With the revelation that Kurt Russell will be playing the cosmic being Ego (a.k.a. Star-Lord’s dad) in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 , it has become increasingly apparent that the MCU is delving deeper and deeper into the vast array of characters at its disposal. But not just that; in the case of Ego, director James Gunn is also presenting another god-like being which reorients the Marvel movie universe once again. While we started with regular old human Tony Stark and his fancy robotic suit back in 2008, our MCU heroes now live among virtual deities.

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Ego is a living planet in the comics -- yes, you read that right -- and apparently able to create physical forms as needed in Guardians 2. Hence, he became Kurt Russell to procreate with Star-Lord’s mom (and I wouldn’t be surprised if he turns into a planet at some point in Vol. 2 as well). But there are plenty of other god-like beings floating around the MCU now, not to mention things like the Infinity Stones, which offer their users untold powers. And, possibly, in the case of the not yet found Soul Stone, they can also prove the existence of the immortal spirit itself.So let’s take a look at some of the more divine or quasi-divine aspects of the MCU -- some of which are much more human than you might realize…

“Then the universe exploded into existence, and the remnants of these systems were forged into concentrated ingots... Infinity Stones.” -The Collector

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The go-to MacGuffins of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Infinity Stones (or Infinity Gems), are those ultra-powerful rocks behind the Tesseract, the Orb, the Aether and Loki’s scepter (and later, the Vision’s headgear). Whoever shall possess an Infinity Stone will be blessed with amazing power… until, of course, they lose the thing by the end of whatever movie they’re in.So far four Stones have been revealed, but Guardians of the Galaxy (and the comics on which the films are based) confirmed for us that there are a total of six Stones -- the Space Stone, Mind Stone, Reality Stone, Power Stone and, yet to be discovered in the MCU, the Time Stone and Soul Stone. Prior to the release of Avengers: Age of Ultron last year, many fans speculated that the gem spotted on the Vision’s forehead might be the Soul Stone, and hence an explanation of how Tony Stark’s artificial intelligence JARVIS could become a unique being all its own. Would the cosmic properties of the Stone bestow an actual soul upon the mechanical man, making him more than just a mere machine?Of course, it turned out that the glowing gem nestled in the android Avenger’s maroon-hued forehead is actually the Mind Stone, but the question remains: If there is a Soul Stone out there somewhere, what does it mean for the MCU as we enter Phase 3? In the comics, the Stone allows (among other things) for its user to control and manipulate the souls of the living and the dead. Does that imply the concept of the soul will become a proven, real thing that exists in the MCU? And if so, then does that mean the existence of some kind of divine power can be proven as well? Think about it: If proof of the soul (or the spirit, or human essence, or whatever you want to call it) was to surface, how would that affect religion, politics, the world? If the Soul Stone emerges, is God a forgone conclusion in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

“There’s only one God, ma’am. And I’m pretty sure he doesn’t dress like that.” -Captain America

Creating Captain America

And then there’s Steve Rogers, whose unwavering faith in his country, and by extension his country’s science, transforms him into something more. He’s not unlike Thor and the Asgardians, actually, in that their technology is part of what makes them god-like. And so it goes that Rogers, the weakling mortal who has a laundry list of illnesses when we first meet him, ascends to a higher level through the work of the scientist Dr. Erskine… his creator, or even his god, you could say. Yeah, there’s only one God, but I’m pretty sure he looks like Stanley Tucci!As Captain America, Rogers isn’t only physically superior to the rest of us, but he’s also morally better. His innate sense of self-sacrifice -- the thing that makes him jump on a hand grenade when his fellow Army recruits run the other way -- is perhaps the very spark that makes him worthy of the Super Soldier serum that transforms him, bestowing on him a physical form to match his mindset and philosophy. He’s like a greatest hits of the Greek gods -- the best of the best all in one package.On the other hand, Rogers’ arch nemesis in the first Cap movie, the Red Skull, also underwent the Super Soldier treatment, though he was changed into a monstrous version of himself -- a devil you might say -- and something reflective of his inner being just as Rogers’ metamorphosis into a perfect specimen matched his inherent goodness. Ironically, the Skull now wore a visage of death, even while accusing Cap of being “afraid to admit that we have left humanity behind” and bragging, rightfully so, about harnessing “the power of the gods” (with the Tesseract). But while the Skull’s insistence on abandoning mankind would be his undoing, it is Cap’s commitment to his fellow man that shores up his status as a demigod among them.Steve Rogers, of course, would also prove to have a much longer lifespan than an ordinary man (so far anyway, and yes, in part because he went into hibernation). And actually, the Skull’s toadie Arnim Zola used science to grant himself a sort of immortality too, transferring his mind into that of a computer. In fact, while the Red Skull was thought killed at the end of Cap 1, it’s just as likely that he was teleported to some cosmic place… possibly even to the realm of the gods. Speaking of which…

