There was a big hubub back in the Image heyday where, I think it was in the Liefeld sector of the Image universe, they did introduce a Thor. And he like most Liefeld sector characters was really really…crappy.
DC of course has used Thor in the Sandman comics. He’s a hulking(trademark? ) idiot with bushy red hair and a beard.
There’s anold issue of Ghost Rider (or maybe it’s Tales to Astonish with Ghost Rider) from the 70s where Satan (not Mephisto oddly enough) tries to kill Johnny Blaze inside a church… A long brown haired bearded man steps between them and admonishes Satan and banishes him… Yep… Jesus got involved.
Marvel has various devils and “hells” that they use. Mephisto, Satan, Belasco…hmmm… okay maybe only three…anyone else? Diablo is an alchemist so he doesn’t count.
I seem to recall reading in “Origins of Marvel Comics” (or was it “Son of Origins…”?) that Stan Lee didn’t think he could do a book about God, but he could do one about a god, which led to Thor making his first appearance in Journey Into Mystery #83.
I understand, however, that a lot of time has passed since then, and Stan Lee hasn’t been active in the day-to-day operations in a long time.
The “1602” character who corresponds to Donald Blake is very reluctant to tap Mjolnir (in its walking-stick form) and invoke Thor – he considers the invocation of a pagan god to be a blasphemy for which he will be damned.
I’ll add some vagueness to the debate by mentioning that I’ve heard of Odin making reference to “The One Above Us All”. There, is that an authoritative cite or what?
Not to mention “They Who Sit Above in Darkness” or words to that effect, who seem to have passed judgement on Loki in an old issue of Alpha Flight (#50?)
Look the all supreme “god” in marvel is referred to as the One above All. He is the creator and the destroyer of the multiverse. He controls all realities and even the most powerful Living Tribunal works under him. Next come the Celestials and the cosmic entities( eternity, death, infinity, etc.) The Gods which you talk of are but beings from other dimensions, with amazing powers and technology, who visited earth and were worshiped by us (including Norse, Hindu, Greek, Egyptian, African, Native American, Japanese, Persian, Chinese, Polynesian, Roman, Finnish and Skrull). They had no contribution whatsoever in our creation. While I am at it, othe powerful marvel characters are The Beyonder, The Watcher, Galactus, Silver Surfer and Thanos.
The only comic book character that is somewhat modelled on the Christian God is the DC character Presence.
On the other side of the coin there is Mephisto who is clearly the representation of the devil even to the point of capturing souls of people after they die.
Also I vaguely remember that crosses in the hands of night crawler or a star of david’s around the neck of kitty pride seemed to affect vampires. But this may have more to do with faith rather than supernatural intervention.
DC overtly accepts (pre-Flashpoint Reboot) the Judeo-Christian God. Not only is the Spectre A) the Wrath of God (so’s Eclipso–who’s responsible for Noah’s Flood–he got fired and the Spectre was the one who did all the stuff in Exodus) and B) an Archangel. We’ve seen heaven and it’s pretty damned close to the Judeo-Christian idea. We’ve seen Lucifer’s rebellion and fall. We’ve seen actual angels who’ve personally met God himself hang out in the Justice League. We’ve seen the Metatron. The fan-favorite origin of the Phantom Stranger is the one where he’s an angel who wouldn’t take sides in the rebellion. Some writers like JM Dematthis try to shoehorn Hindu and Buddhist elements in but they’re always forgotten and ignored by everyone else (because they don’t fit the “mythology” that Moore/Gainman, etc created.)
Marvel hedges it’s bets. The Asgardians/Olympians, Galactus, Eternity and even the Living Tribunal have always said that there’s a God above them and don’t claim to be the creator of everything.
However, in an early '70s run of Dr. Strange, we overtly saw the Creator of the Universe, on panel, wearing a really tacky costume. We saw him create the universe on panel. IIRC, he even says “Fiat Lux” (I haven’t read the story in 10 years+ so I’m not 100% sure of that line). Dr. Strange was going back through time, chasing a sorcerer from the future who was also going back through time, gathering up all the magic. Eventually, the 31st century sorcerer (Sise-Neg…get it?) got to the beginning of time and created the universe. (Marvel Premier 13-15 or so). So…while Sise-Neg may or may not be God (I believe they fudged that too, later on), he is the actual, physical creator of the Marvel universe.
While Mephisto ofen finds it convenient to let people think he is the devil, he is not.
As for the judeo-christian god, Marvel authors have often alluded to its existence, although the Fantastic Four actually met their creator on panel in FF 511.
If I recall aright, Mephisto’s gambit in that issue was to tempt the Hulk into the sin of pride by allowing old green genes to defeat him. Given that, I tend to think he was only funning about being powerless in the church.
Kind of on-topic, I just read a new issue of Justice League yesterday. DC, I know, but the backup story introduced a new character called Pandora. She takes down The Phantom Stranger :rolleyes: (so we now she’s awesome!!!). At any rate, she claims she not afraid of The Spectre, that she answers to a higher power than his boss. Who in the DCU wouldn’t fear The Spectre? And who could have a higher boss?
I know this is the “New 52” and all but some of the writing and has been piss-poor.
) idiot with bushy red hair and a beard.
