id inside each of us has unwavering admiration for our favorite superheroes. These enforcers of justice and goodness make for ideal role models. An essential ingredient in these characters is their backgrounds, the intricate culmination of factors beginning from childhood that ultimately led to embracing their hero destiny. You probably know, for instance, that Superman was born on Krypton, raised in Kansas, and adopted by the Kents. But have you ever wondered how Superman spends his Sundays? Superman is a Methodist. Who knew?Adherents.com has produced a carefully constructed list of comic book characters and their religious affiliations. They based their labels on sometimes subtle, sometimes direct references within comic books and surrounding comic book mythology.
They’ve compiled an impressive list. Some highlights: The Hulk and Hellboy are Catholics. Atom Smasher and The Thing are Jewish. Batman is Episcopalian. Wolverine and Green Arrow are Buddhist. Thunderbird is Hindu. The Wonder Twins are LDS. The full list (with nifty graphics and detailed explanations) can be found HERE.
It’s an interesting list, but it doesn’t change the fact that religion is swept under the rug in most popular comics. A conference was held at Boston University in 2008 called Graven Images: Religion in Comic Books and Graphic Novels Conference. The mission of this conference was to discuss both purposefully religious comic books as well as less obvious instances of religion in mainstream comic books.
James Stur
m is one religious comic book author who contributed to the Graven Images Conference. He pointed to Charles Schultz’ “Peanuts” as an unlikely source of inspiration for his religious-themed comics. In his opinion, Schultz’ was a pessimist. Sturm said, “The idea of having faith and kind of being let down by it - the whole Charlie Brown always trying to kick the football thing and it always getting pulled out from under him - has come to play a big part in a lot of my own work.”Sturm blamed retailer bias for the lack of religion in comics. He said, “In the comic book store, the superhero is the god of choice. Occasionally, in mainstream superhero comics, you’ll see a superhero enter some sort of a generic, non-denominational church in a moment of crisis for spiritual encouragement, and the main inspiration they take away from that is usually, ‘Okay, now I can go beat up the villain!’”
Retailers may not be entirely to blame, however. In the 1989 Comics Code drafted by the Comics Magazine Association of America, there were blatant restrictions on the presence of religion in comics.
But by excluding religion from comic books, authors may have missed out on an opportunity to more fully develop their superheroes. The Adherents.com website suggests, “How many characters would be more interesting, have added depth, and simply be better than they are if we knew a little bit about their religious affiliation - whether they tend toward belief or disbelief, orthodoxy or apostasy?”
Elliot S. Maggin, longtime Superman writer said, “I give all my characters religions. I think I always have. It's part of the backstory. It's part of the process of getting to know a character well enough to write about him or her. Jimmy Olson is Lutheran. Lois is Catholic… Luthor is Jewish, though non-observant, thank heaven.”
So here’s the question: Is the religious background of comic book characters important, and more broadly, does religion have a place in comic books at all?
I personally think that yes, if villians and superheroes were given a religious background, it would give them a more real and human characteristic. When people are able to learn more about a person and their personal beliefs, they become more personable and interesting. Of course, most comics are purely for fun and entertainment. But, life lessons can be learned from their stories and motifs. Beliefs in God and Heaven can add more depth to the stories, and may explain some of their actions. And, because of the uncountable differences between all religions, it could also be a learning and growing factor for the readers. It could raise more awareness about the diversity that we are surrounded by.
ReplyDeleteI think religion has a place in comic books. It’s frustrating when we see people try and compartmentalize their lives. A sincere believer can’t just be religious on Sunday, those beliefs permeate their lives and every day decisions. Religion alone doesn’t necessarily define a person, but it’s sure a big part of the equation. It’s the basis for their value system and priorities. Knowing Clark Kent’s religious background would sure help to explain why Superman stands for truth, justice, and the American way.
ReplyDeleteAn over-riding theme of comic books is good versus evil. It’s interesting to think that if there was no God, good and evil would not exist – right and wrong would not exist. All of these comic book heroes are motivated by something deep inside of them that tells them what is right and wrong – motivates them to do and be good. Whether their religion is associated with a specific denomination or not, it’s obvious that all these do-gooders are very religious.
Although I think that religions could plan an interesting in comic books, I think that religion is not blatantly expressed in comic books for a good reason. Part of the dilemma with this issue is the questions as to who gets represented as what and why. If I have a villain who is Catholic and a hero who is Hindu, am I making a statement about one or both of these religions? By bringing this aspect of religion into comics, I think that it will be less compelling and possibly more offensive to readers who might be of the same faith as a character in the comic.
ReplyDeleteJust as with TV, people are fine with religious ideas and motifs, but once a specific religion is mentioned, they no longer approve. Comic have always been about good vs. evil. That is essentially the core reason we have superheroes, to fight evil. Readers like this because they see their heroes representing good, and they can be proud of their hero. But when you place a denomination on heroes, you are essentially saying that the good in the hero came from the religion, not necessarily the heroes themselves.
Comic books should not include religion. Sure there can be religious themes and archetypes, but assigning denominations is a not a good idea in my opinion. I think if having religious superheroes was such a good idea, then writers would have made comic book heroes religiously involved long ago.
I agree with Chris. Yes, giving superheroes a religion would give them another demension and perhaps a little more depth. However, I think if a superhero's religion were to be made a prominent part of his character he (or she) could be made a representative for that religion. The greatest appeal about superheroes is their universality--anyone can look up to them and relate to them. However, pinning them to a specific religion limits their appeal.
ReplyDeleteKnowing that superheroes have religions is certainly good background information to help comic-book writers develop and understand each hero's character, but their religious background should be mostly left out of the comic content. Such information is largely irrelevant and distracting from the main goal of comic books: to entertain.
I fall in between Chris' comments and the previous comments. I see his point that pitting religious heroes v. religious villains could be interpreted as putting religions against one another. It can even be seen as demonizing certain religions. But I also think it could provide some interesting depth to the story line and character development. I personally wouldn't want to make it a big part of the story, but think it could bring something more to a plot. It just needs to be done tastefully and appropriately.
ReplyDeleteAndrew Van Wagenen
ReplyDeleteFirst things first, i never would have made it through adolescence without comic books, so THANK YOU for doing this post.
Yes, religion does have a place in comic books. And to be honest, just as Elliot S. Maggin mentioned he added a religion aspect to his characters i'm almost certain most, if not all, comic book writers include or consider religious affiliation when creating their characters.
You gotta understand when DC comics first became popular in the early part of the twentieth century they were a bit two dimensional and redundant. They were oversimplified superheroes that did the same thing over and over again. You watch a an old superman cartoon and its the same plot with a different villain.
Soon after comic books began to lose their public appeal. However, thanks to creative geniuses like Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko comics books were revolutionized and became enormously popular again.
Stan Lee created a new kind of superhero, a real superhero, a more humanly complex superhero that people could relate to. These superheroes had human connections and histories and sub-histories and families and relatives, they had weaknesses and fears, and although it might have been taboo in those days i'm sure they had religious affiliations adding to their complex nature.
Comics have only evolved based off of the foundation that Stan Lee built. Today we have comic characters like "Prophet", and "Priest" that have direct religious connections and affiliations.