Captain America, the Nationalist Superhero: An Expression of American Military Conflicts Through Popular Culture

Madeline Hunter

Senior Honors Thesis New York University Department of History

Mary Nolan, Advisor Marilyn Young, Second Reader

Contents

Introduction 3

What is a “Nationalist Superhero?” 10

Conception and Pre-Publication 20

Captain America and World War II 25

The Decline and Cancelation of Captain America 35

Captain America, the Avengers, and Falcon in the 1960s 44

Civil War in the 2000s 50

Conclusion 54

Bibliography 56

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Introduction

The United States of America is a nation of war. The country was founded out of the

Revolutionary War of 1776 and was built through a multitude of subsequent armed conflicts.

America has expanded its territory and influence through a vast number of struggles both within and beyond its borders, creating a vast state that stretches beyond its continental boundaries. These many engagements have kept the United States involved in conflict for approximately 193 of her

240 years as a nation-state.1 This development by conflict has had a substantial impact on the culture of the people living within the country. It has created a society that constantly positions itself as a hero and its adversary as the villain, an entity that needs to be righteously beaten into submission for the greater good. This attitude is not unique to the United States, but what is exceptional is how it manifests in the culture of the country.2

This hero-villain complex of an infinite good and a total evil is transmitted to average

Americans though the lens of popular culture. It appears in a variety of platforms, one of the most notable is that of comic books and superheroes. Superheroes take on the same role as the nation; they are portrayed as having superhuman power. Villains are beyond humanly comprehensible levels of evil, posing a threat to the safety of humanity, which only the superhero, or nation, can solve. Many superheroes have been offered up as the symbol for the United States, they provide a pop culture medium for the nation’s armed conflicts. The most prevalent and widely accepted to fill this position is Captain America.

1 Calculated from 1776 to 2016, taking into account all armed conflicts that engaged the United States. This does not include the entire Cold War, but factors in military activities that required arms on the part of the United States.

2 Robert Jewett, The Captain America Complex: The Dilemma of Zealous Nationalism (Philadelphia, PA: The Westminster Press, 1973) 9-27.

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Captain America is a Golden Age comic book character who was created in 1940 as a piece of propaganda. His creators, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, were appalled at the United States’ inaction in the crisis happening in Europe in the late 1930s and early 1940s.3 Captain America was the agent through whom they attempted to urge the American people towards supporting the

European war effort against Nazi Germany. When Captain America Comics was officially released in early 1941, people were beginning to take interest in what was happening abroad. Despite their efforts, Captain America had little impact on the decision to join the war as the United States was forced into the war in December of the same year when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.

Although they did not accomplish their intended goal, Simon and Kirby continued to write

Captain America and it was wildly successful during and directly after the Second World War.

American total-war sentiments contributed greatly to this initial success. The comic sold millions of copies within the United States and was read by children and adults alike, creating a pop culture icon that spanned generations and could be widely associated with the country as a whole. The comic’s international success was heavily reliant upon the soldiers who took Captain America comics abroad with them to the front lines. Soldiers found elements of the superhero that resonated with their own conflicts, and it was their interest that lead to the creation of a European audience and later an Asian audience as they served overseas.4

3 The term “Golden Age” in comics refers to comic books written from the mid-1930s until the early 1950s. This was the time when modern comic books were initially written and first put into publication. The most notable Golden Age comic book superheroes are Superman, Batman, Captain America, and Wonder Woman. Shirrel Rhoades, “History of the Comic Book World ” in A Complete History of American Comic Books (New York, NY: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., 2008) 1-8, 21-25.

4 Jean-Paul Gabilliet, trans. Bart Beaty and Nick Nguyen, Of Comics and Men: A Cultural History of American Comic Books (Jackson, MS: University of Mississippi Press, 2010) 21-27.

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Captain America’s very rapid ascension into American culture was maintained for almost a decade before a steep decline in post-war sales caused the comic to temporarily stop production in 1950.5 Captain America Comics was brought back for less than a year, May 1954 to September

1954, after the Korean War, but failed to regain its World War II readership. The American public had seemingly lost interest in a super soldier.6 This was due to a variety of factors, particularly the fall in public support for active combat wars and the shift in enemy presentation that no longer produced a person or concise physical entity to paint as the villain. During World War II, the ultimate villain was Hitler and the Red Skull, who was created by the Nazis and Hitler and led the sub-Nazi organization Hydra.7 In the revival comics that were published during the early Cold

War, Captain America did not have a named archrival. It appeared that the superhero-villain correlation between warring states was a World War II phenomenon until the resurgence of

Captain America in the 1960s.

During the Silver Age of comic books in the 1960s, Captain America came back in a variety of comic books.8 His resurgence was heavily tied to his role in the Avengers, a comic book that

5 Ibid., 41-45.

6 The term “super solider” is used in the Captain America comics to describe Captain America because he serves as a soldier, yet his abilities are above and beyond a normal service man’s. It is a kin to the terms superhero and superhuman, which are also used to describe the character.

7 The Red Skull is a character in the Captain America comics that was created by the Nazis in a similar manner to how the United States created Captain America. The key difference between the two characters is that the Red Skull was created from a corrupt man, and that moral and ethical corruption was magnified in his creation as superhuman. The Red Skull went on to lead the sub-organization Hydra, a force that outlives its Nazi creator and seeks world domination.

8 The Silver Age of comic books was from the mid-1950s to 1970 and took place after a gap of significantly less activity in the early to mid-1950s. This was a period of commercial and

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combined old, staple superheroes like Captain America with newer creations such as Falcon, the first major African-American superhero. Captain America had to once again bridge the generation gap, but in a new way. He had to entice a new audience as well as reclaim his original readership, both of which were in an America that did not patriotically take to war like the America of the

1940s. This new America was in the midst of the Cold War and was about to begin the Vietnam

War after a less than victorious war in Korea a decade prior. Captain America was a super soldier in a country that was increasingly disenchanted with conflict. Through his work with Falcon and the Avengers, Captain America became a pop culture icon that could once again be the nation- state superhero.

This rhetoric was the driving force behind the revitalized character of Captain America throughout the Cold War, from 1964 onward until the early 2000s and the beginning of the War on Terror. Yet again the American public changed its voice on war and was divided. In 2001, just after the terror attacks of 9/11, public sentiment in favor of war was incredibly high, but it quickly receded and the United States was left with a public that was increasingly divided. There were those who believed in interventionist policies and thought that the United States should exhaust all measures to protect itself from the unknown terrorist. Whereas the other side argued that liberties and personal freedoms would be trampled in such an effort.9 In this new arena of national and international politics, the character of Captain America was again reimagined, but not in the

artistic advancement that created a new high in the comic industry, which was especially successful for the superhero genre. Rhoades, 1-8, 69-75.

9 Mark D. White The Virtues of Captain America: Modern-day Lessons on Character from a World War II Superhero (Oxford: John Wiley & Sons, 2014) 178-188.

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traditional way. At this time Captain America and Iron Man chose sides, each representing one of these arguments.10

This major disparity within the American public contributed to the comic Civil War, in which superheroes from the Marvel Universe take sides and have their own war about how to deal with the new millennium’s split social and political climate.11 In this conflict Iron Man leads the portion of the superhero population that wants to adapt to the new age and compromise with governments, giving up rights in order to theoretically maintain a safer world. Captain America leads the other half, who objects to these ideas, claiming that their role is to protect and defend all people, not to be registered and controlled by one government. He fears that a collaboration could give way to superheroes being used as attack dogs for the United States.12 This schism in the comics is the moment when Captain America stops being the superhero for and of the nation and becomes a part of a much larger, more complicated puzzle that is also the puzzle of American identity. The understanding of what is “American” underwent dramatic shifts from the 1940s to the 2000s, creating a society where the white male is no longer the only face of the United States’ military and of American conflict. These key alterations in Captain America’s identity coincide

10 Mark Millar, Steven McNiven, and Dexter Vines, Civil War no. 1-7 (July 2006-Jan. 2007).

11 Timely Comics was founded in 1939 and was the original publishing company for the comic book Captain America. It was owned by Martin Goodman and during the Silver Age of comics, in the 1960s, it evolved into Marvel Comics. Today the company is formally known as Marvel Worldwide Inc. and is owned by The Walt Disney Company. Rhoades, 29, 73, 239. The term “Marvel Universe” refers to any and all characters created by Marvel comics and the combined realm in which they can all exist. Superheroes all have their own universe, or the world the writers create for that specific hero to exist in. This is bridged in many ways with superheroes going in and out of each other’s universes regularly. The overarching Marvel Universe is a place where all universes intersect, allowing for comics involving multiple characters to take place, such as the Avengers and Civil War.

12 Millar, et al.

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with shifts in United States’ military endeavors as well as the American public’s reactions to conflicts.

Using the comics that Captain America has starred in, including but not limited to, Captain

America Comics (including Captain America … Commie Smasher!), Avengers, Captain America

Vol. 2, Captain America Vol. 4, Captain America Vol. 5, and Civil War; I am going to examine how the character of Captain America has evolved alongside the United States during its involvement in war and armed conflict during the 20th century. I will start by explaining the definition of a nationalist superhero and what it means to a variety of authors. This definition is the framework for my analysis of the comics and Captain America’s character.

