Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Faith and the Fourth World


On the second read of Final Crisis #1, I was drawn to the above exchange. The casual reader sees this as the request of a dying man. Knowing that it is a god which fell changes the scene's meaning. These words are no longer a request, this is a commandment. This is the sole commandment of Orion, War God of New Genesis. Fight.

This line of thinking progressed. Considering Kirby's New Gods in religious terms leads to interesting places.

Darkseid rules Apokolips by fear. He is absolute authority with totalitarian ambitions. In Morrison's JLA: Rock of Ages, he transforms Earth into dystopia similar to Orwell's 1984. One word stands out on all signs, posters, and banners: obey.
This is the image often associated with the God of the old testament. Ecclesiastes 12:13 states, "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man."



Mr. Miracle, whom I love, also resonates with biblical themes.





Aside from the obvious similarity of a son being given to the enemy for the sake of peace, Scott Free features other Christ-like attributes. Being sent to the armaghetto only to eventually escape with Barda compares to the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus, in which Christ goes to Hell to free the righteous. Freedom, of which Mr. Miracle is living embodiment, is often viewed as the focal point of Christ's message. The word free, or variations there of, appears 68 times in the new testament.

I don't mean to keep posting about church and comics, I'll change subjects soon.