BELOW: Nick Fury feels he can't admit the possibity of Norse gods (e.g. Thor), because it would force him to adopt a whole new framework or worldview: Nick Fury is frustrated by his own inability to make up his mind about what he believes about Thor and Thor's claims of divine nature.
From the bridge of the Altair, Nick watched Thor join the battle. If there's one thing I hate, he thought, it's not being able to make a decision. And I just cannot decide whether Thor is the real thing or not. All of the jabbering about Loki makes me think he's a nutcase, but then he brings the lightning and teleports bombs to other dimensions.He just doesn't fit in any framework I can put together.
One possibility, Nick had to admit, was that he needed a new framework, but he was not about to admit the existence of Norse gods. If you let the Norse gods in, next thing you knew you had Kali and Ogun and Quetzalcoatl and Jesus H. Christ Himself wearing costumes and fighting bad guys. No man could stay sane for long if he took that scenario seriously.
Whatever Thor was, he sure could kick a--. that was what Nick needed right then, and that was all he was going to think about until this operation was over and they could all take a breath.
Source: The Ultimates: Against All Enemies (2007), pg. 303. Written by Alex Irvine. See also: gods; disbelief; Jesus Christ; Hindu; Norse/Teutonic paganism; Vodoun; Aztec; Christian (generic); Mayan; Jesus Christ (Jesus of Nazareth); Ogun; Quetzalcoatl; Kali
BELOW: Nick Fury tells Thor he doesn't believe in any gods:
Fury put down his pen and squeezed the bridge of his nose. "Okay," he said with his eyes closed. "I get it. If I have to raise my right hand and swear that I believe you're the Norse god of thunder just to get you to leave, I'll do it." He raised his right hand, looking down at his desk. Ten seconds or so later, he looked up. "You're not gone."
"You're not very convincing," Thor said.
"Neither are you, Mister Son of Odin, or Wotan, or whatever we're supposed to call him. I don't believe in gods--any of them--and until you bring Jesus Christ himself in to walk across the Upper Bay from Battery Park to here, that isn't going to change. Far as I'm concerned, you're a garden-variety anti-globalization wacko who got hold of some tech that nobody can reverse-engineer. Doesn't make you anything special."
Thor had started smiling at "Wotan," and couldn't stop. "Quite a speech, General Fury."
"You provoke me," Fury said.
"Well. Let me provoke you to pay attention."
Source: The Ultimates: Against All Enemies (2007), pg. 38-39. Written by Alex Irvine. See also: gods; impiety; disbelief; Jesus Christ; Norse/Teutonic paganism; Atheist; Non-Religious; Christian (generic); Thor (Donald Blake); Nick Fury; Jesus Christ (Jesus of Nazareth); Odin
BELOW: Superman's origin is reminiscent of the Biblical story of Moses being set in a basket on a river in order to save his life. Being sent by his father to Earth to "benefit mankind" is reminiscent of the Biblical account of Jesus.
Source: Action Comics (vol. 1) #1 (June 1938): untitled 1-page Superman origin story, pg. 1, panel 1, 7. Written by Jerry Siegel. Art by Joe Shuster. See also: Old Testament parallels; Christ parallels; Jewish; Christian (generic); Superman (Clark Kent)