"Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Look, up in the sky, it's a bird, it's a plane, it's Superman!
It is Superman, the strange visitor from another planet who came down to earth with great powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men. Superman, who can change the direction of mighty rivers, bend steel in his bare hands, and who, disguised as Clark Kent, a mild-mannered reporter for a Metropolitan newspaper, fights a never-ending battle for Truth, Justice, and the American Way".
Many TV viewers are familiar with this affirmation to the American superhero known as Superman, another DC comic book character. However, for the Afrikan child, it has not been possible to visualize himself as a Caucasian super-hero, but the rich racial and cultural Black heritage should not be abandoned.
This chapter shows that the origins of the Eurocentric Super-man were based on the Black Afrikan Superman who goes by many names and adventures on the Afrikan continent. Heru, the original Afrikan Superman, is the prototype of all American superheroes portrayed in comic books. Heru was the first superman concept which originated in the Afrikan mind and preceded the European formation of a superman by thousands of years.
Here is a comparison between Heru and DC's Superman.
1. Heru's powers come from the sun because he is an aspect of the sun (Ra), the Supreme God of his parents Auset and Asar who are the sun. Superman as a Kryptonian gets his power from the yellow sun of the earth.
2. Heru comes from an advanced civilization of deities, who as an infant came from the spiritual realm of Egypt to earth with his mother Auset to escape destruction. Superman, as an infant, comes from the advanced civilization of Krypton to earth, also to escape destruction.
3. Heru is Egyptian in origin from which the Greek names Hero, Horus, and Heracles originated. Heru is the Egyptian Heracles and later the Greek Heracles according to ancient Egyptian and also Greek tradition.
4. Heru as a child was called Har-Pa-Krates. Superman as a child name is called Kalel and Clark Kent.
5. Heru lost his father. Superman lost his parents.
6. Heru possesses the Divine Strength, Power, Might, Courage, and Endurance of a Solar God. Superman possesses the superhuman strength, power, courage, and stamina of a Kryptonian energized by the sun.
7. Heru, the Golden Falcon/Solar Hawk or the Winged Solar Disc is able to fly to and from anywhere at supernatural speeds. Superman can fly through the air faster than the speed of light.
8. Heru can change the course of mighty rivers, so can Superman.
9. Heru died and was resurrected from the dead twice, as Asar (Osiris) and as an infant. Superman also died and was resurrected from the dead.
10. Heru fights the never-ending battle for Maat, which is Truth, Justice, and Righteousness. Superman fights for Truth, Justice, and the American Way.
11. Heru's archrival is Set better known in Hebrew as Satan the god of evil. Superman's arch-rival is Lex Luthor, a supervillain.
12. Heru is an angel of God or Amon-Ra called a Neter in Egyptian theology, which is the original Kalel. Superman is called the angel Kalel.
13. Heru possesses the All-Seeing Eye of Atum-Ra, God, which is an aspect of his mother Auset which gives him omniscience and solar heat vision. Superman has x-ray vision, telescopic vision, and heat vision.
14. Heru is of the House of God, Atum-Ra. Superman is of the House of EL, God.
15. Heru's father is Asar - Yah, Osiris, Jah, Yahweh. Superman's father is Jor-El, an angelic name.
16. Both are monster-slayers and crime fighters.
17. Heru is a Leo and Superman is also a Leo.
18. Heru is the Man of Steel and Superman is also the Man of Steel.
To sum up, DC's Superman uses x-ray vision, heat vision and telescopic vision to defeat criminals. Heru possesses the All-Seeing Eye of Atum-Ra or God, which is a form of his mother Isis that represents Wisdom, Elohim, or the Holy Spirit. This divine eye is omniscient and can burn any object with lightning and fire. The eye becomes the wrathful eye of the Word of God which appears like a flame of fire. Heru can see all things with his eyes.
THE AMERICAN SUPER GIRL: AFRIKAN CONCEPTS
The American Supergirl of DC Comics is the popular blonde, blue-eyed super heroine who embodies the Eurocentric principle of womanhood that is promoted in Euro-America through its movies, television, magazines, science fiction, and fantasy novels. However, most people in the Euro-American and Black-American communities are not aware that the ancient Afrikan goddess Auset (Isis) of Kemet is the prototype for this American Supergirl.
In other words, whatever is written or said about Supergirl has already been written about the goddess Auset, thousands of years ago. It can be shown that Supergirl was Afrikan, starting with this comparison that outlines the two heroic figures known as Auset and Supergirl.
(1) Both use the name KARA.
(2) Auset lives in the Ark, Argha, or Argo. Supergirl is from Argo City.
(3) Both can travel through and from inner space or the etheric realm of the deep watery inside of an Egg.
(4) Both rise up from a Lotus out of the watery deep.
(5) Both heroines fight against and defeat the Shadow sometimes known as Set, Satan or the Dragon.
(6) Both use lightning as a weapon against the Shadow.
(7) Both have powers from the sun, though Auset is described as being the sun.
(8) Both are Angels of Fire and have wings of fire which they use as a weapon.
(9) Both have supernatural powers such as travelling through the air at enormous speeds, invulnerability, omniscience, and goddess-like strength.
(10) They are called Matrix.
(11) They are famous for their physical beauty, wisdom, and love.
(12) They both revive men from a death-like state.
(13) Both are on a quest to find something that was lost.
