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American Theology, Superhero Comics, and Cinema Stan Lee, who was the head writer of Marvel Comics in the early 1960s, cocreated such popular heroes as Spider-Man, Hulk, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Thor, and Daredevil. This book traces the ways in which American theologians and comic books of the era were not only both saying things about what it means to be human, but, starting with Lee, largely saying the same things. Author Anthony R. Mills argues that the shift away from individualistic ideas of human personhood and toward relational conceptions occurring within both American theology and American superhero comics and films does not occur simply on the ontological level, but is also inherent to epistemology and ethics, reflecting the comprehensive nature of human life in terms of being, knowing, and acting. This book explores the idea of the “American monomyth” that pervades American hero stories and examines its philosophical and theological origins and specific manifestations in early American superhero comics. Surveying the anthropologies of five American theologians who argue against many of the monomyth’s assumptions, principally the staunch individualism taken to be the model of humanity, and who offer relationality as a more realistic and ethical alternative, this book offers a detailed argument for the intimate historical relationship between the now disparate fields of comic book/superhero film creation, on the one hand, and Christian theology, on the other, in the United States. An understanding of the early connections between theology and American conceptions of heroism helps to further make sense of their contemporary parallels, wherein superhero stories and theology are not strictly separate phenomena but have shared origins and concerns. Anthony R. Mills received his PhD in theology and culture from Fuller Seminary. He contributes to poptheology.com and blogs at transgressivespaces. blogspot.com. Routledge Studies in Religion and Film Edited by Robert Johnston and Jolyon Mitchell 1 World Cinema, Theology, and the Human Humanity in Deep Focus Antonio Sison 2 American Theology, Superhero Comics, and Cinema The Marvel of Stan Lee and the Revolution of a Genre Anthony R. Mills American Theology, Superhero Comics, and Cinema The Marvel of Stan Lee and the Revolution of a Genre Anthony R. Mills First published 2014 by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Simultaneously published in the UK by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2014 Taylor & Francis The right of Anthony R. Mills to be identified as the author of the editorial material has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Mills, Anthony R., 1978– American Theology, Superhero Comics, and Cinema : The Marvel of Stan Lee and the Revolution of a Genre / By Anthony R. Mills. pages cm. — (Routledge studies in religion and film ; 2) 1. Comic books, strips, etc.—Religious aspects. 2. Comic books, strips, etc.—United States. 3. Comic books, strips, etc.—Moral and ethical aspects—United States. 4. Motion pictures—Religious aspects. 5. Motion pictures—United States. 6. Motion pictures— Moral and ethical aspects—United States. 7. Superheroes—United States. 8. Superhero films—United States. 9. Lee, Stan, 1922— Criticism and interpretation. I. Title. PN6712.M55 2013 741.5'973—dc23 2013022303 ISBN: 978-0-415-84358-4 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-203-75404-7 (ebk) Typeset in Sabon by Apex CoVantage, LLC For my father Richard Craig Mills 1940–2004 This page intentionally left blank Contents Acknowledgements Introduction ix 1 1 The Historical and Theological Background of the Anthropology of the American Monomyth 4 2 The Anthropology of the American Monomyth in Golden Age Superhero Comics (1938–1961) 22 3 The “Turn to Relationality” in American Theological Anthropology 55 4 The “Turn to Reality” in Silver Age Superhero Comics and Beyond (1961–present) 96 5 Subverting the Anthropology of the American Monomyth in Marvel Comics Superhero Films (1998–2012) 136 6 Conclusion: Anthropological Proposals 185 Bibliography Index 192 204 This page intentionally left blank Acknowledgements Projects like this are always only possible because their creators depend on a vast network of people whose inspiration, commitment, comments, critiques, suggestions, and editorial work help bring them to life. Mine is no exception. My gratitude goes to Stan Lee, of course, for creating such endearing characters and for offering ways of being human and heroic that honor our fragile embodiment; to Robert K. Johnston, my doctoral advisor at Fuller Seminary, who made the case for turning an obscure dissertation project into a book; to Lauren Verity, the editorial assistant at Routledge, who has answered my endless queries with promptness and patience; to Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, one of my dissertation readers, who has been wholly supportive of me and this project; to Kenneth Reynhout, my brilliant and amazing friend, who has offered numerous suggestions and stalwart encouragement throughout the sometimes long years of writing; to LeRon Shults, whose theological insights were nothing less than transformative for me and laid the foundation for this work; to Catherine Keller, not only for being such a creative and gracious theologian but also for telling me about her personal story; to Terrence Wandtke, for teaching me how to read comic books and providing helpful insights on those sections; to Luco van den Brom, for making the significant observation that this is an exercise in public theology; to Brian Schomburg, David Moyer, and David Haga, for hours of conversations and arguments about superheroes; to Don Delp and the crew at Office Depot #316, for letting me use vast amounts of down time to write this when, I suppose, I could have been cleaning; and, finally, to my late father, who was always a fan of all those heroes I criticize in this book, but who also read my early essay on Marvel movies and really wanted to see them because of it. I think he would have loved Captain America.