Starting with the conception of Captain America as a character and moving into the early

1940s and the beginning of World War II, I will examine how his character is a symptom of the global climate of the time and how he reflects the United States’ social policies. I will do this by looking at specific comics to highlight major issues, focusing on Captain America’s relationship with Germany, Hitler, the Red Skull, and minorities, specifically the Japanese. I will then work within the changing climate of the 1950s to see what influenced the decline and failure of the comics. A reader base that is no longer consuming comics as it did in the past coupled with a poor creation of villains made Captain America a disaster in the decade from 1945-1954.

In the 1960s, Captain America made a comeback that stuck. He was brought back in the

Avengers, giving readers the first major instance of retroactive continuity, a term I will elaborate on later. With the Vietnam War and the Cold War raging, Captain America managed to find a niche once again. In this decade he had two major moments that were important for his character.

First, his comeback with the Avengers. And, second, his partnership with the new superhero

Falcon, the first major minority character that is not a villain in the Marvel Universe.

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Finally, I will look at how the political climate of the early to mid-2000s and the War on

Terror created the comic Civil War. In this comic, the character of Captain America moves away from the definition of the nationalist superhero that so aptly defined him for the majority of his history. A major point of contention at this point, civil liberties versus safety and security, split not only the public, but also the superheroes of the Marvel Universe. With this change, the definition of the nationalist superhero is split between Captain America and Iron Man, creating a new lens with which to view this term.

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What is a “Nationalist Superhero?”

Captain America is not here to lead the country. I’m here to serve it. If I’m a captain, then I’m a soldier. Not of any military branch, but of the American people.13 -Captain America

Comic book superheroes have been a foundational part of the American experience for the last century. Dating back to the original “Golden Age” of the 1930s and 1940s children and adults alike have been soaking up the adventure in every platform: print, radio, and television, learning how to be a “hero” from these fictional, idealized men in tights. These superhuman characters highlight the best and worst aspects of society, resituating issues in a new context, an external and somewhat other worldly realm from the reader’s own experiences. This allows people to deal with issues like current politics and uncomfortable situations without directly engaging with them. This concept of an alternative reality, or comic book universe, that parallels real life has drawn many academic and amateur scholars to the genre of superheroes, using them and their fantastical adventures as metaphoric medicine for the trials and tribulations of recent history. A sub-field of this genre focuses specifically on nationalist superheroes, often honing in on one character specifically, Captain America.

The authors discussed below explain how Captain America was founded as the nationalist superhero, fighting for America against Hitler, the Japanese, Communists, and anyone else that threatens the American ideal, and how his character reinforces the nation and its values selling them to readers. Jason Dittmer begins the discussion by providing the most overarching definition of the nationalist superhero as a character that is the embodiment of the nation and its ideals. This hero is not just fighting for peace and justice, but fighting for justice as defined by the government

13 John Ney Rieber, Trevor Hairsine, and Danny Miki, “The Extremists Part 1 of 4” in Captain America 4, no. 7 (Feb. 2003).

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of the nation it was created to represent, the cultivation of the perfect patriot. Yet J. Richard Stevens argues that no superhero is perfect, not even one meant to be the perfect American. Ronald C.

Thomas, Jr. poses the question of how changes in policy and values changes the superheroes meant to exemplify them. Ultimately the point made by Lisa DeTora is the most accurate; no one narrative can explain a concept. The authors presented here create the basic foundation for the genre of superhero history, and the subgenre that encapsulates Captain America, but the question of how the Captain America of World War II changed with the shifts in American doctrine is still left open for continued discussion and evaluation.

Jason Dittmer, a professor of geography and geopolitics at the University College London, gives his perspective on the Captain America subgenre in his book Captain America and the

Nationalist Superhero: Metaphors, Narratives, and Geopolitics. He breaks down the different elements of American nationalism that Captain America embodies, from multiculturalism to the gendering of the state, while reinforcing the American ideals of liberty and freedom with every fictitious breath he takes. Dittmer derives a definition for the nationalist superhero that is exclusive enough to eliminate the majority of the superhero population, while being sufficiently comprehensive so that it is applicable to a range of authors on the topic.

His definition comes partially from an assessment of the image Massacre in Haditha

(2005), a remake of Pablo Picasso’s Massacre in Korea (1951).14 The Massacre in Korea shows shallow, vulnerable, almost indistinguishable characters depicting Koreans looking for shelter behind American lines, with robotic knights ready to attack, the American soldiers who slaughtered them. During the Iraq War, the image was recreated to show the murder of Iraqi

14 Jason Dittmer, Captain America and the Nationalist Superhero: Metaphors, Narratives, and Geopolitics (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2013) 1-2.

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civilians. However, instead of changing the image of the victims, the artist, Tanya Tier, chose to remake the knights as modern day American superheroes, depicting a new face of American warfare and foreign policy.

Figure 1: Massacre in Haditha, by Tanya Tier (2005).

Figure 2: Massacre in Korea, by Pablo Picasso (1951). In the creation of Massacre in Haditha the artist asserts that superheroes are not just byproducts of American exceptionalism or personifications of leftover 20th century ideologies.

Rather they are constitutive elements of American identity, which play off of past and present foreign policy. It is from this representation that Dittmer rationalizes that superheroes are not the

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crux of the American identity; however, they are mutually formed with changes over time. Thus the definition of a nationalist superhero according to Dittmer is that of a fictitious character who as a byproduct of the nation, must reinforce what the dominant national rhetoric claims to be best and true about the nation itself through superhuman attributes that continually augment the greatness of its creator.15

Dittmer augments this by offering a description of what a nationalistic superhero is and what differentiates that character from others. He chooses the example of Superman versus Captain

America. Both characters are major American superheroes, but a few key points distinguish

Captain America as a nationalist superhero and Superman as a simple hero. Superman is an alien who landed in the American Midwest and integrated into American life, making him a representation of immigration and its possibilities, specifically the idea that anyone can be an

American. He fights for liberty and justice. But that is where Superman’s connection to the nation ends. In theory, he could have landed in any country with similar nationally espoused values and been a successful superhero without changing any major character features.

Captain America also represents the possibilities of immigration to America as the son of immigrants, and he fights for liberty, justice, and freedom. The difference is that he crosses into a more abstract realm of representation. Captain America’s entire character is America. His uniform is red, white and blue with a shield—a white star on a blue background surrounded by red and white stripes—that he uses for both protection and as a weapon. His enemies are American adversaries, including Hitler and the entire concept of communism, which takes on a physical, personified form in the 1950s. Captain America does not need an enemy to be directly attacking him or an exclusive city he protects in order to jump into action. He does not require a physical

15 Dittmer, 1-4.

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American person or place to protect. Rather he goes and seeks out threats both at home and abroad in order to keep America safe.16 This is the definition that fits the subgenre of Captain America in the wider comic field, and is applicable to a wide variety of academic authors’ work.

Dittmer goes on to elaborate on why the evolution of these superheroes is so strongly tied to American nationalism. When compared to the United Kingdom, specifically England, and

Canada, the United States has had amazing success in the creation and longevity of nationalist superheroes, something the other two countries have been unable to cultivate. One reason given for this is that the United States has an exceptionally abundant national rhetoric that cultivates nearly everything into tradition, creating a unique national rhetoric that preaches the oneness of its people, often excluding minorities.17 Many authors of this subgenre use this framework of the

United States as the locale for the creation of nationalist superheroes.

Mark White, a philosophy professor at the College of Staten Island, is one of these authors to whom Dittmer’s definitions and assumptions apply. In his book, The Virtues of Captain

America: Modern-Day Lessons on Character from a World War II Superhero, White does not focus on how Captain America creates and reinforces the state structure like Dittmer, rather he focuses on how the character reinforces individuals and their behaviors. In Chapter 2, “Captain

America as a Moral Exemplar,” White traces why this character is the perceived perfect American, which leads into a discussion of how real people can take on and adopt that persona in their daily lives. This is done through conceiving fictional characters as role models. They cannot directly change the world through their own actions but they can motivate people to take action in the real world by modeling positive traits. For example, “superheroes display courage—especially those

16 Dittmer 6-8.

17 Dittmer, 63-64.

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like Captain America who have no fantastic superpowers—which results in defeating villains and saving lives, often at the expense of their own well-being.”18 The principle that propels the entirety of White’s argument, is that a character, specifically Captain America, has meaning beyond the page because of how it influences the reader.

Both Dittmer and White view the influences of Captain America as being relatively, if not entirely, positive. They view Captain America as a piece of the American persona that is a force for good, fighting for liberty and justice. J. Richard Stevens’ Captain America: Masculinity and

Violence disagrees. Dittmer’s definitions continue to apply in this narrative, but the endgame is drastically different. Stevens, an associate professor in media studies at the University of Colorado

Boulder, deals with Captain America and his smashing of all things deemed “un-American” by stating that while he is in fact doing “good,” he is also perpetuating extreme forms of masculinity and is often excessively violent.

