Is the Clown Prince of Crime anything special without his heroic nemesis? No. It’s exciting to see the Joker onscreen because of the problems he creates for Batman. How will Batman escape this death trap, or foil this scheme, or inspire the citizens of Gotham to rise above the fear and cruelty that the Joker would reduce them to? Without the Caped Crusader to combat him, the Joker is just another violent man who finds himself funnier than anyone else does. Don’t we have enoug

I reflect on Stan Lee's life and legacy at First Things: "It was impossible not to look up to Stan Lee if you were a nerdy kid (like me) interested in creating fantastical universes (like me). Books like How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way interspersed comics-drawing tutorials with color commentary from Stan Lee. I got one of those books in a Christmas stocking when I was maybe ten and traced the figures in it to generate my very first superheroes. His personality was so strong

I made another appearance on the podcast God and Comics, this accompanied by my wife Leah Libresco Sargeant, chatting with a geeky priest and deacon about the latest and greatest superhero epic, Avengers: Infinity War. One of the most interesting parts of the conversation was our discussion of the real world resonance of the film's antagonist Thanos, who reflects the despairing anti-natalist bent of many real people. Here's a transcribed excerpt: ME: I really appreciate what

I returned to God and Comics to talk about comic book origin stories. Which are our favorites? What trends in origin stories do we find upsetting? Are all retcons and retreads of origins bad? How does this all relate to God and the Incarnation? Plus, as a third-time guest on the show, I have the distinct honor to run the This-or-That segment—the first guest to recur often enough to do so! Listen to the podcast at the God and Comics site. #Podcast #GodandComics #Comics #Superh

I was a speaker at Doxacon 2017, a Christian sci-fi and fantasy convention in Washington, DC. My talk was about power & authority, Cap & Iron Man, and the whole moral architecture of the MCU. Find out why Tony Stark makes all the wrong sacrifices, what Captain America teaches us about conscience—and, finally, how Spider-Man: Homecoming is a cinematic exploration of Catholic social teaching's concept of subsidiarity. Listen to the talk at Ancient Faith radio. #Podcast #Speakin

"I am thrilled my younger sister finally got to see a female-led superhero film, one starring the most iconic superheroine in all of comics. Wonder Woman succeeds brilliantly as a course-correction for DC’s cinematic universe, giving us a hopeful and heroic protagonist instead of the travesties of Batman and Superman previously seen on screen. Yet the movie gestures at something even better, hinting that its heroine has a spiritual vocation of peacemaking. Sadly, it ends with

I was the guest on an episode of God and Comics where Fr. Jonathan, Fr. Matt, Fr. Kyle, and I discussed Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2. We talked about the film's humor and its depiction of surrogate space families. We went in-depth into the theology of Ego the Living Planet, a character who claims a god-like mantle for himself. Does he represent inaccurate images of god in the popular imagination? Or pagan ideas of gods as scaled-up humans? Possibly the only podcas

"Enter a mysterious cosmic being claiming to be Peter Quill’s long-lost father. His name is Ego, and he is a living planet—but he creates a humanoid avatar (played by Kurt Russell) to interact with the universe, especially the son he never knew. The Guardians are wary of this self-proclaimed god (“with a lowercase g,” he modestly adds) but they pay a visit to his planet—which, again, is he—so Quill can bond with his divine deadbeat dad. Ego lies at the intersection of two of

In the second segment of this First Things podcast, my wife Leah and I sit down with Julia Yost to discuss the film Logan and what is says about faith, fatherhood, and the evolution of the superhero genre. We talk about the way the Western-influenced film depicts superheroes not a power fantasies but as broken people trying to do good. Hear why we think this was a moving last hurrah for Hugh Jackman and Wolverine. Listen to the segment at 21:27 in the track below: #Podcast #F

"Logan wears its influences on its sleeve: Director James Mangold has his characters watch scenes of Shane on a hotel TV, and Johnny Cash plays over the credits. Here is the superhero as aging gunslinger, a midnight rider who knows God’s gonna cut him down. And it works. The scenes of familial bonding among the odd trio of Logan, Xavier, and Laura are surprisingly touching. The best part is seeing Logan, once a feral berserker, gruffly instruct the lab-raised Laura on the nic