Atheism in Comcs: An Introduction at best

Atheism in Comics: When Mr. Terrific can be famous

This is purely an introduction to a bit of atheism, and its not something I have enough to go on in comics to really sit down with, unfortunately.

Atheism in comics is an interesting thing. Now, I’m an atheist myself, and I’m quite open about it (and though I see religion as largely irrational, I do see its merits, hence these articles), so despite my attempts at impartiality in comics, there may be some flitters of my bias within.

Of the many possible questions, one primary thing that Atheism in comic books forces is the question of why these characters are moral. Now, when you’re an atheist, the only thing you truly are is without god. Depending on your definition, Atheism can be dogmatic (Communism), or without dogma (humanism, nihilism). I’m going to go into humanism primarily, because it is the philosophy that demands the most respect for humanity, and wish to help them. Thus, it is the most heroic.

I’ll start with Humanism and Mr. Terrific. While I’ll admit that my awareness of the character is limited, I have found him to be an intriguing character thus far in what I know of him. The impression I get of his atheism, and why he commits acts of heroism is because he feels that humans must help one another, because there is no god to do so for them, and that this is only fair play to those who he tries to save. This is a positive thing. He has morality without god. The basis of humanism is to develop personal ethics based upon respect and compassion for the rest of humanity. Mr. Terrific basis himself around fair play; something he does not see possible from this god being. I’ll write another article on him, though, to go further into his beliefs.

Nihilism is the popular standpoint of villains without explicitly stated religions, by my summation. That’s not to say it is every villain, but it is many of them. Plenty do have explicitly stated religions, or at least dogmatic moral codes (Deathstroke), which keeps them from Nihilism. Many are also non-religious; evading the question. Neither stances are probably conscious. Rather, these philosophies are de-facto, since many probably don’t think of the consequences of their actions pertaining to a god-head, or simply deny a god-head for the convenience of their crimes not having any bearing, since they obviously wouldn’t be humanists for lack of respect for their fellow humans.

This is something that’s hard to blog on, though, since Atheism is uncommon in comics, outside of Communism, which I hesitate to add to this blog, since it is a dogmatic belief system, and more of a cult of personality. The word Cult helps distinguish it from being atheist, since not being a religion keeps you from being a cult, for our purposes at least.

Atheism is rare in comics, and it’s understandable. For the most part, writing someone as an atheist in a world of magic and some very explicit religious figures (the Spectre, Wonder Woman, Thor, etc.), it seems almost ignorant of the world around them. I can easily see that argument in comics, but I would be one to raise you “show me this divine makers order in all of that, then”. The best argument for atheism in comics is, ironically, the retcons and crises of the creators, since most religions promulgate some divine order. Would you honestly believe in god if you were able to go and meet Zeus, Odin, the Spectre, Vishnu, Buddha, the Phantom Stranger, Jonah Hex, the Monitor, and other such beings? Without order, or better editorial, it becomes a fallacy; and apparently a bad quip.

I’m editorializing now, and I acknowledge that, so I’ll end here before I get on a soap box about atheism and religion. I’m trying to keep these articles as secular as I can, so again, its best I end before this becomes more of a typical Arrogant Atheist blog where I talk about irrational things, like George Bush… STOP ME ALLI!

Next time: Agnosticism: Doubting god when you deal with so much evil. And eventually! Raven: Demonolatry and the influence of evil. Which will bleed into Billy Batson and the Child as a Lump of Clay!

Lex Luthor: In the Name of God, I am Become God

Lex Luthor is a fascinating character. He's not really immoral, as much as he is amoral. A nihilist, he doesn't care about hurting others, as much as he rejects anyone with whom he jockeys for the position of the Greatest, of a near Ubermensch, although Luthor lacks this truly in his amorality. He is a man who seeks himself to be greater than those who are his contemporaries. None can be smarter than him. None can do more good.

