SUPERHEROES/CATHOLICISM – If Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman Were Catholic Saints…
Superheroes inspire a lot of people to go out and be good people. They often embody the ideal virtues and morals, and overcome obstacles for the greater good of others. But before superheroes, the western world used to read about and was inspired by another group of people who’s stories had a similar function, namely, Catholic Saints.
How the Comics are Great Podcast Got me Thinking
I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately. It started after listening to an episode of the Comic are Great podcast called: Give Your Heroes a Reason to Quit with Ben Hatke
Podcast host Jerzy Drozd and guest Ben Hatke, spoke about heroes in comics in the same way that informed Catholics speak about Saints. And Jerzy, who absolutely LOVES the 80s He-Man cartoons, uses the unintentional Christian morality play that those cartoons are, as part of the basis for his moral outlook.
I find this fascinating but it’s not unusual.
Documentaries like Legend of the Knight, show how people have taken a characters like Batman and have done the same thing that Jerzy does with He-Man.
What strikes me about these things is that, as a Catholic, I do the same thing but not with Superheroes.
Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Superheroes, but my moral compass and the examples of good morally heroic living are not them, but Christ and His Saints. In fact, I go so far as to judge the moral virtues and faults of Superheroes next to Christ and His Saints to see if they are indeed good moral examples in the first place.
Saints, History or Legends?
Now many stories of Catholic Saints are almost as fictitious as Superhero comics. They are only legends.
For example, just about everything we know about St. George is a legend. The only thing we can say is factual about him is that he was a…
“Martyr…who suffered at or near Lydda, also know as Diospolis, in Palestine, probably before the time of Constantine.“
Everything else about him seems to be legend.
Yet, there are other Saints who we know a lot about and whose stories are NOT “just legend” but history. Though many people wouldn’t believe it, some of these people (but by no means all) showed signs of God given “super powers,” a.k.a. charisms or Charistmata.in Catholic terminology.
Superhero Archetypes vs. “Saint Archetypes”
Once upon a time, in the western world, people would read the stories of these Saints and get inspired by them. ESPECIALLY since they were historical figures. They would read about their heroic virtuous lives, and think, “If they can do it, so can I,” and follow in their footsteps.
For example, St. Ignatius of Layola, founder of The Society of Jesus (a.k.a. The Jesuits) himself became a Saint this way.
All this thinking lead me to wonder, if superheroes have replaced Saints as inspiration, are there any similarities between some Superheroes and some Saints? Are some Superheroes, archetypes of Saints?
I was surprised to find out the answer is mostly no.
I decided not to count the legendary Saint stories and only stick to the historical ones (I’m counting biblical stories as historical even though there are some poetic liberties in them). When I did that, I discovered, that there are no “Saint Archetype” in the same way that there are Superhero archetypes.
Or perhaps I should say, the Saint Archetypes are very different and more diverse than superhero archetypes.
Fortunately I DID find that there are SOME Saints that shared similarities to some Superheroes. Which brings me, finally, to the point of this article.
Which Superhero Resembles Which Saint?
If superheroes where Catholic Saints, which ones would they be? Which Saint do some superheroes most resemble?
I came up with about eleven. Here are only three. Mostly because it took me a long time to draw these pictures.
Here’s the first three from the list, with an explanation of why they resemble each other:
Superman, strange visitor from another planet, who fights a never ending battle for truth and Justice.
St. Michael, mysterious being from the metaphysical world, who fights evil in all it’s forms for He who IS Truth, Justice, Love and being itself.
Superman and St. Michael both are “Princes” or leaders of their respective groups. Both of them fly and fight to save human kind from those who would do us harm.
They are both paragons of virtue and embodiments of what it is to fight for good.
Both are symbols of hope. Superman, with his optimism and heroic moral virtue fighting the worst of the worst. St. Michael because he is the one who will defeat the dragon and his angels at the end of time as he did at it’s beginning (Rev. 12: 7-9).
Superman fights super powered bad guys. St. Michael literally fights against Satan and all his works.
