For nearly 70 years, Superman has been an enduring symbol of "truth, justice, and the American way," as well as one of the most lucrative comic franchises in history, with legions of action figures, apparel, cartoons, movies and TV series, including the long-running show 'Smallville.' On June 28, we will once again believe that a man can fly, as the movie 'Superman Returns' speeds across movie theatres around the country. But in a growing "fictional" universe of humans with mutant powers, why do we still love and need the fictional, multi-tasking, multi-personality alien from a doomed world? Why have a "Superman" when there are so many others who might be able to do the same thing? Superman's astrological chart might give us a clue to the continued relevance of the world's first superhero.
Superman first landed on the scene as a nationally distributed comic in the early part of June 1938. We're not sure of the exact date, but we could go with June 1. This means that Superman's a Gemini. Of course, most people tend to think he's a fire sign (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius), with the heat vision and the bright red cape. But his Gemini sun sign makes sense, if you think that Superman has at least three identities: Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter; Superman, Man of Steel; and Kal-El, son of Jor-El -- the last son of Krypton, his native home. Also, as he has X-ray vision and is a reporter on the lookout for a scoop, Gemini -- which rules fact-finding and writing -- makes sense. But with three different identities, how can Superman be a symbol of truth?
This gets to the essence of Gemini. Gemini is ruled by the planet Mercury. Mercury, the Roman god, was the messenger of the gods and a cunning trickster and thief. As a messenger, Mercury revealed the hidden will of the gods so humans could prosper. However, he never did so directly. According to myth, he operated at multiple levels, including deceit and theft, in order to fulfill his missions. Gemini (and Superman) capture Mercury's dilemma beautifully.
Gemini know in their bones that life is a game to be played and enjoyed. This is why they love communicating and playing with information. Unfortunately, Gemini sometimes forgets the goal of the game and plays hazardously without thinking about the consequences, especially the emotionally charged ones. The key challenge for Gemini is to play the game of life while understanding and properly assessing the consequences. This is especially true for Superman.
As Superman, Kal-El fulfills his biological father's directive to keep his only son's adopted planetary home from ending up like his original one, Krypton. Also, considering the mythology involved with Gemini, it's interesting to note that Superman's biological father's name, Jor-El, seems close to the name of the Roman god Jove (or Jupiter), who is Mercury's father. However, before he learned his mission, Kal-El spent his early years thinking he was only Clark Kent, the adopted son of Martha and Jonathan Kent. His Earth name is another Gemini combination of his mother's maiden name, Clark, and his father's surname. It seems that Superman has had the difficult job of fusing identities his whole life, much like someone born under Gemini -- the sign of the Twins -- may feel.
Now, as an adult, Kal-El juggles his three identities to fulfill his mission and keep his sanity. Clark Kent gets the scoop on the how and where for Superman's adventures and allows Kal-El, the only one of his kind, to experience a life with friends and family. Of course, there's the thorny issue that everyone thinks that Clark Kent is a bungler. If his friends and even his enemies knew who he was, there would be serious consequences and questions about Clark's and Superman's integrity. However, this is the risk and sacrifice that Kal-El must make as a Gemini to stay in the game. If he didn't, the game would be over … for everybody.