In the chapter entitled “The Anti-Hitler Crusader” he states that “Just wars make a nation just.”19 Using this notion in conjunction with Dittmer’s definition of a nationalist superhero, he concludes that if what Captain America does is considered just, then the United States must be just as well. This is something that Stevens acknowledges, yet he does not let that deter him from asserting that whether it is punching Hitler in the face or smashing communists, Captain America is not always a character that shows discretion when using violence, something for which the

United States is also known for doing.

18 White, 27.

19 J. Richard Stevens, Captain America, Masculinity, and Violence: The Evolution of a National Icon (Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press, 2015), 33.

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Later, Stevens emphasizes critiques of Captain America that were published in 1942 and were met with rage. When a commenter criticized the writers and called Captain America a warmonger, readers, politicians, and many others wrote in for the next six years to say how the commenter had deeply offended them and the nation. This became known as the “patriotism controversy.”20 Connecting these points to White’s prescription for Captain-esque values and

Dittmer’s relationship between character and state, it’s not surprising that calling Captain America a warmonger during the Second World War was not deemed appropriate by the public (until

December 1941 when the United States formally joined the war), who felt the criticism turned back on themselves and their way of life. Stevens continually makes these points throughout his book, highlighting how in most decades, no matter how violent Captain America is, he is almost always immune to scrutiny, just like the government he is fighting for.

Lisa DeTora, an assistant director in the English department at Lafayette College brings all of these narratives together in the compilation of essays Heroes of Film, Comics and American

Culture: Essays on Real and Fictional Defenders of Home. In her introduction, DeTora discusses the shifts in what is considered the “real American hero” and how those changes influence who can fit the hero persona. Despite the transformations she allows for the term hero and superhero, which are used almost interchangeably, and her move to a more present moment in history, her assessment still fits with Dittmer’s definitions. She claims that the connection between the home front and heroes is still intimate and important because of the discourses that have and continue to be a part of warfare, an ever-present part of the 20th and 21st century American experience. During

World War II, the notion of heroes was to unite the country and bridge a loss of certain civil liberties. In more recent wars, the notion is the same only it is straddled with the need to deal with

20 Stevens, 90-94.

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more public debate on the topic. Ultimately DeTora concludes that the concepts surrounding this genre are too vast for only one author and leaves other arguments to be made by the authors of her selected essays.21

DeTora includes an essay by Dittmer, “Fighting for Home: Masculinity and Constitution of the Domestic in Tales of Suspense and Captain America”, but it takes heavily from Captain

America and the Nationalist Superhero, and does not create a standalone dialogue from the book.

Rather, Ronald C. Thomas, Jr., director of new media journalism at Full Sail University, furthers the discussion with his essay “Hero of the Military-Industrial Complex: Reading Iron Man through

Burke’s Dramatism.” While the essay focuses on a different superhero, Iron Man’s proximity to

Captain America via the Avengers, a group of Marvel superheroes who fight together as a police force for the evil of the world, highlights the issues and permutations of Captain America in the modern age of the 2000s. The Captain himself remains the same, though the differences in character between him and Iron Man show how he has evolved since Stevens’ argument was made about him in his earlier comic books. Thomas stresses the walls being built between the two

Avengers as Iron Man makes accommodations for the new age of war by adding Wolverine, a character known for caring little about the fate of his opponents, to the Avengers team, a squad known for their ability to handle national and international conflicts without directly causing the deaths of others.22

21 Lisa DeTora, ed. Heroes of Film, Comics and American Culture: Essays on Real and Fictional Defenders of Home (Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland &, Publishers, 2009) 1-13.

22 Ronald C. Thomas, Jr., “Hero of the Military-Industrial Complex: Reading Iron Man through Burke’s Dramatism,” in DeTora, ed. Heroes of Film, Comics and American Culture: Essays on Real and Fictional Defenders of Home 152-166.

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In Stevens’ argument, Captain America was too violent and too brash. He charged into battle with or without a true purpose, other than because the fight was “for America”. For this new

Captain America in conflict with Iron Man, his willingness to fight is no longer the question, but rather what that fight produces. Thomas shows how Iron Man is the superhero now speaking on behalf of America through his involvement with fictitious versions of Congress. He is the leader calling the shots when it comes to the Avengers’ involvement in American foreign policy. Iron

Man would be the warmonger, demonstrating the collective violence that was once associated by extension with America by Dittmer and White. This is a milestone essay because it calls into question whether or not modern manifestations of Captain America are nationalist superheroes.

In modern manifestations, Captain America is still fighting for liberty and justice, however he now has a voice and a conscience, that stop him from being the ultimate, unwavering, and obedient soldier he was created to be. When looking at modern military discourse, the trope of the unquestioning soldier, blinded by national duty, is called into question. American soldiers no longer fight wars that are unchallenged, so neither does Captain America. The “patriotism controversy” that Stevens dealt with is no longer so dramatically one-sided. Thomas’ essay presents what happens when nationalism is no longer the only option for superheroes. Nor is it the only option for real people. If Captain America is meant to teach values as White insists, then this change is only consistent with the change over time of the values of the nation. Thus, Captain

America can still be called a nationalist superhero by Dittmer’s definition, but there is also space for new terminology.

The definition of a nationalist superhero established by Jason Dittmer and discussed by these authors is the framework with which I will be analyzing Captain America throughout the comics, from the first publication in 1941 until his death in Civil War. I plan to expand on this

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definition as well as give it structure within the comics. I am going to be scrutinizing how this definition fits the character of Captain America from decade to decade by highlighting key moments in the comic books he stars in that illustrate or contradict this affiliation. I will do this by setting the framework of each comic, explaining what was happening in the real world at the time and parallel that to the events of the comics, I will ask how well Captain America reflects this period of American history? After breaking down Captain America’s claim or denial of the term nationalist superhero in each time period, I will assess whether or not the term truly applies to him.

This definition and the term nationalist superhero are widely used by many authors, yet Captain

America has changed dramatically over the last seventy-five years. Are the Captain America from

1941 and the Captain America from 2005 the same character? Do they adhere the same basic principle of upholding the nation?

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Conception and Pre-Publication

Comics have become a unique art form. When I and the other young artists were working in comics, our work carried with it a particularly American slant. After all, we were Americans drawing and writing about things that touched us. As it turned out, the early work was, you might say, a comic book version of Jazz. In the sense, that is, that jazz too was a uniquely American art form.23 -Joe Simon, co-creator of Captain America

Captain America was conceived in the mind of Joe Simon, and with the help of Jack Kirby, the character was born. Joe Simon was a comic book writer, artist, and the first editor of Timely

Comics, which later evolved into Marvel Comics, in the late 1930s and the beginning of the

1940s.24 He began drawing at a young age, going on to work at newspapers drawing cartoons.

After moving to New York City from upstate New York, he impressed an editor who recommended he try creating comic books, a new and upcoming business. While working at Fox

Publications, he met Jack Kirby, an artist and writer. The two had much in common, including a hatred of the rising Adolf Hitler in Germany. The two began a friendship leading to the publication of Captain America Comics in 1941.25

The 1930s and 1940s are considered the Golden Age of comic books, when the originals that began the genre were created. The central hub of this Golden Age was New York City. The city provided a variety of resources not available in other parts of the country, making it not only the ideal place to cultivate comics, but in essence the only place. New York City was imagined to

23 Rhoades, 1.

24 Joe Simon’s birth name is Hymie Simon. The change to his name was initiated by his mother who refused to call her son Hymie. Bruce Webber, “Joe Simon, a Creator of Captain America, Is Dead at 98,” New York Times, December 16, 2011. Joe Simon, Joseph Henry Simon, and all other forms of his “name” are not his real name. Almost all of his publications refer to him as Joe Simon when referencing the author.

25 Ibid.

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be plagued by endless problems and constant crime that never seemed to have an antidote, until the idea of the superhero. Superheroes could fix the city’s woes with their powers and limitless selfless, good deeds. This is one of the reasons the vast majority of superheroes are from or set in

New York, or in locations similar to New York City, such as Batman’s Gotham.

The other major contributor to the birth of comics in New York City was the availability of resources to make the physical comics. Not only did you have a multitude of creative minds all looking for their big break, turning out new ideas like a factory. Those people could also be called upon to assist in projects, allowing for an actual industry to emerge. The comic industry was also heavily reliant upon the cheap manufacturing costs within New York. Printing could be done for considerably less in the city than in other parts of the country, permitting for comics to be made an inexpensive luxury. This affordable indulgence came about in a city where many people needed a distraction and at a time when people across the country also needed the same.26

From this equation of supply and demand, Captain America was made. However, his actual and fictional “birth” both being located in New York had more to do with the creators. They could have chosen a path similar to Batman’s and created an entire new city that could be freely manipulated by them, however, they did not. Simon and Kirby wanted Captain America to be an

American like they were, and by placing him in their city, they allowed themselves to act out fantasies of being a superhero, imagining Captain America’s accomplishments as their own.

