Theology and the Marvel Universe

Gregory Stevenson is professor of New Testament at Rochester University.

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!”

• 1 What Did It Cost? Sacrifice and Kenosis in The Infinity SagaKristen Leigh Mitchell2 “I Was Never the Hero that You Wanted Me to Be”: The Ethics of Self-Sacrifice and Self-Preservation in Jessica JonesTaylor J. Ott3 Mythology, Mimesis, and Apocalypse in Jonathan Hickman’s AvengersMatthew Brake4 “Because You Exist”: Biblical Literature and Violence in the X-Men Comic BooksDan W. Clanton, Jr.5 The Gospel According to Thanos: Violence, Utopia, and the Case for a Material TheologyTim Posada6 “Those Are the Ancestors You Hear”: Marvel’s Luke Cage and Franz Rosenzweig’s Theology of the CreationLevi Morrow7 Spider-Man and the Theology of WeaknessGregory Stevenson8 Of Venom & Virtue: Venom as Insight into Issues of Identity, the Human Condition, and VirtueJeremy E. Scarbrough9 Matt Murdock’s Ill-fitting Catholic Faith in Netflix’s DaredevilDaniel D. Clark10 Gods upon Gods: Hierarchies of Divinity in the Marvel UniverseAus