Tag Archives: gods

contributors, reviews

Who Gods the God/Men?, Part II (Or, Prepare Ye the Way of the Rao)

WARNING: This is a spoiler concerning JLA: Justice League of America #2, just out this past July from DC Comics.

jla2aSo, immediately on the heels of JLA: Justice League of America #1‘s last-page surprise that Superman’s Kryptonian god Rao has come to Earth, issue #2 provides a full look at the supposed divinity and offers his directives.

“Prepare the way for me, Kal-El. Tell the people of your world who I am.”

Rao sounds much like the voice of the Abrahamic God as chronicled in such places as Mark 1:2-3: “As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: ‘Behold , I send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying in the wilderness, “Make ready the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.”‘”

In that case, then, Superman/Kal-El is Rao’s John the Baptist (or, depending on your reading of the scripture, perhaps Isaiah). At the same time, if Rao is going to speak through Superman with his “way,” then Kal-El could have a (thoroughly un-Islamic) Mohammed-like role.

It could also make Kal-El Moses, depending on one’s translation of Exodus 3:13-14, namely: “Then Moses said to God, ‘Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, “The God of your fathers has sent me to you.” Now they may say to me, “What is His name?” What shall I say to them?’ God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM’; and He said, ‘Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, “I AM has sent me to you.”‘” And a number of writers would be thrilled to have Superman represent Moses instead of Jesus. 

Continue reading Who Gods the God/Men?, Part II (Or, Prepare Ye the Way of the Rao) →

controversy, cultural

Whose God Is Thor?

Image from IDLE HANDS, Thor's HammerIn the wake of Thor‘s #1 opening weekend, Comics Alliance is reporting that another group is unhappy of its godly portrayals. Whereas the Council of Conservative Citizens previously railed against the casting of Idris Elba, a black man in the role of a Nordic god, (mentioned in a previous entry), this objection is a tad more level-headed. Namely, some modern-day Neopagan practitioners are rumbling over the depiction of their deities in the film.

A follower of Ásatrú (or Germanic Neopaganism, as it is also known), writer Eric Scott of religious discourse magazine Killing the Buddha made the sincere and deeply personal observation whilst inspecting Thor merchandise in a Walmart.

I held that foam hammer in my hand for a long time, which I’m sure only confirmed my weirdness to the nightgaunts of the third shift. With my other hand, I rubbed the Mjolnir necklace I have worn every day since my initiation into my family’s coven. I did not know what to think of it.

The truth is, I looked at the toys in my hands and I saw the result of millions of dollars of development and thousands of hours of manpower, put into something bearing the name of a god, my god, and it had nothing to do with me.

Scott suggests that his fellow practitioners were “too few to matter” to the corporations using this material for their merchandise. Pagan Blogger for Patheos.com Star Foster feels quite the opposite: that Thor will bring attention to active Pagans in a positive manner.

The issue here is not just appropriating a mislabeled “dead religion,” but also how these deities function for real-life worshipers versus storytellers. A sideline discussion over at City-Data.com offers the thought that the word “gods” is misused in various narratives, comic books in particular. Are Thor and his fellow Asgardians distinctly gods in the movie, or are they some other classification? Would calling them, say, onses show a greater sensitivity by storytellers or would it divorce them even more harshly from real-world practitioners?