The creators wanted the character of Captain America to be the all-American man, a true example of the American dream, so they made his backstory something that a nation of immigrants and seemingly insignificant people could relate to.27 Captain America’s backstory is that he was

26 Gabilliet, 13-19.

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born as Steve Rogers on the Lower-East Side of Manhattan as the child of Irish immigrants with blond hair and blue eyes. Rogers was a sickly, scrawny boy that was orphaned as a young adult.

Despite his physical imperfections, when World War II broke out he desperately tried to join the

United States army. He was repulsed by the actions of Nazi Germany and would not be deterred from his goal of going to help with the war effort. This attracted the attention of a certain general who made him a candidate for Project: Rebirth, the United States’ army’s attempt to create a super soldier unlike anything seen before. Because of Rogers innate goodness and lack of selfishness, he is chosen and injected with a serum that turns him into a nearly perfect human. He is gifted with extraordinary physical and mental strength plus extreme resistance to normal human frailties. Unable to replicate the experiment and create more super humans like Rogers, the army puts him to use in a red, white, and blue costume of Roger’s own creation with the code name Captain America and sends him to fight the Red Skull, an off-shoot of the Third Reich.28 With the help of his sidekick Bucky Barnes, a teen working as an army camp mascot, Captain America adventures around the world to extinguish any and all threats to the American dream. Figure 3: Captain America Comics no. 1, by Joe Simon The character’s backstory may seem like an antiquated version of the and Jack Kirby (March 1941). American dream in 1940, but for Simon and Kirby he represented the points that they thought the American public needed to consider.29 Immigration had been a major part of

27 Joe Simon, Joe Simon: My Life in Comics (London, England: Titan Books, 2011) Kindle.

28 Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Captain America Vol.1 no. 109 (January 1969).

29 Simon, “Chapter 1” in Joe Simon: My Life in Comics.

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the American identity for generations, but after 1924 immigration was dramatically curbed. With the crisis happening in Europe, the United States would need to be open to more European immigrants, specifically immigrants from historically marginalized categories, such as the Jews.

Making Captain America Irish linked past prejudices against the Irish with present anti-Semitism and worked to invalidate claims that these immigrants would be bad for the country.

The decision to make Captain America an orphan and physically weak was another deliberate move by the creators. By showing that someone who was repeatedly turned away from the army could be turned into the army’s best weapon had a two-fold significance. In one respect, the creators demonstrated that anyone could achieve greatness through persistence and resilience, the quintessential American dream.30 In the same example, the point is made that everyone can be of use during wartime, even those whose capabilities do not necessarily apply to the traditional battlefield. In drawing these connections, space is made for Simon and Kirby, and for the general public as well, within the narrative of the war.

Simon and Kirby’s first actual engagement with these ideas is accomplished when they insert themselves into the dialogue surrounding the actions of the U.S. military. On the cover of the first issue of Captain America Comics, Rogers is depicted on the cover punching Adolf Hitler in the face, an inflammatory image for the time since the United States was divided on whether or not to intervene in the war and would not be forced into the war until almost a year after the issue’s publication.31 This was something explicitly done by Simon and Kirby and was a plan of theirs from the beginning. Simon and Kirby shared a particular hatred of the Nazis due to their moral

30 Simon, “Chapter 6” in Joe Simon: My Life in Comics.

31 Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, Captain America Comics no. 1 (March 1941).

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principles and Kirby being a Jew himself.32 They saw it as a failure on the part of the United States to not intervene to stop the atrocities taking place in Europe. Captain America Comics was meant to change that. The character was going to fight the Nazis as an example of the United States and what it could do and the comic was meant to sway public opinion and incite a want of the American people to join World War II.33

The release of Captain America, the example of pop culture propaganda ignited two main reactions from the public. The minority of readers resented the comic heavily and found the language and war themes offensive. They saw Kirby and Simon as warmongers who were trying to persuade Americans, especially children, to support another European war. Conversely, the majority supported the comic, making it a huge success and selling almost one million copies in

1941. The mayor of New York at the time, Fiorello LaGuardia, was a member of the latter party and personally wrote to Simon and Kirby to express his support and urge them to continue.34 Less than a year after the initial comic release, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and brought the

United States into World War II, continuing the adventures of Captain America for over a decade until a lack of U.S. involvement in the war caused a drop in popularity and the eventual end of

Captain America’s Golden Age in 1954.35

32 Joe Simon and Jim Simon, “Captain America—Our Answer to Hitler” in The Comic Book Makers (Lebanon, NJ: Vanguard Productions, 2003) 42-47.

33 Stevens, 24-40.

34 Simon, The Comic Book Makers, 45-46.

35 Joe Simon and Jack Kirby did not write or draw Captain America Comics after no. 10. They were caught having side business relations with Detective Comics (DC) and left Timely Comics. They continued their work at DC and after legal battles with Timely/Marvel Comics, they gained back certain rights to their original work. Simon, “Chapter 7” in Joe Simon: My Life in Comics.

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Captain America and World War II

How could Captain America not have been a reaction to the times? The Nazis were a menace, an evil in the world. The US hadn't yet entered the war when Jack and I did Captain America, so maybe he was our way at lashing out against the Nazi menace.36 -Joe Simon, co-creator of Captain America

Twenty years after the War to End All Wars, Europe was thrown into conflict for a second time in September 1939 when Germany invaded Poland. Almost immediately Great Britain and

France declared war on Germany, beginning what would become another war that enveloped the world. At the helm of this unfolding chaos was Adolf Hitler, a man who would oversee atrocities so great that they live in infamy today. Despite Hitler’s attempt to conquer Europe and news of the horrors many Germans and non-Germans had to endure under his reign, the United States remained divided on whether or not to interfere. Memories of the previous war were still fresh in the public’s memory, and no one sought to repeat them.

It was this indecision that brought life to the character of Captain America. His creators,

Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, wanted to make an impact on their fellow Americans to sway them towards intervening in Europe. They created a character that metaphorically beat his adversaries with the American flag by way of his shield, something Simon and Kirby desperately wanted to do themselves.37 This desire is depicted on the cover of Captain America Comics #1, which has become one of the most recognized images of Captain America to date. On the cover Captain

America is seen punching Adolf Hitler in the face while being attacked by other Nazis. The map on the table and the image of the Nazis blowing up a U.S. munitions factory is an obvious allusion to what will happen if the United States does not follow Captain America’s example and go on the

36 Gary Dowell, Heritage Comics Auctions, Dallas Signature Auction Catalog #819 (Heritage Auctions, Inc., 2006) 419. Source points to original.

37 Simon, “Chapter 7” in Joe Simon: My Life in Comics.

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offensive before being attacked. In this comic,

Captain America takes the initiative to seek out dangers to the United States and deal with them himself, something that resonated with the majority of the American population, leading to an incredibly successful first issue.38

This first issue is indicative of the themes and actions presented throughout the 1940s. Here

Captain America uses the same inflammatory speech and American exceptionalist rhetoric as

American propaganda, all the while painting a picture of the enemy as laughable and disorganized, making them seem like a less than formidable Figure 4: Captain America Comics no. 1, by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby (March 1941). threat. In part of Captain America’s first adventure, he stumbles upon a Nazi who killed a general as bait to lure him into a trap. The Nazi believes that taking out Captain America will leave the United States vulnerable to more attacks. Ultimately, his plain fails and Captain America walks away unharmed.39 Not only does this failure demonstrate the incompetence of the Nazis, but it also gives a visual picture of their depravity.

When envisioning the Nazis Kirby did not make them adversaries in elaborate costumes like many supervillains, but rather chose to dress them in ordinary clothes with distorted features.

38 Captain America Comics no. 1 sold nearly a million copies, which was ninety-seven percent of the comics they had printed for the release. Ibid.

39 Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, Captain America Comics no. 1 (March 1941).

26

As seen in the panel from Captain America

Comics no. 1 labeled Figure 5, there is a stark

contrast in the design of the characters and

their facial features. The Americans are

drawn with strong jaws and well-kept

appearances. Conversely the Nazi looks more

like a monkey than a human. He has a

hunched back, unruly hair, and a face that

looks slightly melted, making him easily

identifiable as a villain. This representation

also makes the villain someone that the

audience cannot sympathize with. Making the

Nazis human would give them power, Figure 5: Captain America Comics no. 1, by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby (March 1941). something Simon and Kirby absolutely did not want to do.

Later the image of the Nazi develops to be even more inhuman with the introduction of the

Red Skull. The Red Skull is a character that was created by a traumatic childhood and the indoctrination of the Nazis. Nazi attempts to make him into a supervillain in the same way that

27

Captain America was turned into a super soldier left him deformed. The difference between the two effects of the serum to create superhumans is the individual’s own innate goodness. When Steve Rogers was injected and turned into Captain America, his goodness was magnified. In the case of the

Red Skull, his hatred and wickedness was taken to superhuman levels. When this happened, his face morphed so that the skin was bright red and clung directly onto his skull, making his appearance inhuman and terrifying. In this transformation the Red Skull Figure 6: Captain America Comics no. 7, by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby (October 1941). truly undergoes a physical change that demonstrates the madness within.40 The Red Skull and Hydra, the Nazi sub-organization he leads, replace regular appearances of Hitler and the Third Reich from no. 7 onward, becoming the first major recurring supervillain for Captain America.

