Steve Skelton–an author and minister–has been going around telling anyone who’ll listen that Superman is a Christ figure. He’s got a good point, what with the whole “only son sent to earth as a savior” angle. Now The Advocate tells us that the Man of Steel might be gay, or at least is an icon to gay people, what with his closeted secret identity and all.

Can both these be true? Wouldn’t that make our supreme comic-book hero–gasp–a gay Christ figure?

Before making up your minds, consider these other factors: Superman might also be a Methodist, a Moses figure, a Jewish golem, or a twist on Nietzsche’s ubermensch. And Bryan Singer, the director of “Superman Returns”–himself gay (and Jewish)–has called the hero “the most heterosexual character” in all his films.

Sounds to me like the Man From Krypton may be having an extended identity crisis that’s leaving him unsure of his own religious leanings, religious/allegorical allusions, and sexual preferences. Maybe some super-counseling–or a turn at our Belief-o-Matic quiz–can help him sort out who he really is.