The American comic book publisher DC Comics is best known to have produced materials featuring numerous culturally iconic heroic characters including: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, and many more.
And here, it had a plan to release a comic book titled "Second Coming" that featured Jesus as the sidekick of a superhero named Sun-Man.
This didn't appeal fans as they launched a a wave of backlash. Online critics have also labeled the book as "blasphemous."
In started in January, that a petition was launched, calling on the publisher to cancel the series after the writer said in an interview that Jesus was sent back to Earth because "God was so upset with Jesus' performance the first time" that he kept him locked away.
Hundreds of thousands of people have signed the online petition on CitizenGO, an anti-abortion, anti-LGBT conservative campaign site.
People said that the comic book was "inappropriate" and portrayed Jesus as a "clueless superhero sidekick."
"Can you imagine the media and political uproar if DC Comics was altering and poking fun at the story of Muhammad... or Buddha," the petition stated. "This blasphemous content should not be tolerated ... His story should not be ridiculed for the sake of selling comic books."
The co-creators of the comic, writer Mark Russell and artist Richard Pace, agreed and cancelled the comics.
"My goal is always to write the best books I can about things I have a deep personal attachment to,""Russell tweeted. "Publishers have goals of their own. Sometimes our goals complement each other's, sometimes they don't. It's okay to admit it when they don't and go separate ways."
In an another tweet, Russell said he asked for the rights back to "Second Coming" and DC is said to "gracefully agreed."
"So I decided I would rather keep the story intact," he said.
"Nobody really wants a watered-down, one-size-fits-none version of this story, so they graciously agreed to let me have it back … We also want a publisher who can get it to fans in the near future, so we hope to be able to announce a new home as soon as possible."
"Second Coming" is a Christian and Islamic belief regarding the future (or past) return of Jesus.
In DC's case, the "Second Coming" is the title of a 32-page comic that centered on Jesus returning to Earth to complete his "most holy mission by God" and "learn what it takes to be the true messiah of mankind," according to DC Comics.
He returned to Earth, “Shocked to discover what has become of his gospel." There, he teams up with Sun-Man, who is apparently more widely worshipped than him.
The comics was scheduled for release on March 6th under DC Vertigo, a wing of DC which publishes comics with more graphics or adult tone.
While Jesus returning to Earth has been a theme in several movies and books, but DC Comics' portrayal of Jesus is seen as a degradation of the holy figure.
"I think the religious fundamentalists and critics who are trying to stop Second Coming aren’t interested in protecting Christ so much as their ability to control his narrative … They probably (correctly) suspect that it’s not Christ who’s being parodied, but themselves and how they’ve twisted his teachings of mercy for the powerless into a self-serving tool of the powerful," Russel said undeterred.
Responding to the backlash, Pace told fans in a tweet that they are "looking forward to announcing the new home for Sun-Man, Jesus and their family soon."
According to the CitizenGO petition site, the Second Coming "portrays a false view" of Jesus, who is "not a failure".
It added: “Most children grow up reading about iconic DC superheroes like Batman, Superman, or Wonder Woman. It would be a shame to market this false view of Jesus as an equal read to these figures.”
