I guess the entire realm of Marvel Comics -— largely created by Stan Lee doesn’t count as “fantasy.””
Fascinating question.
I’m not sure it does, however.
Yes, Lee (a genius, in my opinion, by the way...politics aside) borrows heavily from Norse mythology.
But his characters are all very much rooted in this world, and this is in fact what makes them interesting...they are “superheroes” in this world. Cursed or gifted, or whatnot...in any event, their predicament, individually and collectively, makes for great reading.
And isn’t that exactly like the Jewish people? Chosen by God, there is a long line of Jewish thought that sort of wonders out loud why God would be so mean as to choose them.
And..the fact that the heroes are so rooted in this world, rather than in a different world like Middleearth, that is what makes something fantasy. Fantasy is a different world often, but Marvel is very much this one. That strikes me as very Jewish. And I think the author to this article would agree. Not sure what Stan Lee would say, but now that you’ve raised the question, I would have to say that Marvel comics strieks me as very Jewish (in the way the author of the article describes).
Again, excellent quesiton, though....
I always found it interesting that a big “bad guy” of Marvel Comics was Magneto -— himself a victim of the Shoa, parents killed by Nazis.
It f—ked Magneto up pretty well.
I understand this. I’m pretty f—ked up by the Shoa, and it was my grandparents.