Showing the white American male as the pure force of good is repeated in Captain

America’s future encounters with those not fitting within that mold. One of Captain America’s few encounters with African Americans in the 1940s is seen in issue no. 5, published August 1941.

There is one black child grouped in with several other white children who are all apart of Captain

40 Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, Captain America Comics no. 7 (New York, NY: Timely Comics, Oct. 1941).

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America’s club, the Sentinels of Liberty. This child is not in any prominent position, but this is the only representation of a minority in the year of Captain America comics before the war. In addition to the lack of representation, the child is depicted in a zoot suit with red lips, making him a racist stereotype and not in any way an actual character to be engaged with.41 The representation of

African Americans, or lack thereof, is indicative of the national dialogue surrounding race at the time. African Americans could be marginally seen within white society, but there was no integration of the races. This depiction is interesting because of the insistence by the authors that minorities like Jews be allowed to immigrate and integrate, but they seem to have a complete disregard for any other marginalized group.

The writers’ double standard is dramatically shown in Captain America Comics no. 14, published in May 1942, when the hero is sent to fight Native Americans. It is an incredibly striking issue. The artist for this issue was not Jack Kirby, but instead a cartoonist named Al Avison.42 He built upon the disfigurement of the Nazis shown in Captain America Comics no. 1 by drawing the enemy with large noses, loincloths, moccasins, and long hair that is either braided or in a Mohawk.

In one panel Captain America calls out to the supposed chief saying, “I’m convinced, Vulture, that you are a Jap or worse!” This statement is proven to be a correct call on Captain America’s part because the chief is unmasked as a white man who gave American information to the Japanese.43

This stereotypical dress and the assumption that Native Americans are helping the Japanese are

41 Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, Captain America Comics no. 5 (Aug. 1941).

42 Al Avison is one of several artists who worked on Captain America Comics after Kirby’s departure. His stylistic differences from Kirby are easily seen in the comic. It is under his time as the artist for the comic that many of the artistic tropes for minorities are first seen and established.

43 Vincent Fago and Al Avison, Captain America Comics no. 14 (May 1942).

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repeated throughout Captain America Comics in the 1940s and are used to demonize the Native

Americans, making them universally suspicious and un-American.

Despite all of these inaccuracies and typecasts, none of Captain America’s enemies were as degraded as the Japanese. Captain America almost exclusively fought Japanese Americans or

Japanese on American soil. Their status as “Japanese” is however somewhat difficult to discern at times because, as shown in Captain America Comics no. 5, Simon and Kirby (along with many other comic book artists from the time) took stereotypes and images of the Chinese and transferred them onto the Japanese. Often the Japanese are referred to as Asians or Orientals, which can again be confusing. In issue no. 5 Captain America goes to Hawaii to uncover the plot of the Orientals.

What he finds is incredibly interesting, given the time at which the issue was published. Captain

America discovers that the Japanese were attempting to use a submarine shaped like a dragon to attack the Hawaiian Islands. Their goal was to create a massive volcanic explosion and wipe out the American fleet in the Pacific. The men running the submarine were typical comic illustrations for the time and portrayed the crew with topknots and minimal clothing in an attempt to make them seem inferior and barbaric.44 The most interesting aspect of this issue is its engagement with the naval fleet in Hawaii, which was attacked by the Japanese four months after issue no. 5’s publication. From this point onward Japanese characters are increasingly disfigured and made to look like the obvious enemy that could not possibly be American. After the attack on Pearl Harbor

Captain America goes up against the Japanese again in Captain America no. 13, published in April

1942. As in issue no. 14, this issue is also drawn by Al Avison. Since the war has begun and there as been an attack on Pearl Harbor that is where Captain America faces off against a Japanese enemy.

44 Simon, Captain America Comics no. 5.

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Both forces are larger than life facing off over the battleships in the harbor.

Captain America is in his usual costume with rippling muscles and a clean, well- groomed appearance, whereas, his opponent is hideous with clawed hands and fangs.

This is reinforced when Captain America attacks. In one attack his fist comes up from where the American flag is flying on the naval base to connect with and further disfigure the antagonist's fanged jaw. Then using one of his signature moves, Captain

America hits his opponent with his shield, Figure 7: Captain America Comics no. 13, by Al Avison (April which is modeled after the American flag. 1942).

The fight is finished when Captain America says, “You started it! Now we’ll finish it!” and his opponent falls into the harbor defeated.45 This progression of aggression against the Japanese is a common theme reappearing in the comics published during the war.

Despite the alienation of most non-white readers, the Captain America comics did incredibly well. This is in large part due to how the comics treated the Germans. Given how the comic began in 1941, depicting a Nazi like an ape-man, the storyline could have followed that trope and divided its readership further. Had Simon and Kirby, and the subsequent writers and

45 Vincent Fago and Al Avison, Captain America Comics no. 13 (New York, NY: Timely Comics, April 1942).

31

artists of Captain America Comics, stayed with this trend and racialized the Germans like they did to minorities, they might have estranged their target audience, white young men, a large portion of whom had German ancestry themselves. By substituting the Red Skull and Hydra for actual

Germans, the writers created distance from the real life situation.

Another large contributor to this success was the link between Captain America and the home front. While he was regularly pictured outside of the United States, Captain America fought many of his battles on American soil. He was a super soldier who was seemingly accessible. The fact that he fought within the country and on foreign soil conveyed the idea that the soldiers fighting in Asia and Europe were doing the same thing. It made the war front something people could conceive and understand as necessary to protect themselves.

The most crucial element of Captain America’s grip on the home front was his sidekick,

Bucky Barnes. Bucky was used to draw in younger readers and he was a fictional friend to young boys who were enticed to join the Sentinels of Liberty, a real club for young Captain America fans.

In his 1940s conception, Bucky was a boy who palled around with Steve when he was not in disguise. In issue no. 1, Bucky followed Steve and found him changing into his Captain America uniform. Instead of being angry that he has been found out, Steve appreciates Bucky’s eagerness to help with the war effort and invites him to join in his adventures.46

This representation of Bucky as a child is only present in the Golden Age comics. After the failure of the comic in 1954, Bucky grows up and eventually falls away from his role as Captain

46 Simon, Captain America Comics no. 1.

32

America’s sidekick.47 In the more modern era of Captain America Bucky is completely reimagined and given a new backstory that allows him to fight alongside Captain America as an equal.48

In the Golden Age comics Bucky represents the home front and is the most accessible

“superhero” character. While he follows Captain America, he very rarely engages in any sort of combat and he remains a relatively normal civilian. During World War II, the United States maintained a division between the home front and the battlefront. Bucky was a link between these two spheres. He was what so many young boys wanted to be, to follow their brothers and fathers into battle, but he always kept a certain amount of distance. This helped younger audiences to understand their role in the war effort. Bucky’s ability to transverse the two spheres made the idea of how a child made a difference conceivable.

On the same page where Bucky discovers who

Captain America really is an advertisement for the

Sentinels of Liberty. The Sentinels of Liberty was

Bucky’s way of more directly engaging with children.

As seen in the excerpt from Captain America Comics no. 1 sending in the same amount of money as one issue of Captain America, 10 cents, a child could be a

49 Figure 8: Captain America Comics no. 1, by Joe Simon and part of something bigger. This club came with a badge Jack Kirby (March 1941).

47 Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Avengers Vol. 1 no. 4 (March 1964).

48 Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting, Captain America Vol. 5 no. 1 (Jan. 2005).

49 10 cents in 1941 is worth approximately $1.64 in today’s currency.

33

that gave the recipient a feeling of importance, as if they were doing something positive for their country.

This mass mobilization of children was not unlike that of other countries at this time, however it was the only movement of collective indoctrination that was organized by a private entity. This relationship and feeling of exclusivity was promoted as a way to increase Captain

America Comics sales to younger audiences, an essential part of creating and maintaining readership.50

Captain America Comics in the early 1940s was heavily centered on establishing Captain

America as a superhero that the American public could identify with and respect. By making the character look like a polished, professional soldier the writers made him an ideal. Captain America was an example of American perfection for people to strive towards. In this time period, the character actively reflects national ideology by carefully balancing the situation in Germany in order to not offend Americans of German ancestry, while simultaneously disregarding for the sentiments of minorities, particularly of the Japanese. From these points, it is easy to assert that during World War II, Captain America is the nationalist superhero for the United States, or the white part thereof. From his self-made costume of red, white, and blue, to his vigorous nationalist rhetoric, his entire character is a mirror of the United States at this moment in history. Captain

America was made for World War II America. The true test of his fit as the nationalist superhero comes in later years as he is forced to change and grow with the country.

