RELIGIOUS AFFILIATIONS OF COMIC BOOK CHARACTERS
Some Top Super-Heroes Superman Methodist Spider-Man Protestant Batman Episcopalian/Catholic (lapsed) Wonder Woman Greco-Roman Classical Religion Aquaman Greco-Roman Classical Religion The Hulk Catholic (lapsed) Captain America Protestant Invisible Woman Episcopalian Nightcrawler Catholic Shadowcat Jewish Daredevil Catholic Hawkman Egyptian classical religion The Thing Jewish The Atom Jewish (lapsed) Zatanna Dianic Wiccan Elektra Greek Orthodox
Dawn probably knows every comic book character’s religious identity, but I had no idea they HAD religious affiliations, didn’t know what I didn’t know including the fact that there is a comic book superhero literally named The Atheist. (But even that religious identity is not quite as straightforward as it seems?)
These graphic groupings by every faith imaginable, look like they’d provide hours of fun!
Young Son noted the Catholic superhero group photo was much larger than the Methodists (group pictured above and part of my heritage) and opined it must be because Catholics tended to have larger families . . would that affect superheroism though, considering most are unique rather than just ordinary families with extraordinary genes?
So it all just strikes me as cool. Favorite Daughter is into real-world religions and Young Son is into comic superheroes, so both may enjoy playing in the power of story here, maybe even together. 
Hmmm, and maybe they could start by helping me figure out why “The Atom” has a Jewish backstory yet “the atom” is the US Government’s official symbol for non-believers.
Frisky cock of the snook for this find, to the idea-packed unschooling resource site Thinking Sticks.
There’s an actual “Aquaman”? I *totally* thought that was a fictional superhero made up by the writers on Entourage!
Yes, there was an Aquaman.
I have to wonder what the religion was of each of the creators of these characters. The same as the characters or different, and what does that tell us?
Nance
Ever since I read Michael Chabon’s acclaimed novel, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, maybe eight years ago? — I thought all superhero comic authors were Woody Allen/Philip Roth-style Jewish boys . . . they aren’t?
Nance, this resource site has all kinds of sourcing and interpretations, seems like accuracy and comprehensiveness are the whole goal. You will surely find answers to all life’s cosmic comic questions there!
Wow! That should come in handy!
Nance
Loved it..loved that we Methodists are connected to what I consider the only real viable super hero..Superman!! Gorgeous, sensitive, cool and so sexy. He’s my idea of a superhero! The site looks amazing, what fun!
YOU’RE fun, Betty. I can almost hear your voice wagging in your words, makes me smile. Our local homeschool list has been wrangling over ratifying the UN Rights of the Child Convention treaty, so it’s a pleasure to hear a little unabashed fun instead.
Perhaps there’s more angst to explore for a Catholic superhero than for a Methodist one?
Hadn’t thought about *that* particular angle
I was thinking more along the lines of making the backstory more interesting. Catholicism is a notoriously guilt-inducing religion, while from what I’ve seen of them, mainline Protestant denominations like Methodism are much less so. If a comic book is going to have a brooding superhero struggling with psychological issues like Batman, the Hulk, or Daredevil, it makes much more sense from a narrative standpoint for him/her to be a Catholic. And for the more whitebread heroes like Superman and Captain America to be Protestants.
Of course, there are exceptions to this like Spiderman, who’s plenty angsty while still a Protestant.
What about the Woody Allen Jewish angst? When I as pure southern whitebread thinking literally that differences were all black and white (but still protestant!), first began to learn about the larger human world, I often thought of Catholic and Jewish kids as having a lot in common, including this.
About Spiderman’s angst, is Emo a religion?
Well, it appears from the linked graphic that Jews are overrepresented among superheroes relative to their percentage of adherents worldwide (which WikiPedia says is 0.02%)
so funny…that we’re having this quasi-tongue in cheek serious conversation about this subject.
I want to add some form of serious researched comment…but my brain is pooped from a very tiring day…thanks for the laugh
oh, c’mon- y’all knew that geeks are overrepresented among home educators (at least among the ones not exclusively motivated by religion)
Speaking of our very American Methodist hero Mr. Superman, here’s Favorite Daughter’s take (from two years ago TODAY, what a coincidence, when she was still 16):
And a frisky cock of the snook to COD, for this very serious comic analysis:
Comics to follow Watchmen (depending on what you liked best about that)
I actually don’t know the religions of all the characters but if you find it interesting it’s always good to check out Superman’s original origin story. It’s very Jewish (fitting as he was conceived by a couple of Jewish kids -one a Canuck at that) and the Christ-like aspects were a later addition.
I should have commented earlier but we moved and I’ve been having trouble getting on the internet. Plus, I’m now confined to dial-up.
About the move, congratulations — I’ve been following it on your blog. Are the kids settling in? Glad to see you commenting again.
Something new about superhero um, reality?
Superheroes, Supervillains and the Law
[...] Superman won’t like this, and neither would Little JJ’s grandmother! [...]
Just for kids from a Pulitzer-Prize winning author, comes . . . .
AWESOME MAN!