Book Synopsis:
Seven fictional stories―Captain America, Iron Man, Harry Potter, Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, Batman, and Wonder Woman―point us to the ultimate hero, Jesus Christ.
Think about it. What if Batman knew your name and wanted to be friends with you? What if you were the one that Tony Stark died to save? What if it was you that Luke Skywalker would stop at nothing to redeem? Hollywood Heroes will awaken you to these questions and help you to see a God who stops at nothing to redeem you. And it will strengthen you to invite others into conversations of faith and life in Jesus.
Fictional stories about heroes help us realize that there is evil to fight, souls to be won, and growth to be achieved. It helps us recognize―regardless of religious or cultural beliefs―that sacrificing your life for another’s is a powerful and beautiful display of love.
Fictional heroes help us to reconsider what is tangibly in front of us through the lens of story rather than simply as just another day in our ordinary lives. Appealing straight to the heart, the stories bypass artificial barriers that we would normally block them with because our worldview has been threatened.
When we examine out-of-this-world qualities like idealism, genius, a willingness to sacrifice, discipline, loyalty, humility, courage, wisdom, focus, power, and love, we discover that Jesus practices them perfectly.
My Review:
5/5 stars. If you're both a Christian and a nerd, like I am, you will love this book. Some of the characters, like Harry Potter and the Marvel characters, I knew very well, and others I wasn't super familiar with. Even with the characters I didn't know, though, it was cool to see all the Biblical parallels.
This book made me realize why I love Harry Potter and Marvel so much - they show good triumphing over evil, which points to the ultimate Good defeating evil one day. The very fact that these types of stories are popular, as the book explains, proves that there is an innate and objective moral standard that can only come from God.
I knew this book would compare some of the characters to the life of Jesus, like Harry Potter and Tony Stark sacrificing themselves, but it showed a lot of parallels I had never though about before. Tony’s character arc demonstrates the transformation from broken sinners to redeemed Christians, Darth Vader/Anakin Skyealker shows that no one is beyond saving, and Gollum from The Lord of the Rings os an example of God using things intended for evil for good.
I didn’t know much about Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, or Batman, but you don’t have to be an expert in pop culture to understand the lessons from these stories. This book also explains the relevant plot points for people who might not know about them. Even if you already know about the movies mentioned, this book might change your perspective on them. After reading the Wonder Woman chapter, I want to go back and re-watch it through the lens of the Gospel.
One thing I noticed a few times were a few typos or missing words that got past editing. There were a few sentences that didn’t make sense because of that. It wasn’t very frequent, but the few times it happened I had to read the sentences more than once and couldn’t figure out what they were trying to say.
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