50 Simon, “Chapter 6” in Joe Simon: My Life in Comics.

34

The Decline and Cancelation of Captain America

BUCKY: Cap, when you said he reminded you of someone … who was it? CAPTAIN AMERICA: Hitler! Same words: “Strong minds in strong bodies,” and “play to win!” Americans play not to win, necessarily, but for the sake of good sportsmanship and fair play … which Nazis and Reds know nothing about at all!51

When World War II ended in 1945 Captain America was a huge success and continued to be published despite the change in international climate. The writers were faced with a new challenge: who should Captain America fight? The foreign enemies he had gone up against were no longer a threat, having been subdued by the United States. In order to keep Captain America as a relevant character in peoples’ lives, he was repositioned to fight solely on American soil.52 Yet beyond common crime, the writers struggled with who or what could serve as Captain America’s adversary. Over the next few years the Captain

America comics grew more bizarre with his enemies ranging from giant apes to aliens, creatures that drastically deviated from his comic narrative.

The narrative timeline went in a downward spiral from Captain America Comics no. 50, published in

October 1945, until the last Captain America

Comics of the 1940s, no. 73, published in July 1949.

Figure 9: Captain America Comics no. 50, by Stan Lee and Alex Schomburg (Oct. 1945).

51 Stan Lee and John Romita, “The Hour of Doom,” Captain America … Commie Smasher! 1, no. 78 (Sept. 1954).

52 Simon, The Comic Book Makers, 78-80.

35

After several years of nonsensical comics, the writers made a final attempt with the release of two issues called Captain

America’s Weird Tales in October 1949 and

February 1950. These two issues are technically also listed as Captain America

Comics no. 74 and no. 75, however it is difficult to include these in the Captain

America narrative at all because they have no bearing on the comics’ overarching plot.

Captain America’s Weird Tales that was released in October 1949 does have Captain

America in the story, but the plot is so bizarre it is never incorporated into the Captain

Figure 10: Captain America's Weird Tales no. 74, by Stan Lee and America narrative after its release. One of the Martin Nodell (Oct. 1949). stories in the issue presents the Red Skull as having Satan’s book of damned souls, in which he writes Captain America’s name. This teleports the hero into the afterlife where he fights and defeats Red Skull earning Satan’s permission to go home.53 Captain America’s Weird Tales from

February 1950 continues this strange progression in an issue that does not star any superheroes.

This issue is an anthology of suspense stories that while having the name “Captain America” tied to it, has nothing to do with the character.

53 Stan Lee and Martin Nodell, Captain America’s Weird Tales no. 74 (Oct. 1949).

36

The changes that had happened to the Captain America Comics over the latter half of the

1940s made the comics significantly less desirable. Captain America was simply not the superhero he once was, causing a steep drop in sales, however this was not an uncommon occurrence in the comic industry at the time. After the war ended in 1945 there was a drastic increase in the amount of comics being produced because after seeing the success of comics like Captain America everyone wanted in, but the reader base for the new influx of comics did not exist. This created a decline in the industry as a whole. There were too many comics and the comics being produced were not original enough to garner new readership. This left even the most experienced writers in the industry with failing comics.54

Oversaturation of the market was not the only opponent to the comic industry in the 1950s.

In the late 1940s and early 1950s a man by the name of Frederic Wertham led an anti-comics movement and used his book, Seduction of the Innocent, published in 1954, to spread his message.

His ideas centered around the notion that comics were immoral and exposed children to violence and gore at too young of an age, leading to juvenile delinquency. He also argued that comics were responsible for preventing the youth from appreciating fine art and literature.55 This argument came at an opportune time in history when the Cold War was heating up. Across the country religious and patriotic groups were campaigning for the moral welfare of the nation, claiming that moral depravity was an attribute of the communists.56 Wertham’s argument was backed by these organizations, which gave his message a stronger sense of validity. This caused many people to

54 Simon, “Chapter 10” in Joe Simon: My Life in Comics.

55 Fredric Wertham, Seduction of the Innocent (New York, NY: Rinehart, 1954).

56 Robert J. McMahon, The Cold War: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2003) 105-120.

37

shun comics under the guise that they would lead to wicked behavior that would lead to communism.

All of these factors led to the decline in the comic book industry that coincided with the end of the Captain America Comics in 1950. This also happened within months of the start of the

Korean War, which officially began for the United States on June 25, 1950. In theory this would have been a great opportunity for the resurgence of Captain America. He could have come back with his former glory to attack yet another of America’s enemies, yet he did not. After the losses

Timely Comics faced and the overall lack of success of superheroes in the early 1950s, the writers and editors chose to leave Captain America in the archive.57

It was not until May 1954, almost a full year after the end of the Korean War, that Captain

America attempted to make a comeback in Captain America no. 76, part of a multi-issue mini- series known as Captain America … Commie Smasher!58 After America’s retreat from Korea in

July of 1953, the country was not entirely ready for a superhero filled with national pride and zeal, but the editors at Atlas Comics brought Captain America back and had him take advantage of the

57 Captain America was not the only superhero suffering losses in sales during the late 1940s and early 1950s. Superheroes like Wonder Woman and Superman were also less popular with audiences. This led to an industry wide depression that took until the late 1950s to recover from. Simon, The Comic Book Makers, 78-80. Simon, “Chapter 10” in Joe Simon: My Life in Comics.

58 Captain America … Commie Smasher! is the name of the three issues of Captain America published in 1954. The issues were published in May, July, and September, eventually being cancelled. They are a part of the Captain America comic book narrative, being Captain America no. 76, 77, and 78, respectively. This three issue run was published under Atlas Comics. Atlas Comics grew out of Timely Comics and had a very short lifespan, only existing in the 1950s when comic books suffered a decline, before growing into Marvel Comics. Jim Beard, "Travel Back to Marvel's Forgotten Era, the Age of Atlas Comics," Marvel, March 21, 2014, accessed April 01, 2016, http://marvel.com/news/comics/22189/travel_back_to_marvels_ forgotten_era_the_age_of_atlas_comics.

38

Red Scare by using his superpowers to find and defeat communists in the United States as well as face off against the communist threat abroad.59 While the writers were able to take advantage of widespread panic over the threat of communism, they failed to produce new and original supervillains for Captain America to take on. Captain America came back too late to take advantage of the Korean War, which could have produced similar enemies to Captain America’s

Japanese adversaries in the early 1940s, and Captain America bypassed the rule of Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union. Stalin, with his rhetoric and cult following, would have been a prime candidate to take over the role previously reserved for Hitler in the earlier Captain America Comics.60 61

Captain America … Commie Smasher! no. 78, published in September 1954 demonstrates the kinds of villains that Stan Lee, the editor and main writer of these comics, and his team created as Captain America’s foes.62 The first villain is Electro, a Soviet agent powered by electricity that has the appearance of a giant green monster with the hammer and sickle on his chest, who is depicted on the cover of no. 78. Electro attempts to kill Captain America and Bucky by attacking them while they attend a parade. The two heroes fight the villain in a stereotypical battle, but

59 Stan Lee and John Romita, Captain America … Commie Smasher! no. 76-78 (May- Sept. 1954).

60 Peter Lee, “Decrypting Espionage Comic Books in 1950s America” in Comic Books and the Cold War, 1946-1962: Essays on Graphic Treatment of Communism, the Code and Social Concerns, Chris York and Rafiel York, ed. (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2012) 30-44.

61 Joseph Stalin died March 5, 1953, a year before Captain America’s comeback.

62 Stan Lee, or Stanley Lieber, is a comic book editor, writer, and publisher who is one of the most prolific men in the comic book industry. He took over much of the work on the Captain America Comics after Joe Simon and Jack Kirby left Timely Comics. He has worked on a wide variety of characters, including Spider-Man, Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk, etc. Stan Lee and George Mair, Excelsior!: The Amazing Life of Stan Lee (New York, NY: Fireside, 2002).

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because Electro’s of needs to recharge every twenty-four hours, he is defeated. As Electro attempts to recharge, Captain America short- circuits him with a sprinkler.63 Unlike supervillains of past issues, particularly the Red

Skull, Electro is an underwhelming opponent.

He demonstrates how communism can take hold of someone and change them into something inhuman and vile, playing to the public fear of communism, but Electro lacks substance as a villain. He is not diabolical or insane with revenge, rather he is a simple, brainwashed weapon that poses a minor threat,

Figure 11: Captain America ... Commie Smasher! no. 78, by Stan something Captain America handles almost too Lee and and John Romita (Sept. 1954). easily.

The use of a lackluster adversary is repeated in the second part of Captain America …

Commie Smasher! when Captain America and Bucky are on guard duty in Korea and are sent into communist China as spies during a festival of the Green Dragon. The Green Dragon is explained as a mythical creature that protects the Chinese from their enemies. During the celebration Captain

America and Bucky are discovered and hide inside of a mechanical Green Dragon. When the communist soldiers try to apprehend them, Cap orders Bucky to operate the Green Dragon in

63 Lee, “His Touch is Death” in Captain America … Commie Smasher! no. 78 (Sept. 1954).

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defense. From the outside, this appears as if the Green Dragon is attacking the communists, forcing them to flee. Captain America and Bucky recover the list of United Nations officials they were sent for and take pride in showing the Chinese who they should be treating as their real enemies.64

These villains, the communist Chinese, are simply reacting to Captain America’s intrusion. They are defending themselves and their country from an outsider, just as Captain America would not hesitate to do if the situation was reversed. In this story, Captain America is only defensive because he instigated the situation. By going into communist China as an unwelcome foreigner and then interrupting a festival, Captain America displays similar actions to that of Electro in the aforementioned example. Because at this point in time Captain America is always the hero, however he stays the hero of this story. These villains, if they can even be called that, are not adequately reimagined antagonists for Captain America. They lack personal conviction, purpose, and agency, something previous villains during the Captain America Comics of World War II possessed. Villains comparable to the Red Skull would be able to react to Captain America and engage with him; the communists depicted here cannot.