(14) Auset casts Set, the Shadow down into the bottomless pit whereas Supergirl casts the Shadow into the Phantom Zone.
(15) They both have secret identities when among humans.
(16) Auset is Maat which means Truth, Justice, and Righteousness whereas Supergirl fights for Truth, Justice, and the American Way.
(17) Both Auset and Supergirl are recognized as the Shekhina, the Female Glory and Power of God.
From this list it is clear that both Auset and Supergirl show a little more than a coincidental resemblance to each other. Auset, the predecessor of Supergirl by thousands of years, was worshipped by the name Kara, and in modern times Supergirl uses the same name. Kara was the name used to describe the diverse forms or aspects of the Supreme Father-Mother God- Ra or Atum-Ra in the ancient Egyptian religion.
In the comic book world, D C's Supergirl has manifested as three major incarnations which are important to be aware of as the comparison between her and her predecessor Auset (Isis) is examined.
This avatar Supergirl the Kryptonian and Auset have the following powers:
(a) X-ray vision
(b) Telescopic vision
(c) Heat vision
(d) Invulnerability to practically anything except some type of kryptonite and magic.
(e) Super speed of movement.
(f) The ability to fly through the heavens at speeds beyond the speed of light so that she can travel through time.
(g) Super breath that can put out fires, freeze or shatter objects, move objects etc.
(h) Super-senses such as hearing, touch, smell, taste etc.
(i) No form of physical aging, sickness, etc.
This Supergirl had been travelling through time when she encountered Red Kryptonite, and its radiation separated her good personality from her evil personality. The good (angelic) Supergirl fought against and defeated her evil side named Satan-Girl, and also a similar evil form named Night Flame. As a result, Supergirl, now purified of all evil, was considered by some writers as an angel.
The second avatar of Supergirl was Matrix. In an alternate universe, a compassionate Lex Luthor created Matrix as a type of Supergirl to stop three Kryptonian super criminals. She defeated them but was so devastated by the experience that Superman brought her to the earth in the universe where he lived so she could rejuvenate. She was also called Mae, a synthetic life form that has shape-changing abilities, invisibility, telekinesis, and the personality of Lana Lang.
Thousands of years ago, Auset (Isis) was known as the original Angel of Fire, Matrix, Shekhina, and Trinity of God. Auset was also known throughout the civilized world as the MATRIX (God the Mother) which is the Womb, Matter, and Mother within, from which everything is formed and created. Matrix (Auset) is the model of the universe, and this is why in her form as Nut, she is shown as the universe, a beautiful Black woman stretched across the ether as if she is flying while her body is covered with the infinite stars and galaxies of space-time.
Auset (Isis) is the prototype of the powers attributed to Supergirl whose x-ray, telescopic and heat visions were already conceptualized in ancient Kemet by The All-Seeing Eye of God who is Auset herself. As the All-Seeing Eye of God, the Eye Goddess (Het-Heru, Sekhmet) has omniscience to see into the nature of all things, even through time and space.
Auset, using the power of her Words, has control over nature which is the same source for the idea of telekinesis used by the angel Supergirl. Auset used her heat vision to burn up evil doers on earth who had overcome the good people of earth as depicted in the story about Het-Heru who came to earth as the Eye of God called Sekhmet. This Eye of God is the protective power of Hercules, which also parallels the story of Superman.
In Supergirl the movie, the superheroine battles against the Shadow, Set-Satan, the Dragon. Black Afrikans of Cush and Kemet celebrated stories more than two thousand years ago about Auset (Isis) who fought against Set, the god of evil to the death which always ends with Auset destroying him.
In her first encounter with Set she was pregnant with her son Heru. Set changed his form to that of a dragon and chased her across the skies. She developed wings as Isis to escape him, and when he tried to burn her with fire from his mouth or drown her in noxious waters that he vomited up; Auset saved herself by causing the earth to open up and swallow those deadly attacks. Finally she was able to turn her hair into bamboo papyrus reeds and create an island of shoots so Set could not find her. From that time, the tables were turned and Auset and her son teamed up to destroy the beast.
In the movie, Supergirl casts the Shadow, Serena the Evil Witch, and her friend, a female False Prophet into the Phantom Zone which is the Bottomless Pit. Supergirl is an angel who comes from heaven, and the magic mirror is the key through which she sends the evil ones into the pit, after which she makes sure it is shattered before repairing it.
The ancient belief among most cultures is that the mirror, a symbol of Female power, could capture the reflected soul of a person in it, and once a person has trapped an adversary's soul in the mirror, it is shattered so that the adversary dies, and repairing the mirror seals them into the watery abyss. The mirror in the shape of the Egyptian Ankh is a symbol of the powers of Life and the Watery Abyss. The latter is the place of shadows or the bottomless pit. The ankh, which is the key of life and death, was later changed into the mirror of Venus.
It is fitting to bring up this historical figure, Heru-Maat-Kara, who is a Black woman that represented the Afrikan Supergirl of Kemet. Her life typifies the attributes of Auset (Isis) the legendary super heroine.
How many are aware that the American Hercules Myth which is very strong within American society based on the abundance of magazines, comics, paperback editions, television series and movies that have been coming off the presses each year for the past 70 years of America's history, has its roots in the ancient Afrikan concept that was transferred to Europe and has become a part of the American psyche.
© John Moore - Barbados, W.I. (March 2000) ©. All rights reserved.