Is the Christian god in Marvel Comics?

Is the Christian god in Marvel Comics and if so what is his ranking and that stuff?

He appeared in Howard the Duck. Howard met him at a bar in Hell, where God freed Howard from Hell. It's hard to say where he ranks as he has so few appearances, but appeared to be about a sky-father level being.

Isn't he supposed to be TOAA? or atleast something along that... maybe Im confusing it with the Presence, who is supposed to be Yahew

@Jorgevy: The Presence is the God of DC but is the also the Christian god. In Marvel I think they put all Earth Gods like Odin and Zeus as powerful beings but not as powerful as the abstracts like Eternity for example. I was wondering if the christian god is part of the earth gods or is he like above them somehow.

Do we touch this question? Seriously!

@RoyHarperBLOW said:

@Jorgevy: The Presence is the God of DC but is the also the Christian god. In Marvel I think they put all Earth Gods like Odin and Zeus as powerful beings but not as powerful as the abstracts like Eternity for example. I was wondering if the christian god is part of the earth gods or is he like above them somehow.

above, easily. I remember he appeared in an issue of Ghost Rider, and he was a beast, much more powerful than Odin or Zeus

@Jorgevy: I would imagine so. The Christian god always seems supreme. Heck Jesus Christ kicked Zeus's ass in a comic.

Also would you happen to remember what issue of Ghost Rider it was and if you have scans that would be nice?

@RoyHarperBLOW: I don't remember, I never read, I saw the scans in here, Comic Vine, some user posted them. maybe a GR fan has them or knows the issue... It was God basically protecting the Rider from Satan or something...

@RoyHarperBLOW: new info: It seems it wasn't God itself, but Jesus. And I think it was Ghost Rider #9

@Jorgevy said:

Isn't he supposed to be TOAA? or atleast something along that... maybe Im confusing it with the Presence, who is supposed to be Yahew

Don't compare Stan Lee/Kirby with some religious figure

@RoyHarperBLOW:

I'd say God is weak in comics, because of the non-interventionist stance (did it do anything when chaos king run amok, the inly 'big' thing was when thanos had the HoTU. God is a comic artist in FF)

I'm not going to get into a religious debate, because that's clearly where this thread is headed.

But I think God definitely is involved in Marvel to some extent....although writers don't try to implement that because they don't want the flame-war controversy that this thread will inevitably fall into.Honestly, I think we should just leave it alone, because I am a dedicated comic book reader, and also a Christian.

Ghost Rider can be hurt by blessed bullets and Holy Water. But more importantly It has been shown, and I always was impressed with Nightcrawler and Daredevil being Catholic despite fighting many so-called "gods". I always thought it was interesting that Thor was a devoted Christian in the Ultimate Universe.

Nightcrawler especially impresses me, because even through all the horrors he's been through, and even being a mutant who appears to be that of a blue demon, he knows that God sees his heart, and does not care about his outward appearance.

Most people would claim that seeing such phenomenon would weaken someones faith. But what it shows me, and probably others. Is that True Faith in God is something beyond comic-book phenomenons, and cannot die.

Even Wolverine sought Salvation from God.

He was in the punishers continuity but that story was horrific and done away with really quickly. Also the Devil is implied to be in the Punisher MAX universe and so I guess you could assume god is there too.

@Jorgevy: Well if Jesus was that powerful then I wonder how powerful his father is. But I think The Christian god would still be on par with the abstracts and cosmic entities.

The Fantastic Four meet ‘God’. Its a 'neutral' god there, news flash not YHVH but Jack Kirby

@Sufferthorn said:

I'm not going to get into a religious debate, because that's clearly where this thread is headed.

But I think God definitely is involved in Marvel to some extent....although writers don't try to implement that because they don't want the flame-war controversy that this thread will inevitably fall into.Honestly, I think we should just leave it alone, because I am a dedicated comic book reader, and also a Christian.

Ghost Rider can be hurt by blessed bullets and Holy Water. But more importantly It has been shown, and I always was impressed with Nightcrawler and Daredevil being Catholic despite fighting many so-called "gods". I always thought it was interesting that Thor was a devoted Christian in the Ultimate Universe.

Nightcrawler especially impresses me, because even through all the horrors he's been through, and even being a mutant who appears to be that of a blue demon, he knows that God sees his heart, and does not care about his outward appearance.

Most people would claim that seeing such phenomenon would weaken someones faith. But what it shows me, and probably others. Is that True Faith in God is something beyond comic-book phenomenons, and cannot die.

Even Wolverine sought Salvation from God.

No he wasn't

@Rumble Man: I was just gonna mention that issue. It was great. My favorite FF run of all time.

@Gambit1024: It was uplifting

@Rumble Man: I wasn't comparing anything. Stan and Kirby are the creators so they are the avatars or the thing behind TOAA. They are TOAA for us, but for the people in the Marvel universe, there really isn't a God entity, and TOAA fills the role for that monotheistic god, just like the Presence in DC. Now, Jesus on second thought does exist -

a Friend... but obviously it's Jesus or an avatar of him. So, it's kinda hard to say where God stands, because he can either be TOAA, and there's no real Abrahamic God, or he can exist but then we have no info on him, and how strong he is (only thing we got is Jesus here)

@Jorgevy: Seems Dodgy, unless that version of yesus is a devil in disguise maybe an allegory to a false prophet?

