Superstitious, Cowardly Lot [NSFW]

Channon: Couldn't you have gotten dressed?
Spider Jerusalem: I am dressed.
Besides, this'll bring out the criminal religious element I seek.
Messianic fuckheads are a superstitious, cowardly lot, and I must strike fear into their hearts.

- Transmetropolitan #6

by Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson

Spider Jerusalem is on his way to a convention of new religions. Or something. Transmetropolitan is a very trippy read. Sometimes I have to take a break from it and ask if someone slipped something into my Mountain Dew (I'm sorry, that's Mtn Dew now, cause Pepsi is too cool for spelling).

Anyway, he's off to listen to religious zealots and evangelists try to convert the masses. Actually, his true intent is to get into a loud confrontation with some of these religious folk. But I'm sure will get to that in a later post.

Here, his assistant is worried about his attire. Spider is dressed up in white as an angel, or possibly as Jesus. It's hard to tell. Either way, it's supposed to incite some reaction from the criminal religious element, who he describes so eloquently in the next line.

But it's with that line that writer Warren Ellis warms my heart. For he has Spider Jerusalem invoking Batman! One of Batman's famous quotes is his assertion that criminals are a "superstitious, cowardly lot."

Criminals are a superstitious cowardly lot, so my disguise must be able to strike terror into their hearts. I must be a creature of the night, a black, terrible...a...a..

I just like that he's comparing the false prophets and scam artists of the religious world to the common, everyday criminals (as well as the supervillains) that Batman constantly fights.

Maybe we need a Batman of religion to protect the weak and poor from those who prey on them with silver-tongued promises of salvation. Do I sound cynical? Tough. The scandals and excesses of popular religious personalities are well known. Maybe it's time we got a Batman or vigilante Spider Jerusalem to protect us from their devious plans. Or maybe we could just wise up and realize that just because a dude talks about Jesus on TV doesn't mean that he's a good guy and we should send him all our money.

My brother says there's no money in religion unless you do it wrong. If that's an accurate measure, then my relative poverty should be a comforting indication that this blog is on the right track.

Plus, didn't some guy, a long time ago, mention something about how difficult it was for the rich to get into Heaven?

Maybe I'm remembering that wrong.