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.