@Rumble Man: I read something with the writer of that issue recently... I think the original idea was for him to be Jesus (or close) but then it was retconned? It really seems to me like it's Jesus or another heavenly avatar, but I can't be sure. but why would Mephisto create this illusion? seems too complicated

@Jorgevy: To lure in GS I guess, lulling him into complacency

@Rumble Man: maybe. in that page you linked I found this:

"The Friend, as originally written by Tony Isabella (and suggested by Steve Gerber), was indeed supposed to be Jesus Christ. When Jim Shooter took over as editor of Ghost Rider with issue #19, he promptly re-wrote the Friend as being nothing more than a demonic illusion. This may have been done to be consistent with Marvel’s unwillingness to avoid offending Christians by using religious figures, or, as Tony speculated, may have had to do with the concept offending Jim Shooter’s agnosticism. As an agnostic myself, I can’t find anything remotely offensive in Isabella’s storyline. In fact, if I were living in the Marvel Universe, I’d probably have to reconsider my position, since objective evidence is available that the Greek and Norse pantheons are real. Since vritually all other earthly pantheons have been revealed as existing in the Marvel Universe, I wouldn’t be shocked to learn that the Jewish/Christian/Islamic faiths have a reality behind them as well. Unfortunately, the existence of other pantheons would seem to negate the Judeo-Christo-Islamic insistence that no other gods exist, but perhaps the latter is human misinterpretation.

Anyway, if the Friend is more than a demonic illusion, that still doesn’t necessarily mean he’s Jesus. He could be a mystical force on the side of Good, a la the Phantom Stranger from the Distinguished Competition (I also kind of like the idea of him just being a well-meaning hippie, whose insane bravery in the face of the supernatural were enough to startle an arrogant demon!)

It’s also kind of dumb that Johnny Blaze took the word of a demon on the matter--demons? Hello? Johnny? They’re notorious liars!! Of course, that raises the question of why the Friend didn’t show up in issue #19 to pull Johnny’s fat out of the fire once more…but if you look at the way the Challenger was beaten in that issue, the Friend probably knew Johnny didn’t need any help!

Jesus has other appearances in the MU, including Howard the Duck's MAX series #5-6, but these are not included here b/c they are not specifically "The Friend

so... I don't really know, it was supposed to be him but then it was retconned. atleast it says here that usually Marvel doesn't like to use Abrahamic religious figures as characters to not offend anyone, so we know that if the religious entities of jewish, christian and muslim religions exist, they don't take the name they have in our world...

well, anyway, now we know that none of this really answers the OP's question, since this is no longer Jesus and God never really shows up (the abrahamic version under that name)

Do preachers and Catholic priest appear in any Marvel Comics? The answer to your question is Yes.

@Jorgevy: so there is good Jesus and bad Jesus then

@Rumble Man: more like real Jesus (good) and false Jesus (bad) but yeah, it seems like it

@Jorgevy: A fight would have been cool

@Rumble Man: totally!!!!! on top of water

@Rumble Man said:

The Fantastic Four meet ‘God’. Its a 'neutral' god there, news flash not YHVH but Jack Kirby

These aren't tears I swear

As the readership is clearly diverse, why would a corporate entity risk alienating many customers by placating to the beliefs of a few? I prefer to think that the powers that be are of the opinion that the concept of deity is complex and beyond human reasoning (as we conceive the term) and incorporate classical mythos into story arcs because said stories are fiction rather than the philosophical expression of the individuals involved. Plus, they're interesting.

I think there are some gods that are similar or are parodies/tributes, but the actual Christian god I'm not so sure

If you're talking Chrisitan God as in Jesus Christ then yeah

@Mbecks14: Now who wouldn't want a God like that?

The Fantastic Four meet ‘God’. Its a 'neutral' god there, news flash not YHVH but Jack Kirby

It appears in that last panel as though Johnny's 'happy ending' is just beginning!

http://marvel.wikia.com/Yahweh_(Omniverse)

It would appear the christian god does exist.

There has to be a "god" in the Marvel Universe because some characters wouldn't exist otherwise.

it's TOAA

@RoyHarperBLOW: What indication that this god is christian?

@satyrgod: Another name for the christian god is Yahweh if you didn't know.

@RoyHarperBLOW: I missed the part where he was referred to as Yahweh?

@satyrgod: @RoyHarperBLOW said:

http://marvel.wikia.com/Yahweh_(Omniverse)

It would appear the christian god does exist.

God bringing Blaze back to life. And doing Blaze a favor.

Yes. Jesus Christ made an appearance once.

I think Yahveh once appeared during the celestial storyline with Odin , Zeus & other Gods & also Howard the Duck once met him too.

I don't know about the Christian god, which i think is supposed to be TOAA, but I know heaven and hell exist ala Ghost Rider and Wolverine Goes To Hell and Amazing X-Men with Nightcrawler and Xavier in heaven.

I generally prefer the "Yahweh is just another skyfather and not even an especially important one at that" route over the "Yahweh is a speshul snowflake" route.

I found it more interesting than putting Abrahamic mythology on a pedestal like DC.

As a note: TOAA is the Author's avatar, not a religious figure.

Yes, he appeared in Howard The Duck and in issue 300 of Thor Volume 1.

"Yahweh was revealed as the true source of the Ghost Rider's powers. Each Ghost Rider was a manifestation of Yahweh's divine power meant to combat evil on Earth. This power was stolen by the fallen angel Zadkiel who used it to conquer Heaven and usurp Yahweh's place as the ruler of creation. Eventually, the Ghost Riders were able to stop Zadkiel and Yahweh banished him to hell for all eternity."

I doubt they involve him since he would have to be one of the most powerful characters.

If Vishnu and the Hindu deities and Buddha are simple skyfathers then Yahweh simply being another Skyfather who'd get punked by a celestial works.

@vrakmul: Yahweh created entire planet, with animals and everything in 6 days. Then destroy everything in one day and recreated it again. I think when someone has such creative abilities you dont want to imagine his destructive abilities.