"Remembrance of Things Past" a disquisition on a hero/heroine and their faith.

[Fantasyartist]

To my mind "Remembrance Of Things Past" , in which the Thing was "outed" as being Jewish was possibly the most moving story involving not just a member of the Fantastic Four but any Marvel hero/heroine.(hey I'm Catholic!)
I particularly liked the scene where Ben Grimm is seen reciting the Shema (the ancient Hebrew prayer for the dead)over the seemingly dead body of the pawnshop owner from the old neighbourhood and the scene where he refuses to forgive Ben for stealing his Star of David because he has strictly speaking done nothing worth forgiving over-asnd it wasn't even Yom Kippur- The "Day Of Atonement" anyway.

The only question is why it was never done earlier. It's not as if there aren't already stories in which a Marvel character's religious beliefs play a large role in his or her life, be it Frank Castle or Kurt Wagner's studying for the Catholic priesthood or Eddie Brock's reluctance to take his own life because according to his Church teaching, suicide is a mortal sin. There are other Marvel characters( Sabra, Shadowcat, Doc Samson, Moon Knight to say nothing of subsidiary characters such as Anna Kapplebaum or Bernadette Rosenthal in "Captain America") who are known to be Jewish.

I look forward to stories about the religious beliefs of his fellow FF-ers especially Sue and Johnny whom I strongly suspect of being Catholic( In FF #Annual 3, Reed and Sue are shown being married by a priest of an unnamed denomination but I suspect to be Catholic).

by the way I'm writing a novel dealing with the religious affiliations of Defenders' ally Seraph.

 

[Kelly]

This is kind of like your other thread....you are very much into religion.

 

[Malus]

This is kind of like your other thread....you are very much into religion.

I was pleased with what Karl Kessel's story (back in 2002, I think) and what it brought to Ben Grimm's character. The revelation of his Jewish background seemed natural and a bit unrevelatory, really, which was a good thing, I think.

Jack Kirby himself said he identified more with Ben Grimm than any of his other creations. And Kirby, as we know, was Jewish.
Everything about Kessel's story rang true.
And it greatly added to my enjoyment of Waid's "Hereafter" even though Waid never made reference to Ben's Jewish faith, at least not that I can recall.

But if we're to see anything similar concerning Reed, Sue or Johnny, I'd want it to be in the name of faithful character development, and not the result of some writer or editor's agenda.

Personally, I've always kinda figured the other three of them for either lapsed Irish Catholics or Christmas-&-Easter Protestants...probably Methodists. Who knows?

I certainly wouldn't mind seeing the territory covered by the right writer.

 

[Kelly]

i agree, it shouldn't be done....just to be DONE...

 

[Fantasyartist]

Dear JMA Fan

I admit that I myself am a practising Catholic but I still think "Remembrance Of Things" and the whole issue of a hero/heroine's faith is a valid one, explored with characters in Marvel as different as Nightcrawler, the Punisher, Venom or Firebird (all Catholics) Rogue of the X-Men(Southern Baptist), as well as The Thing, Doc Samson, Sabra, Shadowcat, Moon Knight( all Jewish)
So what's the problem?

Terry

 

[Kelly]

Dear JMA Fan

I admit that I myself am a practising Catholic but I still think "Remembrance Of Things" and the whole issue of a hero/heroine's faith is a valid one, explored with characters in Marvel as different as Nightcrawler, the Punisher, Venom or Firebird (all Catholics) Rogue of the X-Men(Southern Baptist), as well as The Thing, Doc Samson, Sabra, Shadowcat, Moon Knight( all Jewish)
So what's the problem?

Terry

Thats cool....never said it wasn't valid.

 

[Fantasyartist]

Oops- I should have said that Ben recited the Shema(Hebrew profession of faith) not "Kaddish"-the prayer for the dead!

Terry