A good God for fantasy fiction? Maradona.

Fantasy fiction has often tread a difficult line in regard to religion. Whether it's the preachy allegory that crosses from the pages of C.S. Lewis, or the strange cries of blasphemy shouted at J.K Rowling's Harry Potter series, it is difficult to fully ignore the theme of God(s) when creating a fantasy world. Whether you are a believer or not, it's hard to imagine a world without the influence of a multitude of faiths. So does it mean that you should always incorporate a religious system when you build a fantasy world? It's not a rhetorical question, I'd genuinely love to hear your opinion.

My favourite Gods in fantasy have more similarities to the Greek / Roman / Norse kind as opposed to the monotheistic one that dominates today. Those God's aren't all powerful and all knowing, they are Gods with flaws and beg the question to whether they are really Gods at all or simply superhumans? How they are phrased is up to the writer I suppose but many don't seem as powerful as even the decidedly human Captain Marvel or Voldermort.

Rick Riordan in his Percy Jackson series went straight for Greek mythology and those are some pretty human gods with their vices and predilections... and I say, good! I'm human so I prefer when a writer places human characteristics into a powerful being - it makes me understand and therefore like or dislike a character. I also much prefer when a hero or villain is not so powerful as to dispel all narrative jeopardy.

So what makes a God? If I travelled back 500 years with a Tesla (assuming better battery life), my iPhone (assuming better battery life and er, a 5G network), and maybe some funky cosmic clothing from the Milan catwalk, would those citizens of 1521 think me a God? ... Nope... but they'd think me pretty flash, and I think I'd compete with Henry VIII for attention in court... well, temporarily.

If I'm ever asked who would make my ideal fantasy God character, I'll give this answer...

Maradona.

I don't play fantasy football. I know what it is, but I'm too invested in my own team to select players from other clubs, so it's not for me. But if any player could ever qualify as a fantasy footballer, it's Maradona. If you're old enough to remember him playing, you'll know he was a genius... otherwise a search on YouTube is worth the minutes.

Messi may be the G.O.A.T. but Maradona is a God in Argentina. I happened to be in the British Embassy in Buenos Aires a few years ago and was mildly amused to find that the small bar they had there was named 'The Hand of God' pub, named after Maradona's famed handball goal against England during the 1986 World Cup.

The raucous 'Hand of God' bar in the British Embassy Buenos Aires.

Maradona was a God of flaws and excess. If football prowess was compared to Harry Potter wizards, he'd be Dumbledore and I'd be a muggle, but still, people played against him and y'know, sometimes, he lost.

Many a man has tried to edge themselves closer to being Godlike, perhaps that is a noble aim if you aspire to be a just and fair God, but truly, is a man able to always stay just and fair? Mistakes are made and would be much amplified by power. That is good for a fictional storyline, much less so for real life.

Whether it's a God or a Wizard or Witch or Warlock, don't imbue them with such crazy power that their every wish and whim is always granted. If you do, at least make them so supremely indifferent that their power only rarely matters. Superman is Godlike, but has Kryptonite to temper him. Thor is a God but needs his hammer and has an annoying brother. Maradona was a God but sometimes needed his hand and...

Hooray for the fallible!