This article was originally written for Modern Myths, INC. and was posted on December 28, 2012. This is a reproduction for portfolio purposes.
I love holiday comics.
Every few years, Marvel and DC release holiday stories or, even better, holiday compilations, with their characters celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, or just winter in general. It’s always interesting to see what characters celebrate what, from your better know religious characters, like the Jewish characters Kitty Pryde and the Thing or Catholic characters Daredevil and (pre-52) Huntress, to characters who may not be as well known (did you know Sasquatch is Jewish? What about the fact that Conner Hawke is Zen Buddhist?). The very best thing about holiday comics is to see characters off different religions and creeds come together and simply enjoy each others’ presence.
But the comics always make me curious about the religion of superheroes. It’s common knowledge that Superman, the original superhero, was partially a biblical analogy for Moses (new born baby found in the “reeds” of rural Kansas). Beyond that, the majority of people involved in birth of superhero comics were Jewish, yet superheroes were created to fit the “idealized American image,” so most heroes became Episcopalian by default.
Religious restrictions were included in the Comics Code until 1989, meaning specific, real-world religions were limited and, in many cases, completely disallowed from being mentioned. Stan Lee aimed for Marvel Comics to feature a specifically multicultural cast of characters, in terms of both race and religion. Taking the idea of American as a “melting pot,” Marvel expanded beyond fictional and fantastical worlds (Krypton and Themyscira) to include characters who came from the “real” world.
The Comics Code is a pretty clear explanation for why DC Comics tended to avoid big names heroes with explicitly identifiable religions. While Superman is canonically Methodist (a fact that was stated in the 2007 Action Comics), his religion is shown as more as an analogy for faith in humanity than faith in religion. Since the reboot, with the exception of Wonder Woman, who’s ties to Greco-Roman religions have become even more emphasized in the New 52, it seems as though DC is staunchly avoiding real-world religion even more (Hawkman is still associated with a classical Egyptian religion, but gone are Helena Bertinelli, Martin Stein, and even L-Ron the Scientologist).
I found a very cool website that has made a chart of all the superheroes with religious identification, including links to many of the character’s religious history and personal opinions on religion. It is a massive database, definitely worth checking out. There are tons of heroes and villains listed (I learned Harley Quinn is Jewish and Karolina of the Runaways considers herself a New Age Vegan), and it is a very interesting study in how religion plays a part in comics.
I don’t think religion is necessary to superheroes, but, in many cases, it helps create a more defined character—after all, Magneto’s motives as a villain were as much because of the Holocaust as they were mutant oppression. Religion is a part of the human pathos, the very thing that superhero comics set out to explore.
Ellie Hillis 