Communists in this mini-series are not only unexciting villains, but they are copies of

Nazis, just with a different symbol on their clothing. The quote at the beginning of this section is taken from Captain America when asked about the communists he faced. In the quote he states that communists are the same as Hitler, the same rhetoric and the same mindset. This is both true and false at the same time. In the comics the Nazis use anti-America rhetoric, constantly talking of how the United States is going to fall and how they are superior, while the communists use double-talk.65 This form of speech is combined with contradictory speech in Captain America …

64 Lee, “The Green Dragon” in Captain America … Commie Smasher! no. 78 (Sept. 1954).

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Commie Smasher! no. 76-78, producing villains that seem to be so unintelligent that they could not create a viable threat on their own, much less overthrow America. The communists are shown as Nazis without the intelligence, making them similar, but dividing the groups based on potential threat.

In defense of this portrayal of communists, no American comic book writer would want to write something that showed communists in a good or powerful light in the 1950s, the writers are creating communist villains, not communist heroes. So the question is, why create a villain that was so idiotic that they did not warrant the use of the superhero they are supposed to fight? The answer goes back to the discussion at the beginning of this section about the change in the comic book industry and the groups who found comics immoral and corrupting. The readers of Captain

America … Commie Smasher! in the 1950s were obviously scared of communism, making these comics relatable, but also of being associated with communism or moral corruption due to the repercussions that such an association could bring. Without a formidable villain, the plot of the

Captain America Comics is lost. Captain America is, in theory, supposed to be fighting the enemies of the United States that are so evil no one else could fight them, and he is reduced to fighting someone who can barely form a sentence. This was the difficult situation comic book writers were put in in the 1950s due to public pressure against violence and gore.

The complex American climate of the 1950s lead to the final cancelation of Captain

America … Commie Smasher! in September of 1954, only three issues after its comeback. Certain aspects of Captain America echoed the nation at this time, including his fight against communists and the language he uses in reference to them. These would make him a model of nationalism.

65 Double-talk is deliberate speech patterns that combine nonsense and actual words or phrases intended to make the speaker appear to be an idiot.

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However, he failed to capture the hearts and minds of readers, an integral part of impacting the nation. This ambiguity leaves Captain America’s status as the nationalist superhero ambiguous at best after his cancellation in 1954.

43

Captain America, the Avengers, and Falcon in the 1960s

We realize that we are rather popular now. We appreciate it. But the thing that bothers me … corny as it may sound … we really are trying to elevate the medium. We’re trying to make them [comic books] as respectable as possible. Our goal is that someday an intelligent adult would not be embarrassed to walk down the street with a comic magazine. I don’t know if we can ever bring this off, but it’s something to shoot for.66 -Stan Lee, in an interview in 1968

With the renewed popularity of comic book superheroes in the Silver Age, which began after the industry depression of the early to mid-1950s, the revival of Captain America was an impending idea. The Vietnam War, which had begun in 1955 and was reaching its height, also made the social climate of the 1960s similar to that of the 1940s when Captain America was introduced. It was something that former Timely, now Atlas comic book writers and editors wanted to do, and were in an opportune moment for, but with the failure of the comics a decade earlier, there was a level of reservation. Instead of picking up where Captain America … Commie

Smasher! no. 78 left off, the writers decided to bring him back in a way that could be attached only to his success. This was done by bringing Captain America back in the Avengers no. 4 in 1964, an entirely separate comic series from Captain America.67

Without the characters discussing it, the reason behind Captain America’s disappearance is explained. Captain America and Bucky were trying to stop a bomb shortly before the end of

World War II. During this heroic mission, Bucky jumped onto the bomb to try and deactivate it but when Captain America tried to get on board, he was thrown off by a booby-trap that locked

66 Stevens, 99.

67 The Avengers was a comic book originally featuring Thor, Iron Man, and Ant Man. It was first released in 1963 during the Silver Age of comic books and was Marvel Comic’s version of the Justice League. The comic has enjoyed wide success since it’s introduction and has come to host a wide variety of characters from across Marvel’s many universes. Ibid., 75-80. Mark DiFruscio, "What Ever Happened to the Sentinel of Liberty?" in Back Issue no. 41 (July 2010) 38-48.

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Bucky inside. Captain America fell into the ocean near

Newfoundland, Canada and was taken north by the current where he was frozen into a glacier, only to be found in the 1960s in order to join the Avengers.68

This explanation for Captain America’s disappearance completely wipes away the disastrous comics written after 1945. Captain America Comics no.

50-78 are no longer a part of the narrative history. The overwriting of past events in order to manipulate the narrative history of a character is known as retroactive continuity, or retcon.69 This concept allows for

Figure 12: Avengers Vol. 1, no. 4, by Stan Lee and character stories to change with time, not holding one Jack Kirby (March 1964). writer to another’s story.

The new narrative history provides a clean slate for the Avengers and Captain America.

Iron Man, Thor, and Ant Man were all created in the 1960s and Captain America had twenty years of inactivity while he was frozen. Given how new most of the characters were, there are few

68 The new story told here leaves Bucky’s fate ambiguous. After this point Bucky is no longer Captain America’s sidekick, and he is only shown in flashbacks. Lee, Avengers Vol. 1 no. 4.

69 This is a common concept in comic books. It is used to explain away things that no longer make sense in the current comic universe or to write over events in previous comics. An example of this is the changes made to the Batman comics in order to keep them in date. The original Batman was first written in 1940, therefore Bruce Wayne’s parents were killed during the Great Depression. When writing Batman comics in later decades, this timeline no longer made sense if Batman was to exist in the same year as publication. Current comic book writers wrote over the original story, changing details to fit modern conceptions of his universe. Stevens, 7.

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preconceived notions or frameworks within which they had to operate. With this ability to write portions of the character over, the writers of the Avengers do not immediately make Captain

America leap into action. Rather he spends most of the fight in Avengers no. 4 observing the other

Avengers in order to understand who they are and how they function as a team.70 Compared to the

Captain America of 1954 who swung his fists at everything within reach, this new Captain

America is cautious yet decisive. This gives a new personality to his character that makes him more than an obedient super solider and gives him more of a human personality.

Captain America’s success in the Avengers was in large part due to this personality change and his work with a team. The Avengers provide a wider universe for Captain America to function within. With the addition of characters such as Thor, who was taken from Norse mythology, it becomes plausible for non-human and alien villains to be Captain America’s enemies. If the comic can allow for Thor to come from his home planet of Asgard to join the team, then their enemy in

Avengers no. 4, Namor, an Atlantean, can be causing havoc while looking for his lost people.71

This open universe gave Captain America new opportunities that allowed his character to mature.

After joining the Avengers, Captain America lost a lot of his nationalistic speech patterns, adopting a more natural language pattern. These changes to the character of Captain America create a relatable and likeable character outside of combat.

After success in the Avengers, Captain America is given his own comic book again and in

September of 1969 Falcon, the first major African America comic book superhero, joins him.72

70 Lee, Avengers Vol. 1 no. 4.

71 Ibid.

72 Panther was a minor hero, but Falcon was the first major African American superhero. He had a short comic of his own and later joined the Avengers. Pierre Comtois, Marvel Comics

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The introduction of Falcon took place in Captain America no. 117 and was a major leap forward for Captain America in terms of social rhetoric. In the 1940s, African Americans were largely excluded from the Captain America Comics, which paralleled the social division of races at that time. By the late 1960s laws changed and social opinions shifted, calling for society and the popular culture is created to desegregate. In Captain America no. 117 Sam Wilson, later Falcon, is introduced when he saves Captain America.

Captain America no. 117 begins with Captain America being teleported by the Red Skull to Exile Island, where the Red Skull had abandoned a group of people known as the Exiles. Using powers given to him by the Cosmic Cube, a cube with the ability to make the wielder’s powers almost limitless, the Red Skull disguises Captain America as himself, provoking the anger of the

Exiles and causing them to attack. Despite Captain America’s fighting skills, he is overwhelmed and in trouble until a falcon swoops in and distracts the

Exiles, giving Captain America the chance to get away.

After the Exiles have calmed and are no longer a threat,

Captain America approaches Sam Wilson, who introduces himself as a bird trainer from Harlem who was recruited to Haiti to teach falconry. He tells Captain

America that while he came to teach falconry, he has learned that the indigenous people have been enslaved by the Exiles, and that he is trying to convince them to revolt and have a revolution. Upon seeing Sam’s will for Figure 13: Captain America Vol. 1, no. 117, by Stan Lee, et al. (Sept. 1969).

in the 1960s: An Issue-by-issue Field Guide to a Pop Culture Phenomenon (Raleigh, NC: Tomorrows Publishing, 2009).

