MARVELOUS US BrOvNiew withE Inte N LE STA MYTHS Mar vel Superheroes and Ever yday Faith t RUSSELL W. DALTON MARVELOUS MYTHS To Robert T. Dalton Jr., who lived a heroic life. MARVELOUS MYTHS Mar vel Superheroes and Ever yday Faith RUSSELL W. DALTON Copyright ©2011 by Russell W. Dalton. All rights reserved. For permission to reuse content, please contact Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923. (978) 750-8400, www.copyright.com. Bible quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Cover image: Scribe Inc. Cover and interior design: Scribe Inc. Visit Chalice Press on the World Wide Web at www.chalicepress.com 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 EPUB: 978-08272-23608 • EPDF: 978-08272-23615 • Paperback: 978-08272-23387 Printed book: 978-08272-23387 Cataloging–in–Publication Data Dalton, Russell W. Marvelous myths : Marvel superheroes and everyday faith / by Russell W. Dalton. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-0-8272-2338-7 1. Comic books, strips, etc.—Religious aspects. 2. Superhero comic books, strips, etc.—History and criticism. 3. Christianity and literature—United States. 4. Marvel Comics Group. I. Title. PN6712.D35 2011 741.5'382—dc22 Printed in the United States of America 2011004902 Contents List of Figures Preface: Living Heroic Lives Acknowledgments Prelude: A Conversation with Stan Lee vii ix xiii xv Introduction: Mythology and the Peril and Promise of Marvel Superheroes 1 1 The Fantastic Four: Relating to Friends, Strangers, and Enemies 17 2 The Amazing Spider-Man: Responsibility and Hard Times 45 3 The Incredible Hulk: Controlling Our Anger 67 4 The Uncanny X-Men: Dealing with Discrimination and Diversity 81 5 The Invincible Iron Man: Being a Good Steward 101 6 The Mighty Thor: Living between Heaven and Earth 115 7 Captain America and the Falcon: Serving God and Country 127 8 The Mighty Avengers: Assembling a Community of Saints and Sinners 141 9 Daredevil: Vengeance or Mercy? 157 10 The Silver Surfer, Adam Warlock, and Captain Marvel: The View from Outer Space 177 Afterword: A Call to Heroic Living Notes Bibliography 197 201 211 Figures 1 X-Men #9 (January 1965), page 20, panels 6 and 7; Marvel Comics. Stan Lee script and Jack Kirby art. 2 New X-Men #46 (January 2008), page 23, panels 1 and 2; Marvel Comics. Craig Kyle and Chris Yost script and Humberto Ramos art. 3 Fantastic Four #1 (November 1961), page 13; Marvel Comics. Stan Lee script and Jack Kirby art. 4 Amazing Fantasy #15 (August 1963), page 1; Marvel Comics. Stan Lee script and Steve Ditko art. 5 Amazing Spider-Man #50 (July 1967), page 8; Marvel Comics. Stan Lee script and John Romita art. 6 The Incredible Hulk #130 (August 1970), cover; Marvel Comics. Herb Trimpe art and Roy Thomas script. 7 X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills (1982), page 57; Marvel Comics. Chris Claremont writer and Brent Eric Anderson art. 8 Iron Man #128 (November 1979), cover; Marvel Comics. David Michelinie writer, John Romita Jr. and Bob Layton artists. 9 The Mighty Thor #158 (November 1968), page 2; Marvel Comics. Stan Lee script, Jack Kirby art. 10 Captain America and the Falcon # 176 (August 1974), cover; Marvel Comics. Steve Englehart script, Sal Buscema art. 11 Avengers #20 (September 1965), page 2; Marvel Comics. Stan Lee script, Don Heck art. 12 Daredevil (vol. 2) #3 (January 1999). Cover. Marvel Comics. Kevin Smith writer and Joe Quesada art. 13 Silver Surfer #15 (April 1970), page 2; Marvel Comics. Stan Lee script, John Buscema art. 14 The Incredible Hulk #178 (August 1974), page 1; Marvel Comics. Herb Trimpe art, Gerry Conway plot, and Tony Isabella script. vii 12 13 19 47 57 70 86 110 123 131 150 172 181 184 185 Preface Living Heroic Lives The Purpose of This Book The superheroes of Marvel Comics have become some of the most recognizable characters in popular culture. They are featured not only in comic books but also in major motion pictures, animated television shows, and video games. As these stories entertain us, they also present us with their own particular perspectives on what it means to live a heroic life. This book is an attempt to reÁect on those perspectives in a thoughtful manner, putting them into dialogue with insights from the Bible and Christian scholars. Superheroes may seem like an unlikely source for reÁection on the life of faith. People of faith do not believe that we solve the world’s problems by dressing up in spandex costumes and beating people up. We should question the entire premise of stories in which our problems are solved by having someone in a costume come in and clobber villains in order to preserve law and order. Like the ancient myths, however, the stories of Marvel superheroes also offer readers and viewers some positive models of how extraordinary people face challenges and struggle to overcome adversity in order to live out heroic lives. The Marvel superheroes discussed in this book, as conceived by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and others, were not perfect people who lived charmed lives. They had to deal with family affairs, anger issues, money troubles, and a whole host of other problems. Like most of us, they had to overcome everyday problems in order to live out heroic lives. Because of this, their stories provide us with opportunities to reÁect on our efforts to do the same. This book opens with an interview with Stan Lee, who was the co-creator of most of the heroes discussed in this book. Insights from my interviews with three other Marvel creators, Chris Claremont, Herb Trimpe, and Kurt Busiek, appear throughout the book. The introduction examines some of the inherent problems that stories of superheroes present for people of faith and then provides a brief history of Marvel Comics. Each chapter focuses on a particular Marvel superhero or team of superheroes. With nearly half a century’s worth of stories for many of these characters, it is not possible to explore every story or every hero. This book focuses on the heroes created by Lee, Kirby, and others in the 1960s and examines the characters’ origins, some of their better-known story lines, and the popular motion pictures that feature them. ix