“This day, the next, a hundred years? It’s nothing. It's a heartbeat.” -Loki

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There’ve been a couple of episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. that featured the most unlikely of gods -- a self-exiled Asgardian who was not a wise king or a bronzed superman or a duplicitous (if dreamy) conniver, but instead just plain old Peter MacNicol. Yeah, the guy from Ally McBeal.It’s actually perfect casting because it turns out MacNicol’s “god” was one of the everymen of Asgard, an ordinary worker -- a mason, he explains, whose profession had him breaking rocks for thousands of years. Thousands! Not everyone gets to hang out with Sif in the royal palace for eternity, you know.But MacNicol’s Asgardian offers us an interesting glimpse at the flipside of (near) immortality and godhood in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. For while we tend to think of Thor, Loki, Odin, and the other Asgardians as “gods,” it seems they may fall just short of true divinity. Just as heroes like Captain America are no longer quite human.Sure, it’s been well-documented in the Thor films that the Asgardians (and presumably the denizens of some of the other eight realms, like Thor: The Dark World’s Malekith and his lot) are creatures of advanced science, not of magic or in possession of any kind of heavenly powers. In The Dark World, there’s even some back and forth between Loki and Odin about the characters’ status as “gods” (Odin insists they are not deities while Loki apparently feels otherwise). But still, some humans once believed that Thor and the rest were their gods… so is being worshipped and having an entire religion/mythology based on you enough to qualify for deification?But what makes the Asgardians god-like in the eyes of mere mortals? Their fabulous powers? Their millennia-long lifespans? Their fancy toys? And how are those qualities any different from the crop of very human characters -- like Cap -- who are emerging at this juncture in the Marvel movie-verse’s history, the more earthbound heroes (and in some cases villains) who are approaching a semblance of divinity all their own?

“Well, I was born yesterday.” -The Vision

Happy birthday, Viz!

Can we talk a moment about Tony Stark, who not only thinks he’s God’s gift to man, but also kind of has become a god himself? I mean, he has created life after all.You can argue whether or not the AI JARVIS is a lifeform. I would say it is not. But what about Ultron, that nasty robot created by Stark (with help from his Avenger-bro Bruce Banner) through a combination of the Mind Stone (which was hidden within Loki’s scepter) and the Ultron AI? Through the admittedly nebulous properties of that Stone, it seems that Ultron transcended mere robot-hood and became a living, if not breathing, being. The creation of Stark (and Banner)! He turned out to be a very screwed-up, bad boy, but that’s beside the point.And yet, this gets even more incestuous in an Avengery way. The Vision was also born shortly thereafter, the product of Stark, Banner, Thor (through his lightning) and, yes, even Ultron himself… and again, with a bump from the Mind Stone to bring the bouncing, baby android fully into the world. If the ability to create a new lifeform isn’t an aspect of godhood, then what is?

“Teach me…” -Dr. Stephen Strange

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While there have been innumerable gods depicted in Marvel’s comic books over the years, the existence of one true God with a capital “G” has been elusive. According to Sean Howe’s great book Marvel Comics: The Untold Story (which, if you’ve made it this far here, you should really check out), scripter Steve Englehart wrote a 1974 Doctor Strange story about a magician from the future who discovered the ability to travel backwards in time, absorbing the energy of beings like Merlin, Cagliostro and others until he reached the beginning of time and had amassed enough power that he finally became God. Stan Lee was not amused, and he wrote to Englehart and artist Frank Brunner, saying, “We can’t do God,” and asking them to print a retraction in the letters column saying that the character had been a god and not the God.Of course, we’ll soon be getting a Doctor Strange movie, where it looks like the MCU will finally begin to delve into the realm of true magic and the supernatural in a way it has so far mostly avoided. The coming of the Soul Stone all but promises a deeper dive into this area as well, and let’s not forget that the big bad Thanos is working to gather all six Infinity Stones, something that is bound to happen by the time we get to Avengers: Infinity War. The combined Stones in the comics grant their user the power of a god (or God), which should finally give Thanos something to do besides sit in that chair of his…Guardians of the Galaxy already provided us with a glimpse of the Celestials, those giant, ancient beings that once wielded the Power Stone and were surely the closest thing to all-powerful entities that we’ve seen in the MCU so far. And back on the small screen, the Netflix Daredevil series has posited the idea of immortality. But what other crazy, nearly omnipotent beings might emerge next? Marvel’s comics are full of such creatures -- among them, the personifications of metaphysical notions like Death, Eternity, Oblivion and Infinity.The MCU was a very grounded, semi-“realistic” place when the first Iron Man movie debuted. But it and its many characters have since crossed over into a space that allows for much headier concepts and creatures. And, increasingly, guys like Tony Stark and Steve Rogers are more than ready to face such all-powerful figures in a way that mere mortal men never could.

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