THE MESSIAHS

1. What does the term ‘messiah’ mean? The term simply means “anointed”

2. Describe the messiah heroes of the funny pages. The messiah heroes of the funny pages are noble, self-sacrificing heroes with a sense of altruism. 3. Define altruism The belief in or practice of selfless concern for the well-being of others.

4. What are the first two examples of messiah figures the author mentions? Superman and spider-Man.

5. What did the messiah figure in comics/literature address in people? The messiah figure addressed deep- seated anxieties in American life like fascism, corporate corruption, and organized crime.

6.Why is it sometimes difficult to relate to an altruistic hero? It is sometimes difficult to relate to an altruistic hero because they use their powers not for personal gain.

DO NOW: altruism write about one of these options: 1.An experience you’ve had where you practiced altruism. 2.An experience where you experience altruism from someone else. 3.A person from history, or someone you know, who you believe is altruistic. Why?

7. What year did superman debut? Superman debuted in 1938 in action comics #1 8. What hero is easily the model for future superheroes? superman!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!! 9. List some of superman’s strengths Flight, super strength, and x-ray vision

10. How does Les Daniels (of DC Comics) compare Superman to Jesus of the Bible? Les Daniels says that Superman was “a man sent from the heavens by his father to use his special powers for the good of humanity.”

Superman’ s powers are tied to the sun, which ties him to the egyptian solar god horus. 11. How is superman tied to a god like horus?

in “the death of superman”, superman is killed by doomsday and stays dead for several issues while other superheroes try to fill his shoes. Superman rises again, like jesus, and reclaims his place. 12. What publicity stunt in 1992 echoes the story of jesus in the superman comic?

They explored the norse myths and gave them their own unique spin through the comic book series thor. 13. What did stan lee & jack kirby do with norse myths?

In 1983 walt simonson brought thor back to his mythological roots and added some well- researched nordic design flourishes to the comic strip. 14. In 1983 how did artist walt simonson change the thor comic? YOUTUBE

Captain america originally fought fascism. He was initially indented as an anti-hitler propaganda vehicle. 15. What did Captain America originally fight?

Steve rogers was a sickly young man who wants to join the war effort, but is turned away due to his small size. He is noted for his zeal though and is enlisted in a super- soldier program where he is transformed, through science, into captain america. 16. How did Steve Rogers become captain america?

Captain america co-founded the avengers. 17. What group did captain america co-found?

Captain america lent some inspiration to the movie easy rider. 18. What popular movie of the late 1960’s did captain america lend some inspiration to?

People think captain america lost steam in the 1980’s because his patriotism became a tricky subject for intellectual and modern american comic book readers. 19. Why do people think the captain america comic lost steam in the 1980’s?