Superman is a good example of goodness and saves people from death. St. Michael rescues “the souls of the faithful from the power of the enemy, especially at the hour of death.” – New Advent: Catholic Encyclopedia
Superman is the champion of and defender of the Earth and it’s inhabitants. St. Michael is “the champion of God’s people, the Jews in the Old Law, the Christians in the New Testament; therefore he was the patron of the Church, and of the orders of knights during the Middle Ages.” – New Advent: Catholic Encyclopedia
Superman tends to send the villains he fights to a places where they can be judged and imprisoned. St. Michael calls “away from earth and bring men’s souls to judgment.” – New Advent: Catholic Encyclopedia
If Superman was a Catholic Saint, he would be St. Michael the Archangel.
Batman, loner and crusader of justice.
St. Martin of Tours, hermit and bishop who stood up against injustice.
This comparison is a tad less elegant than the one above.
Batman fights bad guys but doesn’t kill. St. Martin started his career as a Centurion who, after his conversion, refused to take a life.
Bruce Wayne traveled the world to learn the skills he needed to become Batman. After being discharged from the army, St. Martin traveled, seeking to learn from St. Hilary, how to be a better Christian.
Batman fights in a city where truth and justice are corrupt. He often comes home bruised, scarred, and injured from his adventures. St. Martin opposed the Arian heretics who taught a false Christianity through out Illyricum distorting the truth of orthodox Christianity. He opposed them with such zeal, he was publicly scourged.
Batman prefers to work alone and has a secret headquarters called the “Batcave”. St. Martin preferred to be a hermit. He had several “Martincaves,” of sorts. One on the island of Gallinaria in the Gulf of Genoa, one on a piece of land, now called Liguge, and one in a desert, enclosed by a steep cliff and tributary on the other at Marmoutier.
Batman has a “batsignal” which is lit when he’s most needed. He helps those who most need him. St. Martin was on call by all those who needed him. And helped all those he could in many parts of his world.
Batman begrudgingly became part of the Justice League. He prefers to work alone or with a very small team. St. Martin refuses to be a Bishop of the town of Tours. He was tricked into it by having someone tell him his wife was dying and they needed his help, only to find out it was a lie. The town was waiting for him to declare him Bishop.
Batman’s example has lead other heroes to imitate him, such as Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl, Batwing, and Huntress to name a few. St. Martin’s example lead others to imitate him. He established monasteries full of followers in all the places he settled at.
Batman does what he does to prevent the type of injustice that lead to his parent’s tragic death to happen to anyone else. Near the end of his life, St. Martin defended the lives of some Spanish Priscillianist heretics, who were threatened with bloody persecution, presumably out of both Christian mercy and because he’d been in a similar spot himself once.
If Batman was a Catholic Saint, he’d most like have been St. Martin of Tours
Wonder Woman, super powered Amazon warrior from the island of Themyscira.
St. Joan of Arc, mystic warrior woman of France.
Wonder Woman is known for her compassion for the down trodden. St. Joan was known for her compassion for the poor.
Wonder Woman is an icon and symbol of the strength women possess. St. Joan IS the actual example of this very thing.
In many stories, Wonder Woman had to prove herself in the eyes of those who saw her as “just a woman.” St. Joan had to prove that her help and what she said was true to everyone she was trying to help.
Wonder Woman is an example of feminine virtue. St. Joan, The Maid, truly was virtuous in every way. Not only a great example for women but a great example of strength and virtue for men as well.
Wonder Woman has an origin full of the mysticism of Greek Myth. St. Joan’s journey began through her supernatural experience.
Wonder Woman has some powerful and cool looking armor which she wears over her regular costume when she goes to war. St. Joan donned armor when she went into battle.
Wonder Woman fought in wars. St. Joan did as well.
If Wonder Woman was a Catholic Saint, she’d be Joan of Arc.
There’s More
That’s all I’ve got for now. Like I wrote above, I came up with a list of eleven comparisons but the drawing above take a long time to do.
I might do another batch of comparisons at a later date.
I will say that I’ve found a match of the 80s He-Man and it’s just PERFECT. I may just do that one as a one off just for Jerzy.
