz ʌvðə bˈaɪbəl ænd hɪɹˈoʊɪk fˈɪɡjɚz nˈeɪmd mˈoʊsᵻz, ˈɛɹən, dʒˈɑːʃjuːə, dˈeɪvɪd ænd sˈæmsən nˌɑːt tə mˈɛnʃən ðə mˈɪɹəkəlwˈɜːkɪŋ pɹˈɑːfɪt ᵻlˈaɪdʒə ænd ðoʊz dʒˈuːɪʃ wˈʌndɚwˌɪmɪn ɹˈuːθ ænd ˈɛstɚ dʒˈʌst tə nˈeɪm ɐ fjˈuː.
The first sentence of the book reveals Weinstein's interest in the link between popular superheroes and Jewish tradition: "Before Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man, there were the superpatriarchs and supermatriarchs of the Bible and heroic figures named Moses, Aaron, Joshua, David and Samson – not to mention the miracle-working prophet Elijah and those Jewish wonderwomen Ruth and Esther just to name a few.