Review of Immortals (2011) by Mike B — 14 Aug 2018

Order is an illusion imposed on chaos. A god can therefore be understood as an ordering principal (pun intended).

In the human world, Superman returns a corrupted and maniacal self-preservationist to the anonymous dirt in a way that parallels illusory order (Zeus) reasserting itself over very real chaos (the titans). Zeus recurs in Theseus, who by heeding the call sacrifices himself and achieves apotheosis.

Immortality, it seems, evades those who seek it in favor of those who open themselves to the influence of timeless spirits.

Maybe the entire concept of a hero is a framework through which a person of particular ability and animated by particular circumstances must recognize both a role in need of a player and his or herself as someone equipped to play it, a crucible for a hero-in-waiting to be confronted by a calling.