DC Comics – home of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman – has shelved plans for a series that would see Jesus Christ return to Earth and “set the gospel straight,” after an outcry from American Christians.
The series depicted Jesus as a clueless failure, sent back to Earth by God after his untimely capture and crucifixion the first time around. Forced to share an apartment with DC’s Sun Man, Jesus learns to toughen up and fight crime, and sets out to ensure that his modern-day followers stick to his father’s message.
Some Christians weren’t too happy. Televangelist Pat Robertson’s CBN network called the series“closer to blasphemous than biblical,” and a petition to shut down the comic attracted more than 234,000 signatures. “This blasphemous content should not be tolerated,” read the petition. “Jesus Christ is the Son of God. His story should not be ridiculed for the sake of selling comic books.”
DC seemingly gave some ground to the Christians, asking writer Mark Russell to remove some profane language and artist Richard Pace to tone down the nudity in a scene set in the Garden of Eden. Russell and Pace refused to make the changes, and are now seeking another publisher for the comic.
“I think the religious fundamentalists and critics who are trying to stop Second Coming aren’t interested in protecting Christ so much as their ability to control his narrative,” Russell told Syfy Wire. “They probably (correctly) suspect that it’s not Christ who’s being parodied, but themselves and how they’ve twisted his teachings of mercy for the powerless into a self-serving tool of the powerful.”
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