What do you think? Can you come up with some good matches, or better matches? Sound off on the comments below.
If you like this sort of thing, there’s more if you sign up for my newsletter. You get a free digital book with my drawings in it too.
Thanks for reading!
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designed by Richard Garfield (creator of 
) is a must. Below you’ll find the three main reasons I think this is so.
and I thought I’d write about why it’s such a great mystery show for gamers.
show has been the only mystery show to really have me coming back for more. Mostly because the portrayal of Sherlock is so well done.
(affiliate link). Yes, I know I’m late to the party. Princess movies just aren’t a priority for me. I’m not the target audience.
(First Edition)
is out now. So you can play the new and improved version.
Luise,
That is a great illustration of the Podcast Expo. Sorry you did not make it to the Mass.
God bless,
Fr. Jay
Just found your page about Italy! Loved it! Lived in Italy a couple of years; just doing a YouTube video about how to get to the Sistine Chapel. Your sketches brought back so many memories (especially the “Metro at Rush Hour” type).
Dear Luis,
Very interesting and thoughtful blog. If you are interested in Catholicism and boardgames you might appreciate “Vatican” the boardgame I designed. It has been selling worldwide and we have gotten very favorable comments
Sincerely,
Stephen Haliczer Ph.D.
Distinguished Research Professor
Product Designer
The College of DuPage Press
Hey! I’ve been trying to call you for a couple weeks! I should have checked your blog sooner. I thought you might have had the baby by now! Congrats! Call me ya bum. My number…unlike yours… is the same xxx-xxx-xxxx.
im doing a piece of it coursework and wondered if i could put your
“computer stoopid” picture on it.
I would acknowledge where it came from beneath it and in the bibliography.
If the answer is yes then could you tell me the artists name too?
thanks. keith.
Sure, absolutely, go right ahead. Thanks for asking.
Hi Luise,
I just came upon your Nephilim skeleton debunking image….very interesting.
I wish we could have met at Comic Con to discuss certain issues. Nothing that
I would want to discuss openly here.
Hope to hear from you,
Den
If you want to discuss something privately, you could always e-mail me. The address is up there under the “Hi, Welcome!” about the top commentators. It’s luis(at)luisescobarblog(dot)com.
Can you give me permission to use one of your illustrations for a tee shirt. I really want to wear “there must be some way to plug this keyboard into this game” – It’s how I see the world.. and you explained everything I want to tell the world in that one illustrzt8ion.
Gina
Yes, Gina. You can make it into a shirt for yourself off of that cartoon. I’m flattered.
I’ve been thinking about making shirts off of my little cartoons but I’m not sure which ones to do. Outside of an occasional cartoon that really hits home for someone, I’m not sure if they would sell.
So go right ahead Gina. Have fun.
Hi Luis,
My name is Phil and I came across your site while looking up information about animation and voice-over work. I’m a huge fan of the Simpsons & Futurama and a big Billy West fan (Ren&Stimpy, Futurama, Ect.). It is truly amazing to me how so many individuals come together to create these animated cartoons and the quality of the end product. I’m curious from your perspective how much work you have to re-do sometimes because of the networks and the way they censor some of the work that is being done. Best of luck to you in your projects. – Phil
You’d be surprised Phil. The biggest censors of the show are the writers themselves. They often pull back a joke they think is going too far. Sometimes, some of the jokes are funny too. It’s the artists that end up complaining about it. For example, there was a joke in one of the Halloween shows that all the artists thought was really funny. It was the show where Homer goes back in time on his toaster. In one of the futures he comes back too, he finds himself married to Patty and Selma. He discovers this when they show up waring lingerie. They looked really nasty, with their flab and hairy legs. When we saw it, everyone roared with horrified laughter. It was crazy. For some reason, during the re-write, they cut the gag because they thought it was too much. It was very disappointing. They didn’t even put the scene as an extra on the DVD.
Hope that answers your question.
