Bruce Feiler has a great new book out called "America's Prophet." In it, he explains how Moses has promoted American ideals for centuries. From Herman Melville to Woodrow Wilson, Roosevelt, and Brigham Young, he provided a narrative for escaping oppression.
He explains an influential use of Moses in pro-American propaganda through the comic book hero Superman. Siegel and Schuster, submitting Action Comics #1 under the pseudonym of Bernard J. Kenton, were Jewish kids channeling their religious anxieties through comic books. Borrowing from Greek mythology, Arthurian legend, science fiction, and Edgar Rice Burroughs, principal themes are drawn from the Old Testament with a backstory almost point by point:
1.) Moses born into a world where people faced annihilation; Krypton faced extinction;
2.) Baby Moses is put into a small basket and floated down the Nile by his mother; Kal-El is put into a rocket ship and sent to Earth;
3.) Moses is rescued by a daughter of the pharaoh; Kal-El is rescued by Martha and Jonathan Kent;
4.) Like Moses, Superman is raised in an alien environment where he must conceal his true identity;
5.) Moses receives a calling from God to use his powers to liberate his people from tyranny; young Clark discovers the green crystal in the shed in Smallville, it "calls" to him and his trek north. The crystal creates his home where he learns who he is and receives direction/wisdom from Jor-El where “the son becomes the father; the father the son”. He uses his powers to assist humanity.
Feiler goes on to report that Superman’s name reflects his creators’ biblical knowledge. Moses is the leader of Israel
