Marvel – Church of the Geek

Brian and Sam discuss Thor: Love & Thunder along with the hefty theological question of where is God in the face of suffering? While Love and Thunder is distinctly a comedy, it still touches on the deep topics of theodicy, suffering and meaning – though it’s less than perfect. We discuss the distinctions between the film and Jason Aaron’s source comic run, how we answer questions about suffering, and how we struggle with faith when those answers aren’t forthcoming or acceptable. Plus, we sing a little They Might Be Giants.

Connect with us on Twitter @GeekChurch or at our website Church of the Geek.

To help support the podcast, please visit our Ko-Fi page here: https://ko-fi.com/churchofthegeek

Theme song by @RickRackYouTube

Review by: Samuel Blair

Hello and welcome to this episode of Church of the Geek: Off the Shelf, our periodic review of new comics. Today I’m reviewing New Mutants #25, “Best Laid Plans…”, written by Vita Ayala, art by Rod Reis and Jan Duursema, color by Ruth Redmond and lettering by Travis Lanham.

Illyana Rasputin has been through some things, but then again so has Madelyne Prior. Madelyne, if you remember, is the clone of Jean Grey created by Mr Sinister who just happened to come life as the real Jean died on the moon and tried to take over the world as the demonic Goblin Queen of Limbo. Illyana, also known by the name Magik, later was tied to the realm of Limbo as its reluctant ruler after the defeat of Madelyne. There is a whole lot more to the history of these two, but as hard as I tried to distill their complicated timelines into a few sentences I found I just couldn’t do it. Suffice it to say that both have seen some tremendous trauma in their lives, including kidnapping, abandonment, betrayal and death, never mind the whole “regent of hell” part.

Continue reading →

Brian and Sam discuss Dr. Strange 2 and places we have to reckon with notions of heroes and villains. We have an interesting discussion about the grounds of our moral choices, and how even heroes have things they need to repent of. Brian especially is interested in the perspective of virtue ethics versus consequentialist ethics in Dr Strange’s choice to use the Darkhold to stop Wanda, and Sam draws a parallel to the current problems in the Southern Baptist Convention.

Continue reading →

The Disney+ series Moon Knight is finished, so Brian and Sam jump in to discuss! Mental health, devotion and commitment, and Brian volunteering to be one particular deity’s avatar all inside!

And – it’s our 150’th episode! Woo! So many exclamation points!!

Continue reading →

It’s a new day! Brian and Sam try a new format for episodes, looking to be shorter and tighter on topics. Also, a bit of a new category of episodes, Gods In The (Fill in the Blank Here). Sam and Brian look to explore the ways gods are used in comics and comic-related materials. We hope you all like it!

This episode has us reflect on the first real deity in the MCU, Khonshu from the Moon Knight series.

Connect with us on Twitter @GeekChurch and on Facebook at Church of the Geek or at the blog Church of the Geek.

To help support the podcast, please visit our Ko-Fi page here: https://ko-fi.com/churchofthegeek

Theme song by @RickRackYouTube