It does. Thanks for the reply Luis. That gag actually would have been hilarious! Too bad it didn’t make it. I wonder if some unnecessary second guessing happens though because the writers feel they may be going over the top? (If that’s possible.) I know there is that fine line that writers and creators have to walk probably not only with the content of the show that’s created but with the networks as well. At least from what I understand in reading interviews and seeing convention interviews. Storyboards I think really help to set the tone of an episode and I bet it probably helps to justify many of the ideas that get spun out during the writing sessions of the writers. You all do great work on the show and I’m going to continue reading through your website. Thanks! – Phil
Hello there. I was researching nephilim for a report and I foung your blog. Its too bad those pics were all frauds. If they had been real, it would have been amazing.
After I read your stuff on the pictures I hung around a little, and read your “about me section”.
I am merely curious, so if I overstep a boundary, please feel free to tell me so.
I was wondering, sir, since you state that you are in fact a roman catholic, weather or not you believed in the deity of Jesus Christ?
I myself am a Christian, but I research other religions and alternate sects of my own. You could say its a hobby. In any case, if you find my inquiry impolite, I am sorry. I mean no offense.
Heh, no Christine, your question isn’t impolite. It’s good of you to ask. Too often people just assume things about Catholicism without asking.
The simple answer to your question is, “Yes”. Catholicism, teaches that Jesus Christ is God, the second person of the Holy Trinity.
The slightly more involved answer is as follows: The Catechism of the Catholic Church (the official book that explains all that the Catholic Church teaches) in paragraphs 446-451 ( http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P1H.HTM ) states the following:
Arianism was a Heresy that the Catholic Church fought against that deputed this belief around the years AD 250-336 which concluded in the Council of Nicea. For more info go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arianism or http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01707c.htm .
Hope that answers your question.
thank you. most people would out-right refuse to answer that question nowadays.
May the Lord bless you, Luis!
Luis – my name is Luis Escobar – every now and then I Google my name just to see what pops up. Well – I often come across you. No doubt – you have discovered me too. Anyway – sure there a ton of our Luis Escobar’s out there but I thought that I would just say hello and let you know that you have a cool name. BTW – I am the third Luis in four! Grandpa, Father, me and my son. Louie’s all around!
HA ha! Yeah, you have a great name too.
Wow! That’s a lot of Luisesesss in your family. Pretty cool. Love your site dude. I’ll link to you.
wow – that was fast – I am a photographer, distance runner and high school cross country coach. I live in Santa Maria California. Married with three kids. Your work is great. You are very skilled. I will take some time and learn a little more about you and your work. Very cool. Well – I am off to a work with one of my running students. I will look forward to talking with you a little more in the future. Luis
Cool. Anytime.
i like simpsons, starting watch becouse my doughter like it
I write comment but strange dropdown
Howdee Luis, if you are a real Christian then i would suggest you to do some research on your big boss (Matt Groening being a 33rd degree mason).
Loads of subliminal messages in the Simpsons, and occult symbolism.
(Even 9-11 was announced).
Greetings…. (Peace be upon you)
I would like to present to you all the sciences related to cosmogony together with its rules as per its identity which is something not similar to any of the other things and is out of any and assimilation according to the following point of view:
1. The theories of on cosmogony lack the fundamentals of the origin of things as they are mainly based on incidence and on the unseen.
2. The cosmic extension that has been taking place is the result of the range of vision through using the telescope and any other instruments because the thing being seen is determined by vision and this is one of the universe laws.
3. Knowing the within secrets of man will uncover secrets of the universe as the apparent entities of existence are of six kinds: the perspective (what is being seen), the tangible world (what can be touched and felt), what can be weighed, what can be heard, things that have flavor and things that have smell. These, in most cases, are overlapping and are counted six in number.
The origin of all entities are bare pictures of materials, void of force and readiness; it shines in debate and is complete when read. The investigation of scientists is restricted to this reading (capability and liability) where the material is with all its atoms, energy and speed and this alone is useless compared with its radiance.
The first cosmic law is that nothing can be determined unless established with what is contrary to it. And things are sometimes concrete and sometimes abstract and both are the same according to law.
