Theological Readings of Batman v Superman

Last updated on: March 29, 2016 at 4:41 pm by John Vest

Theological Readings of Batman v Superman 2016-03-29T16:41:49-04:00 John Vest

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Image courtesy Warner Bros.

I’ve been a comic book enthusiast since I was a kid. And while I still like to turn the pages of a monthly serial or graphic novel when I have time, these days I most often engage in these contemporary American myths via movies. As a fan, as a father, as a youth worker, and as a theologian, I’m thrilled that we are in the midst of a golden era of superhero films.

My sermons and youth talks are often peppered with references to comic book stories. The archetypal themes of comic books intersect with Christian faith in numerous ways. So I tend to watch new superhero movies as soon as I can, not just for my own entertainment but also as opportunities for theological reflection.

Created by the Jewish team of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the Superman mythology draws heavily on biblical and Jewish cultural themes. In recent years—especially in movies—Superman has been portrayed with messianic and Christ-like imagery. So it was probably not an accident that the new Batman v Superman film opened on Easter weekend. And despite overwhelmingly negative reviews, people still flocked to theaters to see it.

Over on my personal blog I wrote two theological reflections. The first suggested that Batman v Superman is a grim theodicy that explores questions of God’s goodness in relation to human suffering and whether or not life has meaning and purpose.

In this theodicy, unlike it’s biblical counterpart in the Book of Job, God does not provide any answers from the whirlwind. By the end of Batman v Superman, God is dead. All that’s left is a somewhat redeemed and slightly tamed humanity personified by Bruce Wayne and Batman. It seems that redoubled human resolve and the dei ex machina represented by the soon-to-be-assembled Justice League are our only sources of hope.

After attending a Good Friday service that juxtaposed Christ’s passion with the pain and suffering of our contemporary world, I wrote a second post. This time I drew on the theories of René Girard.

As I listened to this Good Friday homily calling out the violence, anger, hatred, and power-mongering that pervades our world like a sickness, all I could see in my mind were the images of senseless destruction that fill the screen in Batman v Superman. Slowly it dawned on me: this film is a cinematic rendering of the horrors of Good Friday. Like the passion narrative, it reveals and amplifies the horrors we see and/or experience in the world every single day. Following this Girardian reading, I began to wonder if Batman v Superman exposes the superhero genre for the sham that it is: the popularization of the myth of redemptive violence.

I hope you’ll check out these posts in full and let me know what you think about my analyses. But I’d also love to hear what you think about Batman v Superman and its theological themes. How—if at all—might you use this film in youth ministry?

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