It is generally accepted that Superman is a Christ figure. Kal-El was sent by his father, from the heavens, to Earth, where he displays superhuman powers. He uses these powers to save people and fight evil. While this salvation is from physical danger, more recent adaptations, particularly the television Smallville and the film Man of […]
How Superman’s mother can remind us of Our Lady of Sorrows Read More »
Since 2008, no other superhero has commanded as much attention or authority as Iron Man. Portrayed by Robert Downey Jr, the Armored Avenger has been the face of the Marvel Cinematic Universe from the beginning. What is most fascinating about Tony Stark is his character development. He goes from a selfish and greedy business man
How the ‘Superior Iron Man’ series warns us about immoral use of technology Read More »
Shootings, road rage and multi-generational feuds. Tifts that play “tit for tat”. These are actions frequently fueled by a flawed trait of our now-fallen human nature. It illustrates our tendency toward revenge. Vengeance taken out on those who annoy or attack us is an instance in which we permit our anger to dominate our reasoning.
Black Panther, the Avengers and the consuming power of vengeance Read More »
Recently I was able to ask Tom Gould, creator and artist of “Tomics Comics” about the inspiration for his work and the role of humor in evangelization. If you haven’t seen his work, check it out through the links at the bottom of this article. How did you get into creating Catholic comic strips? I
‘Tomics’ creator shares his thoughts on humor, comics and the Catholic faith Read More »
We have heard it said, “If something looks too good to be true, it probably is.” Life experience has taught me the truth of the saying. When I was young, the back pages of comic books were slathered with ads for all sorts of amazing things like x-ray glasses and sea monkeys. In reality, the
How Amazon’s superhero series ‘The Boys’ twists reality and lifts up a corrupted world Read More »
Recently I was able to ask Marvel Comics veteran Jim Fern a range of questions about his comic book career as well as his deep Catholic Faith. Before getting into the questions, here is a short introduction. Most recently, Jim Fern was the Continuity Art Director for Issue 1 of Finnian and the Seven Mountains
While the fight for truth and justice always has spiritual implications, many stories from the DC and Marvel universes do not depict specifically religious practices. We rarely know whether a superhero attends any religious service or has any particular devotional life. However, when Christian faith is depicted, it is usually shown in a surprisingly liturgical
Why comic book artists rely on Catholic symbols to portray religion Read More »
In the 1990s, Marvel produced X-Men: The Animated Series and it was a ground-breaking series on a number of levels. For example, in season 3, episode 18, a Catholic mutant known as Nightcrawler encounters a small group of the X-Men, including Wolverine. The X-Men find refuge in the monastery where Nightcrawler is living and what happens
Watch Nightcrawler help Wolverine reconcile with God in “X-Men: The Animated Series” Read More »
Marvel’s Nightcrawler provides readers a character possessing an amazing ability to jump across the space-continuum. Born as Kurt Wagner, Nightcrawler is a mutant with an interesting lineage. His mother is the villain Mystique and his father Azazel is a demon general. Despite his family, Nightcrawler ends up being a devout Catholic. My favorite Nightcrawler scene
3 Lessons Nightcrawler’s mutant powers can teach us about faith Read More »
The very act of naming is an important, identifying, and often transformative act in many biblical instances. Adam, the first man, was called to allot names to all of his fellow creatures, the works of God in the first week of creation. In Genesis 2:20, we read, “The man gave names to all the tame
The spiritual significance of a name change in comics and the Bible Read More »
