Whenever righteousness wanes and unrighteousness increases I send myself forth.
For the protection of the good and for the destruction of evil,
and for the establishment of righteousness,
I come into being age after age.
— Bhagavad Gita 4.7–8
What do The Elder Scrolls, Warhammer 40,000, and Marvel Comics all have in common? A certain many-armed Hindu god named Vishnu.
Given the superheroic duty of protecting all cosmic order, Vishnu is said to have 10 avatars, and over 1000 names. Appropriately, pop culture has only given Vishnu more faces and names. From appearing as himself in Marvel Comics, or serving as inspiration the warrior-poet god Vivec in The Elder Scrolls, and the terrifying Four-Armed Emperor of Warhammer 40,000, Vishnu’s fiery ethos and passion have made themselves as important to pop culture as any of the better-known Western deities and legends. Continue reading “Guest Post: God of Many Avatars: Understanding Vishnu in Comics”