The term Messiah is a Latin derivative of the Hebrew word Mashiach which appears in several books of the Hebrew testament including Leviticus, Samuel, Lamentations, Daniel, Isiah, Habakuk, Psalms and Chronicles. Though the word first appeared in Leviticus regarding an annointed priest of the Tabernacle, it eventually evolved to signify the annointed messenger of God who is to deliver mankind from cataclysmic events to occur at the prophecied "end of days" for humanity. Mashiach is a noun form of the root verb Mashach, a past tense for the verb "to annoint". Mashach, however, also means "pulled into" and in the Mashicah form, it may also describe "one who is being pulled in, or compelled..", a passive noun insinuating that something other oneself is doing the compelling, or... the anointing.

The notion of an anointed deliverer, bearing signs of his role as being by divine authority, and embraced by the people in order to fulfill this role, is a cornerstone of the Jewish faith, which was also later adopted, with greater zeal, by Christianity. Translated into the Greek form of the word Christened, as in the anointing of a ship, for example, Mashiach eventually became attached to the name of Jesus of Nazareth within the Christian testament. Jesus the Christ, considered to be the awaited Hebrew Messiah by early Christians, had thus become the seminal historical Messiah, adopting a name which also reverts to the same source of the original term, Mashiach.

Notwithstanding its roots in religious theology, The notion of a Messiah also came to be embraced by progressive secular cultural and pop-culture artists, writers and pundits within recent history. A notable such use of the term was championed by pilot and novelist Richard Bach, writer of Jonathan Livingston Seagull, in his classic novel from 1977, Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah.

Clearly shunning historical religious dogma attached to the term, Bach's Messiah is a contemporary philosopher imparting to his student in the novel, that our reality is merely an illusion which we nourish for our own self-interests. The novel also contained a Messiah's Handbook: Reminders for the Advanced Soul, the master's quotations intended to remind us of our peculiar human condition: "You're going to die a horrible death, remember. It's all good training, and you'll enjoy it more if you keep the facts in mind. Take your dying with some seriousness, however. Laughing on the way to your execution it not generally understood by less advanced lifeforms, and they'll call you crazy".

The comics did not lag far behind in adopting the notion of a Messiah into its mythology. In the early 1970's, the late great cartoonist, Vaughn Bode, created Cheech Wizard: Adventures of the Cartoon Messiah, an endearing cynical persona which went on to become an icon of its time. Bode traveled the early budding comics convention circuit, performing voice overs for live vocal renditions of his satirical cartoons, to the background of a slideshow of his published strips, captivating and entertaining young audiences thirsty for a divergence from the Superhero genre which dominated the industry then. Having attended his performances and seen his shows in the mid-1970's, I well remember it being whispered, within the convention halls, that Vaughn Bode considered himself to be somewhat of a Cartoon Messiah and was attempting to impart this idea in his work. Certainly an inspiring predicament for early comics fandom history.

By the year 1978, Superman himself was slipping into the role of the Messiah, in the 1978 film Superman: The Movie. Mario Puzo and Tom Mankiewicz succeeded in transforming the Man of Steel into the Savior Son, sent by his Celestial Father to Earth, for the benefit of mankind. The savior, or Messiah, role had stuck with Superman to such a degree that corporate marketing policies decided take full advantage of it, and lead the most powerful man on Earth to a well publicized early demise, like a lamb led to the slaughter, at the hands of none other than a villain named Doomsday. He was later returned to life and resurrected in the pursuit of his role as savior of the world, as well as super marketing and merchandising profiteer. The 2006 film, Superman Returns delivered an even more pronounced Messianic Superman, contending with the question of whether the world truly needs a savior or not. Adding to the savior persona, Superman is hinted here at having become a father himself, in a wondrous exposition on the Trinity, echoing the film's theme "The son becomes the father and the father becomes the son."

And so it was that the father of all Superheroes began a trend that was followed progressively by an entire line of Messiahs in the comics. Below is a sampling of such titles, click thumbnails for larger images:

First row from left: Two covers from Marvel Comics' recent arc, X-Men: Messiah Complex, which admittedly played a marginal part in inspiring the new name of this site; Boom Studios' Jenny Finn: Messiah (2005 Series); UK publisher Warpton Comics' Messiah.
Second row: Tyndale and NEXT's Manga Messiah by Hidenori Kumai; Computer gaming Ubisoft's Might and Magic series Dark Messiah, also published in comics form; AIIIE! Comics' Tilazeus Meets The Messiah (1996 Series); and Pinnacle Comics' Messiah (1986).

Whether rooted in ancient religious theology, or morphing into a secular mythology, the idea behind a Messiah deliverer has endured the overtures of civilizational evolution and adapted itself into the forefront of progressive culture. It matters little if one's perception is driven by faith in a creator, agnosticism, atheism or countless degrees of personal enlightenment. It's of little importance if driven by the social, political or economic power of institutionalized faith... or by the power of modern pop-culture trends shaping our ideologies. The mythology of heroism, especially nurtured by the Superheroes of the comics, has become of the most relevant and captivating to have been spawned by our world.

While many of us might be convinced that humanity no longer needs any saviors, our world itself continues to cry for the heroes to come, and our subliminal desires, evident in the mythologies we create and nurture, continue to reveal an endless wellspring of desire to see them materialize.

It should be of little perplexity that this is so. It only takes a slight look behind the surface of reality to understand the precarious situation mankind has endured throughout our history. As the information super-highway continues to enhance our knowledge base and increase our communications abilities, making our world ever so smaller, the lack of benevolence and concern from our leaders, for the wellbeing of the common people, is becoming painfully more evident with each passing day.

Taking into consideration all of the parameters of our world and the state we're in, and exercising a minimal sense of honesty about it, we should have little disagreement that our world is truly in need of saviors and heroes. But what is it that we need to be saved from, if not primarily from ourselves? And who are the only saviors who can save us form ourselves, if not also ourselves?

More detailed articles will follow on the specific issues driving our collective condition as a civilization today. Governing systems and how they operate; The strangle-hold our free economy has placed on the common people; The role of of pop-culture trends, especially those born of the comics, in the burgeoning communications and entertainment industries; The impeding burden which institutionalized religions have imposed on otherwise free and precious minds; The relative stagnation of scientific progress within our socio-economic constraints... and other key issues will soon be explored here within the complexity of the Messiah mythology and the profound implications it holds for a glorious unification event of a world torn asunder with division.

Notwithstanding each individual's understanding of what a Messiah is and the role they'd play on the world stage today, we appear to have allowed the notion to evolve from ancient religious dogma into a modern pop-culture artifact, paving the way for an advent of the scope that not even the most perceptive of theologians and sages could dream of.

A revival of the human will and desire for a glorious world and an overthrow of the mistakes and calamities we've allowed ourselves along the way. All awaiting us around the corner.