"But Andrew!" you say, "Lex Luthor does nothing but evil!" This isn't true. He isn't evil, in that he does not do things in a malicious manner. He needs to be the antitheses, and he is amoral. I cannot stress the term amoral enough. He does not do what he does with conscious knowledge of it being wrong, because he does not believe in morality; again, he’s a Nihilist. Lex believes everything he does will truly save human-kind, and without Superman, can we truly say that Luthor could not have been humanities savior? With his vast intellect and ability, without the competition, with the admiration of those around him, could Luthor not have done the truest good possible? I submit for your consideration an Elseworld, the story of Superman: Red Son. In it, Luthor does things which advance his vision of what is good, using his intellect and ability to take down a man he sees as a dictator, and rightfully so. Lex Luthor does, though, in the end do good. And not just "good", but good. He's able to solve the world’s problems in it by virtue of being brilliant.

That being said, he does have a great personal need to have someone who he is opposed to. Luthor needs to be a hero, if only in his mind. He needs to watch someone wriggle and writhe in his devices. During 52, he went to great lengths to discredit both John Henry Irons and Supernova (Booster Gold). He wants to be the greatest. He needs to be the greatest, or everyone else will suffer for it. He has an obvious psychotic issue, in that respect. It is not a severe one, I would argue. He suffers from hyper-capitalism, pretty much.

Also, I would argue that, sue to his electability for President, he’s publicly a Christian. It makes him seem more normal, even though he’s a nihilistic business man.

Luthor could also be argued as worshipping Superman, as his God upon whom he must commit deicide in order to usurp him. That would bring up a much larger issue for his psychology though, and as I said, I do not believe him to be terribly insane. He’s not the Joker, and no matter how waning his sanity may be, he carries himself better than any psyche patient I’ve ever met (and yes, I’ve met a number). I don’t agree with this, based upon the fact I believe him to be a Nihilist, which would mean he is a type of Atheist (yes, there are multiple types of atheists).

One thing that I do wonder about, in my studies of Nihilism, as well as looking at Luthor as the single smartest man in the DCU, is how he confronts the Nihilist paradox. For those not familiar, the Nihilst belief is that “Truth does not exist”, and for that statement to be true, it would have to be false if you follow its own logic. Luthor, I think, would question the nature of truth, and ultimately come to a notion of scientific truth, lending to his atheism. This does provide an argument against his nihilism, especially since, as I‘ve highlighted, he does believe his attempts at murdering Superman as good and just.

Another facet of Luthor’s religion, though, is his attempts at building around his business a near dogmatic cult of personality. That is akin to communism, which he would not appreciate, I assure you. He does love himself, probably too much, and tries to make everyone else love him, and adore him as the greatest thing ever. He would argue that Superman has a cult of personality, since the Man of Steel is worshipped rather unconditionally, other than Luthor and the rest of his rogues gallery. That might appear as a later blog, though, so I won’t get too far into the Cult of Personality in comics. There are plenty of them, I assure you.

The greatest argument for Luthor's evil, though, comes from his willingness to sacrifice a savior, for what he considers the best possible solution. This I can argue quite easily: He sees what he's doing as Good, because he wants humanity to save itself. Superman is evil because he is an alien. Not because of the good he does which inhibits Luthor's nefarious deeds, or because he made his enemy bald. Luthor sees Superman as evil because he is an alien holding himself as a savior for a species which, Luthor would probably argue, does not need its saving. Luthor believes Humanity can, and more than anything else should save itself. I would find it to be an interesting question of whether Luthor would hate Batman without Superman, or even Green Lantern, since he is only a human wielding a weapon. Truly, neither are beyond Humanity, so would Luthor be against them? That's a subject for another blog, though.

I'll leave you here, with thing to think about and comment on, but expect more on the Philosophy and Ethics of Luthor another time. I'm not certain which issue I'll tackle next. I'm thinking the religion of the Arrow family, but maybe I'll work on that blog about the New Gods. I'm not certain yet. Wait and see,true believers. Or non-believers as you may be like me.

Peace, Justice, and the Jewish Superhero: The concepts of Judaism

So here we are, the second in my continuing look at the religiosity of heroism, and morality of heroes. Today’s article will, obviously, focus upon Judaism. To represent Judaism I’m choosing four characters: The Ragman of the Shadowpact, his adversary the Golem, the Thing of the Fantastic Four, and the Spectre entity. Each will illuminate different things about Judaism, Jewish Mythology, Judaism in society, and the Jewish Lord. (Out of respect for Jewish practice, I shall not use the name of G-d, other than the title, let’s see if I succeed!).

