Theology and the Marvel Universe [Minkštas viršelis]

Greg Stevenson has gathered a generically and methodologically wide-ranging assortment of essays for this collection. It will undoubtedly be of great interest to scholars and students working at the nexus of pop-culture and theology. -- Ben Saunders, author of Do The Gods Wear Capes? Not too many books on superheroes do justice to the Marvel Universe of characters and stories from a biblical-theological vantage pointthis study is refreshing exception. The authors dive deeply into the heroes and their myths without attempting to impose theological elements that are not already latently there. This collection of studies brings to light spiritual, religious, and moral truths implicit, and sometimes explicit, in the superhero films and graphic novels, and it engages both relevant and up-to-date sources. The study is worthy of recommendation for courses focusing on film, heroes, theology, or popular culture. -- B. J. Oropeza, editor of The Gospel According to Superheroes: Religion and Popular Culture Assemble, true believers, and behold! Theology and the Marvel Universe reveals what Uatu the Watcher has long witnessed: Superhero stories are wholesome entertainments capable of inspiring reflection even upon the essence of the divine and our relationship with it. From the sanctity of life to suffering and sacrifice; from temptation to redemption; from humility to zealotry; from service to stewardship; from struggling with personal faith to confronting historical injustice; from dealing with bodies to caring for souls; from issues of identity and problems of personhood to surveying the celestial order; from source criticism to supernatural forces; from creation all the way to apocalypsethis good book offers confirmation and testimony that Marvel comics, movies, and television series are sources worthy of scholarly attention and enthusiastic affection. -- Travis Smith, Concordia University