- "Look, throughout history, there are certain moments whose integrity are crucial. The birth, life, and death of Jesus Christ are all such moments. Any interference, no matter how miniscule, could have disastrous consequences for the time stream."
- —Rip Hunter[src]
Jesus Christ, known as the Messiah and the Nazarene[1], is the son of God. Born a human, killed by the Romans but resurrected, he presumably returned to Heaven. As a result, he became the object of worship for the religion of Christianity, among its sub-sects being the Catholic Church and the First Assembly of God. Jesus's birthday is a commonly celebrated holiday on Earth One and Earth Thirty-Eight, under the name of Christmas. Christ's name also had such derivatives as the verb "to christen."
Biography
Christ's birthday is considered the basis for the calendar, with years before it written as "BC" (Before Christ), and years after written as "AD" (Anno Domini). According to historians such as Clifford DeVoe, the Messiah wasn't actually born during winter, which is when the holiday Christmas celebrates his birthday, but in spring, which can be verified by studying the constellation patterns.[1] Unlike other creations of God, Jesus is considered to be both human, and yet also God Himself. According to Rip Hunter, the birth, life, and death of Jesus Christ is an extremely important and fragile time period, forbidden for all time travelers to visit, as the events regarding Jesus's life had to proceed without alterations.[2] Living in the Roman province of Judea, Jesus became a visionary, to whom Damien Darhk's followers compared their leader. He has become known publicly as the Messiah and was also referred to as the Nazarene. Considering Jesus a liar, the Roman authorities executed him, crucifying Jesus on a cross, which would later become a holy symbol for Christian churches.[3][4][1]
The spear of the Roman Legionnaire Longinus was used to penetrate the side of Christ after he died on the cross. This spear, after contact with Jesus's divine blood, became an artifact of great power, as it was able to alter reality akin to God, thus forever becoming known as the Spear of Destiny.[2][4] After his death, Jesus was reportedly resurrected, rising from the grave, meeting his followers on Earth once again, and went to Heaven. Jesus's resurrection was one of the basic teachings of Christianity and was seen as a show of great divine power, which allowed Ray Palmer to restore the Vikings' faith in Jesus through the "resurrection" of Beebo, who encouraged them to believe in Jesus as the one true God, but remember that evolution is also real, which, given the presence of dinosaurs, hold true in the shared multiverse.[5]
Legacy
Jesus Christ seen depicted on Ritchie Simpson's mug.
Jesus Christ's life, death, and resurrection inspired many people. It was considered so valuable to the timeline that no time traveler was allowed to visit this window of time. Jesus's followers, the Christians, became one of the dominant religions, despite the efforts of Ancient Rome. The influence of the religion was seen even among the non-religious people, who'd celebrate Christmas and use words like "christened" or "BC," derivative of Jesus's alias. Christ's blood, found by Sir Gawain, was an incredibly powerful substance by itself, due to the fact that it was the only thing capable of destroying the Spear of Destiny (aside from Eobard Thawne's specialized disintegration machine).[2][6][7] Among the religions that treated Christ as a deity were the Catholic Church, the First Assembly of God and the Resurrection Crusade. However, although his artifacts were part of both Judean and Christian lore, Jesus wasn't recognized as God in Judaism.
Rich iconography exists regarding the depiction of Jesus Christ, which usually involves him being depicted crucified on a cross. [8] Other depictions exist, some of this portraits being so common in the popular culture that they appear on mugs, such as one owned by Ritchie Simpson. [9]
Personality
Jesus was considered a great visionary by his followers, and a madman by his enemies, such as the Roman authorities.[3] He is also considered to be a merciful person, as prayers towards him are based on asking for forgiveness, blessing, and praising him for them. Nevertheless, he is also considered to be "the Lord" of humanity, same as God.[10][11]
Powers and abilities
Powers
- Divine power: Considered to be, on some level, the same entity as God, Jesus wields tremendous, divine levels of Supernatural powers.
- Dark magic: According to John Constantine, he called on the disk's own dark magic when banishing the Devil's acetate, while the incantation he used contained a prayer to God and Jesus Christ, implying that Jesus has some control over dark magic.[11]
- Destruction: Jesus's blood is one of the only sources of destruction strong enough to disintegrate the Spear of Destiny.[2][6][7]
- Light magic: Jesus is considered one of the sources of light magic, with prayers to him playing the role of incantations in certain cases.[10][8]
- Omniscience: Jesus is presumed to be all-knowing and all-seeing, and thus is able to anticipate prayers to him.[10][8]
- Reality alteration: Jesus is able to alter reality, and even his blood has the same properties, allowing it to enchant the Spear of Destiny.[2][6][7]
Abilities
- Leadership/Charisma: Jesus was considered a visionary worthy of followers, so dangerous that the Romans chose to execute him. After his death and resurrection, Jesus became an object of worship.[3]
Appearances
Arrow
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Season 4
Season 5
Season 6 |
Constantine
- "Non Est Asylum" (depicted on Ritchie Simpson's mug)
- "The Devil's Vinyl" (mentioned; divine power)
- "Blessed Are the Damned" (mentioned)
- "The Saint of Last Resorts" (statue)
- "The Saint of Last Resorts: Part Two" (statue)
- "Quid Pro Quo" (indirectly mentioned)
- "A Whole World Out There" (depicted on a crucifix)
The Flash
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Season 4
|
DC's Legends of Tomorrow
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
|
Supergirl
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
|
Constantine: City of Demons
- "Episode One" (indirectly mentioned)
Trivia
- Until "Genesis" the twentieth episode of Season 4 (Arrow), Jesus has never been directly mentioned on Arrow, and only indirectly through the appearance of Christmas. Not even exclamations in his name were used, in stark contrast to God.
- While his real birthday is unknown, it is always celebrated on December 25, which is also Christmas day.
Behind the scenes
- Historically, Jesus Christ is the central figure of Christianity. Christians believe him to be the Son of God and the awaited Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament. The general scholarly consensus is that Jesus was a Galilean Jewish preacher, a contemporary of John the Baptist and was crucified by the Roman governor Pontius Pilate, who held office from 26 to 36 AD.
- In DC Comics continuity, Jesus Christ has appeared in multiple universes. The New Earth version was proven to be a fraud in regards to his resurrection and was also the hated enemy of the Phantom Stranger. However, the demons of Hell have created their own Anti-Christ, a demonic baby that was banished by John Constantine, which suggests that there was some truth behind Jesus's divine origins that the demons considered necessary to create his evil counterpart. The Wildstorm version was one of the "Doctors," an ancient legacy of shamans whose power was passed down through the ages. Jesus has also been mentioned in other continuities of DC properties.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Don't Run"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "Fellowship of the Spear"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Genesis"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "The Chicago Way"
- ↑ "Beebo the God of War"
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Doomworld"
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Aruba"
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "The Saint of Last Resorts: Part Two"
- ↑ "Non Est Asylum"
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 "Blessed Are the Damned"
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 "The Devil's Vinyl"