COMICS : MARVEL'S MOST RELIGIOUS SUPERHEROES IN U.S.A.

Infinity Crusade identifies

Marvel's Most Religious Superheroes

The list of heroes abducted by the Goddess in Infinity Crusade #1, comprising what one could consider Marvel's officially "most religious" leading superheroes (at least in June 1993), is as follows:

Captain America Madrox the Multiple Man Jean Grey Namorita Silhouette Sider-Man Puck Archangel Crystal Firelord Hercules Shaman Talisman Moondragon Quicksilver Scarlet Witch Silver Surfer Sersi Living Lightning Thor Invisible Woman USAgent Moon Knight Wolfsbane Doctor Strange Wonder Man Daredevil Black Knight Windshear Sasquatch Storm Gamora Sleepwalker

                 One of the few places in mainstream comics where a large number of major superheroes have been explicitly identified as religious was within the Marvel crossover series Infinity Crusade, written by Jim Starlin, pencilled by Ron Lim, and inked by Al Milgrom. In Infinity Crusade #1 (June 1993), a powerful and mysterious being known as the "Goddess" recruits a large number of leading Marvel superheroes to serve in her crusade. The Goddess is actually the "benevolent" side of Adam Warlock, somehow split off from him, and she uses mind control to cause various heroes to think that they are willingly enlisted in her plan to bring about a new golden age for the universe. The Goddess specifically chooses heroes are Marvel's most religious characters, thus confirming for readers which characters are among the stronger religious believers. Not all superheroes who were religious believers were gathered by the Goddess, however. The Beast (Hank McCoy of the X-Men), for example, points out that he, too, believes in God, and asks why he was not taken along with the others. The heroes decide the answer must be that Hank's belief, and the others left behind, is not as strong as those who were taken.

                 Thirty-three characters were identified as the most religious superheroes in the Marvel Universe in Infinity Crusade (June 1993). In this issue, a powerful being who identified herself as "the Goddess" kidnapped the superheroes she had identified as being the most religious active superheroes at the time. The Goddess was a manifestation of the "benevolent" side of Adam Warlock, and she planned to use these heroes in her crusade to rid the galaxy of evil and usher in a new golden age of peace. After these 33 characters had been kidnapped by the Goddess, the remaining superheroes gathered to try to figure out what was going on. The Vision analyzed data about who had been taken and who had not, and explained his analysis (Infinity Crusade #1, page 32):

Now that the appropriate files have been examined I believe I have sufficient hard data to put forth that theory I mentioned earlier. I feel confident I know why these particular paranormals were abducted. All the missing share a common trait or experience... An event or attitude that might be categorized as religious. Many among the missing hold deeply felt moral stands or intense spiritual belief systems. Those who do not fit that profile have all had after-death experiences... My theory does not hold that these attitudes aided in the missing individual's abduction, only that these traits may have determined who would be taken.

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