Ragman, Rory Regan, is one of the most overt Jewish characters since his revitalization in the ‘90s Vertigo revamp of the character. His powers, which were once limited to three corrupt souls who tried to rob his shop, were vastly expanded, and made into a kind of Sheol, the Judaic hell. He absorbs souls and gives them a path to redemption, thereby not killing them so that they may have a better afterlife. It is a resting place, not Gehenna, the Judaic hell, nor is it Heaven. Interestingly enough, in Gehenna, you are only condemned for at most a year’s time, while in Ragman’s suit you are condemned for as long as it takes your sins to absolve. Ragman holds his faith dear, and seems to be at least convicted in it, as evidence by Infinite Crisis and his noteworthy conversation with Mr. Terrific. I would personally find spiritual interaction between he and the equally faithful Blue Devil, a Catholic, interesting due to their deep ties to their religions, but that’s just me.

Also, Ragman’s 1991 miniseries is noteworthy for its emphasis on community, a common theme in Jewish mythology and Biblically. Judaism is a religion based more upon works then upon a personal relationship with its Lord, unlike Christianity. In the story, Ragman’s flight from Batman, who would not approve of his actions for depriving people of life on this plane, causes the Jewish ghetto in Gotham to protect Ragman from Batman. An interesting twist, I think.

The Golem is another Jewish themed character. For a time it was Ragman’s villain, his only way to defeat it being to wipe the Hebrew for “Truth” from it. This is inaccurate, because the Jewish word for “Truth” is “Emet”, and by erasing the part of it to make “Met”, the Hebrew word for Death, it is deactivated. There have been a number of Golems throughout comicdom, including Monolith, and the Thing. I bring all of this up, though, to highlight Judaism expansive, yet oft forgotten mythology. In the Talmud, Adam is first considered a Golem, until later becoming fully human. This is all part of a concept known as “Midrash”, or completion of things. It is where we get Lilith, the castes of Angels, Leviathan, Behemoth and many other Judaic creatures from; this is all more so a side note, something to help you better understand Judaism, the religion’s beliefs, and concepts. Midrash was done because of the tendency of the Biblical writers to bring up characters, names, and concepts and then drops them completely after a single mention.

The Thing is a Golem, he’s a large being of rock, though he lacks a name of the Lord, or Emet, as previously mentioned. He is an interesting character when you take him out of the comic, because like so many Jewish people in the time he was created, including his creators, and many comic creators, was not known to be Jewish. The Thing is an example of a Jewish character whose Judaism is more of a footnote, informs the character, and does not change them. He is a prominent Jewish character, like Kitty Pride, yet it’s not something that comes up terribly often, nor does it seem to affect him too much. The Thing is based on Jack Kirby, who saw him as an alter-ego of sorts, but this was not known until 2002, saying something about the view of Judaism in society.

Now, though, we’ll look at a more interesting concept in comics: The Spectre. He’s not a Jewish character, per say, but even though it is arguable his past three anchors (Jim Corrigan, Hal Jordan, and Crispus Allen) were not Jewish, and probably Christian (okay, Hal’s debatable, but that’s another article), this section of the article is about the Spectre entity. The Spectre is not a compassionate being, and is an important being in DC comics. John Ostrander, a man who had been in seminary to become a Catholic priest (but left), revealed him to be a fallen angel named Aztar, who repented and became this being. He was the slayer of the first born of Egypt, and succeeded Eclipso.

The question is, though, why am I considering him Jewish? This is because we know of the Jewish Lord to be a more vengeful one then Christ. That may sound negative, but the whole concept of Christ’s death was to say that things like the death of all of the first born would not happen again until time’s end, which is pounded in by the Midrash of Christianity. Also I take into account the creator of the character, Jerry Siegel, a Jew himself. I’ll probably have another article on the Spectre itself, as well as its hosts.

That’s all I’ve got on this one. As always, if you think I missed anything, just tell me, and I’ll work on a follow up article. The next one I’m working on is about Lex Luthor’s concept of Religion and God. Here’s a hint: Nietzche will be in it. As well as Nihilism.

Sympathy for the Devil: Dystheism and Darkseid

Jack Kirby’s Fourth World is easily one of the most prominent and influential comic book series in the history of the medium. With the “Death of the New Gods”, and the decision Alli and I had to have me do a series of articles on religion in comic books, I’m gonna start there.

