Table Of ContentMARVELOUS
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
