Theology and the Marvel Universe

by Gregory Stevenson Rochester University (Editor), Gregory Stevenson Rochester University (Contribution by), Matthew William Brake (Contribution by), Dan W. Clanton Jr. Doane University (Contribution by), Daniel D. Clark (Contribution by)

Overview

In Theology and the Marvel Universe, fourteen contributors examine theological themes and ideas in the comic books, television shows, and films that make up the grand narrative of the Marvel Universe. Engaging in dialogue with theological thinkers such as Willie James Jennings, Franz Rosenzweig, Søren Kierkegaard, René Girard, Kelly Brown Douglas, and many others, the chapters explore a wide variety of topics, including violence, sacrifice, colonialism, Israeli-Palestinian relations, virtue ethics, character formation, identity formation, and mythic reinvention. This book demonstrates that the stories of Thor, Daredevil, Sabra, Spider-Man, Jessica Jones, Thanos, Luke Cage, and others engage not just our imagination, but our theological imagination as well.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781978706156
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	11/22/2019
Series:	Theology, Religion, and Pop Culture
Pages:	278
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Gregory Stevenson is professor of New Testament at Rochester University.

Table of Contents

1 What Did It Cost? Sacrifice and Kenosis in The Infinity Saga

Kristen Leigh Mitchell

2 “I Was Never the Hero that You Wanted Me to Be”: The Ethics of Self-Sacrifice and Self-Preservation in Jessica Jones

Taylor J. Ott

3 Mythology, Mimesis, and Apocalypse in Jonathan Hickman’s Avengers

Matthew Brake

4 “Because You Exist”: Biblical Literature and Violence in the X-Men Comic Books

Dan W. Clanton, Jr.

5 The Gospel According to Thanos: Violence, Utopia, and the Case for a Material Theology

Tim Posada

6 “Those Are the Ancestors You Hear”: Marvel’s Luke Cage and Franz Rosenzweig’s Theology of the Creation

Levi Morrow

7 Spider-Man and the Theology of Weakness

Gregory Stevenson

8 Of Venom & Virtue: Venom as Insight into Issues of Identity, the Human Condition, and Virtue

Jeremy E. Scarbrough

9 Matt Murdock’s Ill-fitting Catholic Faith in Netflix’s Daredevil

Daniel D. Clark


10 Gods upon Gods: Hierarchies of Divinity in the Marvel Universe

Austin M. Freeman

11 The Thor Movies and the “Available” Myth: Mythic Reinvention in Marvel Movies

Andrew Tobolowsky

12 Thor: Ragnarok, Postcolonial Theology, and Life Together

Kevin Nye

13 Savage Monster or Grieving Mother? Sabra and Marvel’s Political Theology of Reconciliation in Israel-Palestine

Amanda Furiasse

14 Modern Re-enchantment and Dr. Strange: Pentecostal Analogies, the Spirit of the Multiverse, and the Play on Time and Eternity

Andrew D. Thrasher

Editorial Reviews

One of the most striking features of this edited collection is the variety of topics discussed by the fourteen essays that comprise the volume. Theology and the Marvel Universe also succeeds at promoting perspectives and analytic approaches not often reflected within the dominant theological traditions represented by the collection. There is plenty of room for all kinds of readers; this work invites its audience into further conversations to broaden their horizons. Consequently, there might be no better description of its theme than the words of Stan “the Man” Lee himself: “Excelsior, true believer!”

Reading Religion

Not too many books on superheroes do justice to the Marvel Universe of characters and stories from a biblical-theological vantage point—this study is a refreshing exception. The contributors dive deeply into the heroes and their myths without attempting to impose theological elements that are not already latently there. This collection of studies brings to light spiritual, religious, and moral truths implicit, and sometimes explicit, in the superhero films and graphic novels, and it engages both relevant and up-to-date sources. This book is worthy of recommendation for courses focusing on film, heroes, theology, or popular culture.

B. J. Oropeza

Assemble, true believers, and behold! Theology and the Marvel Universe reveals what Uatu the Watcher has long witnessed: Superhero stories are wholesome entertainments capable of inspiring reflection even upon the essence of the divine and our relationship with it. From the sanctity of life to suffering and sacrifice; from temptation to redemption; from humility to zealotry; from service to stewardship; from struggling with personal faith to confronting historical injustice; from dealing with bodies to caring for souls; from issues of identity and problems of personhood to surveying the celestial order; from source criticism to supernatural forces; from creation all the way to apocalypse—this good book offers confirmation and testimony that Marvel comics, movies, and television series are sources worthy of scholarly attention and enthusiastic affection.

Travis Smith

Greg Stevenson has gathered a generically and methodologically wide-ranging assortment of essays for this collection. It will undoubtedly be of great interest to scholars and students working at the nexus of pop culture and theology.

Ben Saunders