Theology and the Marvel Universe

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, editor of The Gospel According to Superheroes: Religion and Popular Culture 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, author of Do The Gods Wear Capes? 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, Concordia University

Gregory Stevenson is professor of New Testament at Rochester University.

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 Hickmans 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: Marvels Luke Cage and Franz Rosenzweigs 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 Murdocks Ill-fitting Catholic Faith in Netflixs 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 Marvels 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