James W. Baker / Joseph Holmes / Seth Myers
What Makes a Superhero? Superheroes captivate our cultural imagination. From reading comic books in our childhood bedrooms to watching the latest blockbuster on the silver screen, we long to see the champion defeat the villain and ultimately rescue the world from certain destruction. Though the stories may be fantastical, our desires are not. Our hearts are drawn to superheroes because we want someone to triumph over evil and save the world. This issue of An Unexpected Journal proposes that just maybe our desires have already been fulfilled. ContributorsJesse W. Baker: "The Power of Weakness" on Questions of ViolenceDonald W Catchings, Jr.: "He Will Rise" on Nolan’s Salvific ThemesAnnie Crawford: "Super-Women and the Price of Power" on Gendered SuperheroesJoseph Holmes: "Superhero Moves Are Worship, Not Theme Parks" on the Attraction of Superhero MoviesChristy Luis: "Ex-Cult Member Saved by Grace" on the Dangers Of False HeroesJason Monroe: "Answering Joker’s Dark-Knight-Defying Anarchy"on Competing WorldviewsSeth Myers: "Global Superheroes from the Disneyverse and Studio Ghibli" on Heroism Manifested around the World; "Once a Prince or Princess: MacDonald’s Moral Superheroines and Heroes in the Princess Tales" on Ordinary Heroic Actions; and "Planets, Poetry, and the Power of Myth in Halo and Destiny" on the Apologetic Power of Video GamesAnnie Nardone: "Just a Sidekick?" on the Importance of SupportCherish Nelson: "Person or Persona: What’s Inside the Spider-Verse?" on Plantinga’s Conception of the MultiverseMegan Joy Rials: "Diana Prince, Apologist? Salvation and the Great Commission in Wonder Woman" on an Unlikely ApologistJason M. Smith: "Worth Reading" on Some Good Starting PointsJames M. Swayze: "Superheroes, Saviors, and C.S. Lewis" on Epic, Myth, and Human LongingsJohn P. Tuttle: "Humility Contra Pride as Represented in Thor (2011)" on the Superiority of VirtueClark Weidner: "Faith on Trial in Frank Miller’s Daredevil Comics" on Questions of the Greater Good About the CoverWe are all looking for a hero, someone to battle monsters that threaten. A hero can battle the monsters without, but only the Superhero can conquer the monster within. An Unexpected JournalSummer 2021Volume 4, Issue 2300 pages
