Sunday Spiritual Thought: Breaking Down Walls

The world of comic book superheroes has changed dramatically. Characters that no one has paid attention too are suddenly the biggest names in the industry (here’s lookin’ at you Iron Man). Every year more and more people flock to movie theatres to see more superhero movies even if just to see their favorite for a couple seconds of film. The nerds of the past are now the cool kids of the present.

One character (I struggle to say the word hero) in comic books that has been getting a lot of publicity lately has been Deadpool (if you are like me, your Facebook is just plastered with him all over the place). I have struggled to find what is so great about the character. He has no driving motive, he has no conflict to solve, no one he cares for, hardly any friends, and those who associate with him most can’t stand him. So what makes him so popular all the sudden? What’s so endearing about a character that has almost nothing to him to be defined?

The most popular answer that I get is that Deadpool breaks the fourth wall and that makes him fun. If we started listing all of the characters in fiction that break the fourth wall we would be here all day. Deadpool wasn’t even the first! She- Hulk beat him to it almost a decade before Deadpool was even created (in the earlier Deadpool stories, he never acknowledged the fact that he was a comic book character. That was a quality added WAY later). Then again, if so many fictional character break the fourth wall there must be something enduring about it. Why is breaking the fourth wall such an interesting subject for creators and fans?

When Deadpool breaks the fourth wall, he is acknowledging his place in the world. He is the creation of Marvel Comics, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Corporation and he knows it. To the characters in the stories, Deadpool is very much insane, yet from our perspective he is the only character (amongst about a thousand others) that makes logical sense. We are on a higher plane of reality than Deadpool, and for a lot of fans, the fact that Deadpool speaks directly to the reader within the story makes him the perfect Gateway into the story.

God lives on a higher plane of reality than we do- meaning that he can see a bigger picture than what we can with our limited perception. One could say that “all the world’s a stage” and “God is watchful of ever deed”. The way we can communicate with God is prayer, so therefore, prayer is breaking the fourth wall.

We are reminded that we are to pray always unto him that we may receive the blessings that we desire (see Mark 11:24) God loves us and wants to help us accomplish great things with our lives.

Now it’s worth remembering that when Deadpool breaks the fourth wall, the rest of the characters look at him like he’s insane. The same thing happens in our plane of reality. Everywhere there are people who attack religion and belittle the humble followers of God. We will receive trouble and grief for our choice to do the right thing but we will overcome, and in the end we will win (Doctrine and Covenants 54:10).

May we remember the power that comes from prayer. That the way to become as close as we can to God is by communicating our joys, fears, desires, and even the crazy stuff that we go through with him.

I leave this with you In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.