Description
Book SynopsisTheology and Spider-Man provides a look at the religious themes present in one of the most popular heroes of the past half-century, Spider-Man. In order to create a systematic theology of Spider-Man, the contributors delve into themes of sin, salvation, and creedal theology, while also addressing liberation theology, Black theology, bioethics, and hermeneutics. This volume balances theological depth with discussion of the comics and films, which makes it a perfect collection for those interested in theology, Spider-Man, or both.
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Theologizing the Spider
George Tsakiridis
1 Sin and Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man: A Spider-Harmatiology
Jerome Van Kuiken
2 Tyger, Lamb, Spider, Hunter: “Kraven’s Last Hunt” and The Web of Theodicy
Peter Admirand
3 Untangling the Web of Sins: The Superior Spider-Man as Secular Hagiography
David K. Goodin
4 Let Him Be to You as a Goblin: Forgiveness as the Defeat of Evil in Spider-Man Comics
Travis B. Hill
5 “Look out, here comes the Spider-Man”: An Exploration of the Creedal Theology of Spider-Man
George Tsakiridis
6 Moral Formation in Pedagogies of Violence: Civil War’s Peter Parker
John C. McDowell
7 Peter Parker’s Progeny: Power, Genetics, and Virtuous Parenting in Spider-Girl
Michael Buttrey and Leah DeJong
8 “Not Gonna Turn Invisible”: Into the Spider-Verse and Black Theology
Matthew Vega and Russell P. Johnson
9 A Web of Significations: The Hermeneutics of Theological Anthropology in Marvel’s Spider-Man (2018)
Ched Spellman
10 Venom the Liberation Theologian
Josh McDonald
11 Loss, Death, and Afterlife: Thanatology and Theology in Spider-Man Comics
Allan Novaes
12 Spider-Man: An Icon in your Pocket
Joseph E. Gaston
