Description
Book SynopsisIn Theology and the Marvel Universe, fourteen contributors examine theological themes and ideas in the comic books, television shows, and films that make up the grand narrative of the Marvel Universe. Engaging in dialogue with theological thinkers such as Willie James Jennings, Franz Rosenzweig, Søren Kierkegaard, René Girard, Kelly Brown Douglas, and many others, thechapters explore topics such as violence, sacrifice, colonialism, Israeli-Palestinian relations, virtue ethics, character formation, identity formation, and mythic reinvention, among others. This book demonstrates that the stories of Thor, Daredevil, Sabra, Spider-Man, Jessica Jones, Thanos, Luke Cage, and others engage not just our imagination, but our theological imagination as well.
Table of Contents1 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 Hickman’s 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”: Marvel’s Luke Cage and Franz Rosenzweig’s 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 Murdock’s Ill-fitting Catholic Faith in Netflix’s 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 Marvel’s 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
