Comics and Religion

Religion and superheroes are two topics that most people don't relate, unless someone reads comics religiously. Get it? Anyway, they are more similar than people think. Consider how they both have  impacted the culture of the world. Comics were created to entertain, and they have been very successful. Every year new movies are made about superheroes, and they take up much of the media. The success of these movies is immense, which shows how popular and revered they are in our culture, similar to the widespread acceptance of church and religion. Superheroes such as Captain America are created to show how to be a good person and put others before oneself. These comics are similar to early Puritan writings which were written to exemplify the benefits of religion and show how to live a good life in the eyes of God, though using different tactics. Early Puritan writer, Jonathan Edwards, uses fear in "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" to convince sinners to follow God and live a life without sin by describing the mighty power of God and torments of Hell, through threats such as "God has many different unsearchable ways of taking wicked men out of the world and sending them to hell." (Edwards 22-23) . This is juxtaposed to the cultural influence of Captain America, who is a role model to comic fans and a perfect representation of how to be a morally good person. They also use similar tactics to tell morally influential stories. In comics there is always a good and bad guy, and the good guy always winds because his intentions are pure. These stories can be related to biblical stories which always convey a moral ideal, such as the juxtaposition of God and the Devil, or David and Goliath. Religious writings and comics both influence culture by using stories and rhetorical devices.

Christopher Columbus and Spiderman

I'm sure there is confusion as to how Spiderman and Christopher Columbus relate. Christopher Columbus, to my knowledge, had no super powers. Despite obvious differences, they have similar stories, yet opposite roles. Spiderman was the unsung hero of his town. He did not take credit for his actions, and continued his life as a teenager in high school with no social life and deals with an onslaught of bullies. Not to mention, Spiderman is vilified by the local paper, though he is innocent and only trying to help people. So how does this relate to the story of Christopher Columbus you ask? Well, Spiderman is kind of like the Native Americans that Christopher Columbus encountered when he "discovered" America. The Native Americans, just like Spiderman, have been falsely represented. They were not so happy to give up their land, as we have been taught. Instead, Christopher Columbus, who unlike Spiderman, has been painted as a hero, slaughtered many Native Americans. As stated by Christopher Columbus in his Letter to King Ferdinand of Spain he "took some natives by force". Spiderman only takes criminals by force, yet in his story the people believe he is the villain, and Christopher Columbus was revered as a god, and his story spoke of his heroic journey to discover America. Spiderman relates to the Native Americans because he has been falsely and unfairly represented, just as the Native Americans have been falsely represented throughout history. Christopher Columbus is the opposite of Spiderman, who is a good guy that everyone thinks is a jerk and Columbus was a jerk that everyone thought to be a good guy. Seriously, he was a scumbag. Stop teaching our kids about his heroics. Teach them about Spiderman.