In this landmark series, we are introduced to Darkseid, the leader of Apokolips and the God of it. He is not just a simplistic Machiavellian dictator, no, he is much more. He is the God of his planet, while the devil of New Genesis. He is a dictator, make no mistake. He’s unblinkingly brutal, he’s up for subjugation, and he has disdain for what’s often seen as “good”. I do need to mention, though, that Apokolipsian Darkseid Worship is monotheistic, like Christianity, Islam or Judaism. That is an important distinction between it and New God worship, which is polytheistic to its people, although the belief in the Source is much more akin to Buddhism or Hinduism.

The two main lapsed practitioners of this faith are Scott “Mister Miracle” Free, and Big Barda Free. They’ve both lost faith in this religion. Scott has a sentiment that no one should be able to subjugate others. He’s against Darkseid’s suppression of his people, and seeks to escape it. He’s truly an enlightened character. He has escaped his fear of Darkseid, though he still fears being enclosed like he was on Apokolips, which keeps him from being the Green Lantern of Fourth World. What? I can’t quip to make sure you’re paying attention.

Barda, on the other hand, the argument could be made does not disbelieve for the same noble reasons. Barda disbelieves more so thanks to Scott then her own decision. She’s expressed missing the battles she was allowed there. It might not be nearly as much that she actually misses the faith, but she misses what she was able to do on the planet, which she is not on Earth. Barda’s a warrior, and Darkseid encouraged her to be one.

Now, the overall Dogma of Darkseid Worship has yet to be revealed, although the Bible of Crime may illuminate that, once that’s out, I’ll be reading it, and we might have a new essay. Darkseid, though, is very much a Monotheistic dystheism. It is a negative God holding his followers through fear and subjugation. Scott escaped, and learned not to fear god, though he became one with God. I need to do a good bit more research on the Hinduism and Buddhism traditions before you get the full essay on these. I’d prefer not to write at length on what I don’t know well enough.
Darkseid is comparable to the Judeo-Christian God’s worst moments. He’s violent, and he rules by making his people believe he is all that protects them from a worse fate. I reminded of the threat of Hell. Apokolips is Hell, though. So then, how does he remain in control? It’s simple: Pleasure control. Yes, like a sado-masochist, its pleasure denial/pleasure control. He makes sure his citizens get enough good to satiate them, and to love him when it comes, but he treats them poorly enough that they’re not happy enough to question him.

He has his apostles; Granny Goodness, Kalibek, Kanto, Virmin Vundabar and Desaad are the most obvious. Granny is most like a priest. She initiates the young, forcing them into their beliefs. She failed with Scott. I’m not going to go into all of them, because it would be long winded, and I don’t want this blog too be too much. I want it to be rather basic. Granny is the most important, since she’s the one who affects the most characters via her orphanages. She affected Scott and Barda greatly, since she was the one who ran the orphanage Scott was imprisoned at and Barda was the leader of the Female Furies she controlled.

It’s worth noting that there are beings on Apokolips with powers, like Darkseid’s sons Kalibek and Gayven, the Female Furies, Glorious Godfrey, or even Sleaze. Despite this, they are more among different tiers of Saints, committing miracles not akin to polytheism, not even one like the New Gods, since Darkseid is the one above all, and the only to be worshipped. As a lowly, you can ask the others for helps, you’ll just be beheaded.

That’s all I got for now. Any questions, just ask and I’ll try my best to answer them. My next essay I’m looking to do something on the religion of Judaism, and Jewish characters. That means we’ll have the Ragman, the Thing, the Golem, and the Spectre among others, as well as a dissertation on Judaic heroism, and the emphasis that belief puts upon works. Future essays will be on Christianity (of varying characters, and sects), Islam, Hinduism, and even though it is not a religion Atheism (of various types). I will also look at fictional Religions, as well as look at specific characters (like Lex Luthor, and the Guardians of the universe). If you like this article, get on me about them, or get on Alli to get one me about them.

Also, I began to write this before the Death of the New Gods came out, so Barda was alive. Now, though, we all know that the greatest Warrior to come off of Apokolips was now killed, off camera, in her kitchen (just like Katma Tui, for those that read my Lantern article).

Also, for more on the religions of your favortie characters religions, go to the website