While many think of the entertainment industry as being completely devoid of Christian values, if not actively hostile to them, that’s not always the case. Alan Ritchson’s comments on his role in “Reacher,” for example, and how he sees that as helping him spread God’s Word, show that there is some Christianity even in modern shows. Similarly, a recently resurfaced clip from the 1990s X-Men cartoon shows that one of the main characters, Nightcrawler, evangelized during the show.
In the clip, which exploded on X, Nightcrawler says, “All are reasons to be thankful,” as a monastery smolders in the background. One of the other characters, shocked, exclaims, “What about the monastery?!” Glancing back at it, he responds, “A great tragedy. But it was only stone and mortar. The foundation God has built in our hearts can never be destroyed.”
Walking up, Wolverine growls, “Man, I don’t get you.” Turning to him, Nightcrawler hands him a Holy Bible and says, “There, I’ve marked a few passages you may find rewarding. Remember, Herr Wolverine, ‘different eyes.'” The scene then ends and cuts to a new one.
In the new scene, the camera pans over a beautiful stone church. Opening its heavy wooden door, a character leans in and hears a growling voice praying. It’s Wolverine. He says, “I give thanks to you, O Lord, For though You were angry with me, Your anger has turned away, And You comforted me.” That comes from the book of Isaiah, chapter 12, verse 1.
Continuing, on his knees before an altar on which candles are burning and a Bible rests, Wolverine prays, “I will trust, and will not be afraid.” His usual grimace then turns to a slight smile as he bows his head in silent prayer and contemplation. The woman who sees him and wipes away a tear in happiness before turning away and leaving him to pray in solitude and peace.
Watch the powerful clip, which comes from the last few minutes of an episode called “Nightcrawler,” which is Season 4, Episode 8 of the show, here:
The clip sparked hearty approval on X. One commenter, for example, said, “I watched this as a kid in the 90s. Golden age for super hero shows. X-men had a distinct moral message that today gets called western/christian. But at that point in time there was nothing controversial about it. It would of course never be made today.”
Another commenter, noting how X-Men has drifted away from that Christian message in recent years, said, “They kept Nightcrawler’s Christian faith as part of his character in X-Men 3 (2006), but I don’t recall it being mentioned in the more recent films like X-Men: Apocalypse.”
Similarly, another added, “Nightcrawler is an amazing character in Marvel. A guy is born looking like a demon, went through some horrible things, psychologically and socially, and despite of that (or maybe because of it), he held a deep faith commitment. The movies destroyed that powerful narrative.”
“I loved this show as a child, and I always admired that nightcrawler was a character of Faith, despite the horrible abuses that he suffered in his life. I grew up in a Christian household, so seeing non-church-based characters display Christian principles was always special. ❤️” still another said.
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video