While there have been several reverences to the parallels between Superman and Jesus in the new Bryan Singer film, AsiaPundit was unaware of previously existing claims that the hero is based on the Hindu deity Hanuman.

Manish points to this passage in an IndiaFM article .:

So what do you think is India’s connection to probably the most popular super-hero the world has ever seen? Word is that, that the original creators Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel were inspired from none other than the Indian mythological hero Hanuman and that is how Superman got his flying powers. But that is not all; India too has had her share of the ‘Man of Steel’.

The above photo taken from the 1978 Indian Superman film, a clip of which is available here (tedious, but with a great ’special effect’ near the end).

Technorati Tags: asia, india, playboy, south asia