Table Of ContentAmerican 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 Fantas-
tic 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 say-
ing things about what it means to be human, but, starting with Lee, largely
saying the s ame things. Author Anthony R. Mills argues that the shift away
from individualistic ideas of human personhood and toward relational con-
ceptions 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 real-
istic 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 Semi-
nary. 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 2 American Theology, Superhero
Human Comics, and Cinema
Humanity in Deep Focus The Marvel of Stan Lee and the
Antonio Sison 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
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Contents
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction 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 192
Index 204
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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 encour-
agement 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 p ublic
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.
