Article:
The Problem of Evil in DC Universe Animated Movies, 2007–2016: DC Multiverse, an Ironic Illustration of Leibniz’s Theodicy?

Author(s): El-Khoury, Toufic

Abstract

This article explores the question of evil and its metaphysical and moral implications in a series of animated movie adaptations of the DC Universe produced since 2006. The contemporary evolution of the medium, called the “Iron Age of comics”, has seen the auto-reflexive nature of comics produce problems and themes related to the main question discussed in Christian theodicy: how can we perceive and define the possibility of evil in a world where God’s omnipotence should have eliminated such a possibility? Moreover, why does evil seem to spread indefinitely in spite of all the efforts deployed by superheroes to stop evil? We will discuss the problem of evil as a natural narrative topic in light of comics’ mythological and religious roots and with a particular study case: DC Comics Multiverse as an illustration of Leibniz’s “best of all possible worlds” argument.

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BibTex
El-Khoury, Toufic: The Problem of Evil in DC Universe Animated Movies, 2007–2016: DC Multiverse, an Ironic Illustration of Leibniz’s Theodicy?. In: Journal for Religion, Film and Media, Jg. 3 (2017), Nr. 1, S. 59-74. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.25969/mediarep/19451.
@ARTICLE{El-Khoury2017,
 author = {El-Khoury, Toufic},
 title = {The Problem of Evil in DC Universe Animated Movies, 2007–2016: DC Multiverse, an Ironic Illustration of Leibniz’s Theodicy?},
 year = 2017,
 doi = "\url{http://dx.doi.org/10.25969/mediarep/19451}",
 volume = 3,
 address = {Marburg},
 journal = {Journal for Religion, Film and Media},
 number = 1,
 pages = {59--74},
}
Keywords
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