The origin of radiance is the brain and by saying this I do not mean perception but the simple core of it. By formulating this equation the truth becomes uncovered.
The subject is highly complicated and can only be clarified by word of mouth or by arguments.
So, what do you have to present. (show)
بعد التحية :-
أود أن أعرض عليكم جميع علوم نشأة مفردات الكون وقوانينه وفق ذاتيته التي هي شئ ليس كباقي الأشياء خارجه عن حد التعطيل والتشبيه حسب النظرة التالية :-
1/ أن نظريات نشأة الكون تفتقد لأصول نشأة الأشياء وتحيل على ألصدفه أو الغيب .وكذلك استغراق البحث في الأفاق لم يأتي بغايته إلا بقدر ربطه بالوعي الإنساني.
2/ التوسع الكوني الحاصل هو نتيجة المد البصري من خلال التلسكوب وغيره لأن المنظور أليه يثبت بالبصر وهذا أحد قوانين الكون
3/ معرفة أسرار بطون الإنسان تكشف أسرار الكون حيث أن مفردات الوجود الظاهر على ستة أنواع (المنظور أليها ). (الملموسة). (الموزونة). (المسموعة). (ذات طعم). (ذات رائحة). وتكون في أغلب الأحيان متداخلة .وأصل الأشياء كلها صور عارية عن المواد . خاليه من القوه والاستعداد . بمناظرتها تشرق وبمطالعتها تتم . وبحث العلماء ينحصر في هذه المطالعة (القوه والاستعداد) حيث المادة ودقائقها وطاقتها وسرعتها وهذا وحده لا جدوى منه بقدر إشراقها . . وأصل الإشراق هو العقل ولا أقصد به الإدراك أنما هو )جوهر بسيط درأك محيط) وبتكوين هذه المعادلة تنكشف الحقيقة .
الموضوع غاية بالتعقيد يوضح بالمشافهة والجدل فما هو عرضكم ؟
توضيح:-
* أود أن أبين بأن وسائط الإدراك هي الحواس ألخمسه + تحسس الوزن.
* إما أحوال الإدراك ( تصوراته أي المعاني التي يلبسها ) فهي ستة أيضا ثلاثة وخلافها :-
1/ الحياة والموجود ولها صور فمثلا صورة الحياة هي الماء.
2/ الحركة والسكون ولها صور فمثلا صورة الحركة هي الهواء.
3/ الانفعال والسكينة ولها صور فمثلا صورة الانفعال هي النار.
* إما مراتب نفس الإدراك إي نفس ألصوره فهي خمسه:-
1)الجماد 2) النبات 3) الحيوان 4) الملكوت 5) الإنسان وصور ذلك كثيرة.
*** وكل هذه الصور تندرج ضمن تصورات الإدراك .منها ظاهره ومنها كامنة إي لم تظهر لحد الآن . والتوسع الكوني الحاصل هو ظهور لبعض هذه الصور الكامنة.
*وأروع إبداعات الإدراك هو العقل (جوهر بسيط درأك محيط ) ولكل واحده تفصيلاتها الوظيفية.
ووظيفة العقل هي ربط كل الصور المذكورة أعلاه بعوالمها الحسيه ألسبعه. وعالمنا هو العالم السابع وفق نمطيته الحسيه. وتجري آثار العقل على كل الصور الكونية فتصبح محسوسة وفق قوتها واستعدادها التصوري.
قد لا يفهم الموضوع بشكل جيد كونه لم يطرق بتاتا
Lol been stalking you. You’re pretty good. Not bad for a dad of many. Very talented. Don’t know how you keep up. Chat soon on twitter
An overwhelming desire to keep sane helps.
I’m doing some onsite interviews at Mystic Dragon’s Festival of Books. Would you have time to talk with me about your work and “The Art of Draw Fu”? at 4 pm on August 15th? Please let me know (and your “Black Terror Kid” comics, along with your comic about your trip to Rome, are really fun!).
Yes, absolutely. I’d be happy to.
Great, thank you! Could you email me a contact for you, at the above email link, and I’ll send you more information (and I’m ordering your book now!).