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revolution, Captain America offers his help and explains the importance of a mask and other elements of being a superhero. At the end of the issue Sam Wilson emerges in his new costume as

Falcon.73

This comic is significant because not only is a minority the hero, he is the hero for the traditional, white, male superhero. This is the first time that has happened in Marvel Comics. There is significance to this being in a Captain America comic. With Captain America serving as the nationalistic, American super soldier, having him not only recognize the potential ally in a minority but welcome him as an equal shows the drastic changes in America social policy and reflects the integration of the armed forces that had taken place by 1969.

Also in 1969, the Vietnam War was at its height. The American military was fighting to uphold democracy in South Vietnam, a significant challenge when facing Vietnamese communists backed by China and the Soviet Union. Yet, no matter the cost, the United States offered its military aid to what they saw as the revolutionary forces of democracy being crushed by communism. This bears notable resemblance to the revolution Falcon was trying to incite on Exile

Island. Falcon offered his expertise and fighting power to help the disadvantaged indigenous people rise up against their oppressors, something Captain America then extended his support to as well. It is in instances such as these that the international policies of the Untied States are reflected. Specifically, the Truman Doctrine, published in 1947, which demanded that the United

States offer aid to Greece and Turkey in order to maintain them as free nations in the face of the communist threat, has many of the same attributes as the declarations made by these superheroes.74

73 Stan Lee, Gene Colan, and Joe Sinnott, Captain America Vol. 1, no. 117 (Sept. 1969).

74 U.S. Congress, House of Representatives, President Truman's Message to Congress, Document 171, 80th Cong., 1st sess., 1947.

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This reflection of American policy, to aid countries fighting communism, in Captain America is not a new practice, and seeing it resurface from the 1940s comics brings the discussion of Captain

America as a nationalist superhero back the forefront. At this period in time, Captain America has regained his former glory from World War II. He is fighting America’s adversaries, whether they by people or philosophical ideals, and doing so with the backing of American military and social policy. Captain America as he is reimagined in the 1960s is the nationalist superhero once again.

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Civil War in the 2000s

Do you actually think the fact that you know how to program a computer makes you more of a human being than me? That I'm out of touch because I don't know what you know? I know what freedom is. I know what it feels like to fight for it and I know what it costs to have it. You know compromise.75 -Steve Rogers to Tony Stark

With a new millennium comes a new world, and in the early 2000s that was a world of turmoil. The terror attacks in 2001 and the dawn of the War on Terror in the United States set a stage for change that would divide the United States down the middle. There were those who agreed with government intervention in the form of the Patriot Act and other documents aimed at keeping the public safe by exposing possible threats. Whereas many other voices chimed in saying that these measures would take away too many individual freedoms and would compromise what makes the United States great. It was along this schism that the Marvel superhero universe also broke.

In the Marvel Universe of the early 2000s, the United States government began to debate forcing mutants, those who are born with superhuman abilities, and superhumans, those that acquired their powers later in life, to register so the government could track them. After a steep decline in the number of mutants from a disaster, it is decided that the Superhuman Registration

Act would go into effect.76 The Superhero Registration Act was a government program that required all superheroes to register themselves with the government, giving up their identities. This

75 Brian Michael Bendias and Alex Maleev, Civil War: The Confession Vol. 1, no. 1 (May 2007).

76 House of M and Decimation are two comics in another part of the Marvel Universe that influenced Civil War. In House of M, a villain by the name of Scarlet Witch stripped the majority of mutants of their powers on a single day, which came to be known as M-Day, November 2nd. Decimation follows House of M and looks at the ramifications of that event. Chris Claremont and Randall Green, Decimation: House of M – The Day After no. 1 (Nov. 2005).

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was a problem for Captain America because it was theorized to be like registering a weapon, only the weapon was a person. Captain America saw this as a distinct trampling on individual civil liberties. He also made the argument that by registering and controlling the Avengers they would go from a privately funded group to a collective that the government could call upon as an attack dog.

On the other side of the argument, Tony Stark, the person financing the Avengers, saw the Superhuman

Registration Act as a protection for superhumans and the Figure 14: Civil War Vol. 1, no. 1, by Mark Millar, Steve McNiven, Dexter Vines, et al. (July public.77 He saw it as a way to prevent a decimation of the 2006). superhuman population in the way that the mutants had been nearly wiped out. Stark was also realistic about the damage that the superhuman population was inflicting whenever it fought a battle, often leveling buildings and destroying large portions of cities. Initially Tony Stark was more moderate, but after an event in Stamford, Connecticut when a superhuman battle caused the death of hundreds of civilians, a large number of whom were children, he took a hardline approach in support of the Registration Act.78

The rest of the Marvel superhumans, the vast majority being superheroes, chose sides depending on their circumstances. Those who refused to give up their identities continued fighting supervillains, but at the risk of being caught by the authorities. Those in support of the act became

77 Tony Stark is Iron Man’s true identity.

78 Millar, Vol. 1, no. 1 (July 2006).

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more militant, seeking out the unregistered and forcing them to sign the Registration Act. The first of two moments when major escalation between sides took place was when Iron Man convinced

Spider-Man to publically announce his identity. Spider-Man had been an incredibly secretive superhero, doing everything in his power to maintain his privacy. The sudden change he displayed at the same moment when Tony Stark desperately needed positive propaganda, caused an uproar in the opposition because it was seen as coercive.79 The second moment of escalation came when during a seemingly peaceful discussion of the crisis, Captain America sucker punched Iron Man in the face, starting a brawl. Superhumans from both sides joined the fight, leading to the death of

Goliath, an anti-registration superhero.80

The finale took place when the opposition, dubbed the Secret Avengers, came into contact with pro-registration forces at Riker’s Island penitentiary. The two forces clashed and in the midst of the fight they were transported to New

York City where things continued to intensify.

Finally, as Captain America gained the upper hand against Iron Man, he was stopped by non- superhuman government personnel. Ultimately

Captain America surrendered to prevent further Figure 15: Civil War Vol. 1, no. 7, by Mark Millar, Steve bloodshed and was incarcerated.81 McNiven, Dexter Vines, et al. (Jan. 2007).

79 Millar, Vol. 1, no. 2 (Aug. 2006).

80 Millar, Vol. 1, no. 3-4 (Sept./Nov. 2006). 81 Millar, Vol. 1, no. 7 (Jan. 2007).

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As previously discussed, this schism that divides the superhero community and the conversation behind it on national security versus personal liberties is an analogy for the crisis facing the American people in the early to mid-2000s. With a bi-partisan America, it is hard to concretely say whether or not Captain America can be called the nationalist superhero. In this new climate, the United States is not solely facing off against a foreign adversary, rather there is a civil war of sorts going on in the American public and in the government, forcing people to decide which faction they are going to stand with. These breaks fall along political party lines, social and cultural lines, and in the gaps of economic disparity.82

It is more apt in this new era to break from the standard definition of a nationalist superhero, and instead open the term to the dualities of the real world. In this, Captain America and Iron Man can share the term. On their own, they represent portions of the America population, failing to fit the idea that a nationalist superhero changes and morphs with the country it symbolizes. Altering the definition, does not change the essence of the nationalist superhero, but opens the term to greater interpretation. In modern times, the nationalist superhero is a character that closely reflects the country it symbolizes back on itself, representing a diverse range of qualities of the present patriotic situation. A nationalist superhero is someone who the public at large can relate to and feel as though they have some level of representation through. With this expanded definition, both

Captain America and Iron Man could be called nationalist superheroes.

82 White, 178-188.

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Conclusion

Captain America has been engaging fans for seventy-five years. In that time his character has undergone drastic changes. In the 1940s, Captain America was the ideal, nationalistic superhero serving as a polished super soldier in World War II. He faced off against Hitler, Hydra, and the Japanese for the sake of American liberty. When the war ended, his adventures changed and he gradually lost popularity until the Captain America Comics were cancelled in 1949. Then in 1954, Captain America came back to take on the communists in Captain America … Commie

Smasher! While this mini-series did not have a successful run like the original series, it shed light on the versatility of Captain America and confirmed that the super soldier can punch a communist the same way he punched Hitler.

Captain America’s true comeback was in 1964 with the Avengers. In this new incarnation the character was less of a wild, swinging fist, and more a careful leader. His ability to work with other superheroes and a rekindled readership led to a new Captain America comic series. It is in this series that the hallmark character, Falcon, is introduced. The 1960s brought Captain America notable success in his adventures, which focused on countering communism by bringing American democracy to the world. Finally, in the 2000s Captain America and Iron Man introduce a bi- partisan split into the comic world that mimics the split in the American public in response to national security measures after 9/11. With Captain America leading the anti-government group, he faces an ultimate downfall that ends his career as a superhero within the Marvel Universe.

The character of Captain America poses a versatile definition of what patriotism and nationalism means for the American public. More than a reflection of comic writers’ ambitions and political leanings, the Captain mirrors the external conflicts that can unite or tear the nation.

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The cultural capital that the superhero wields as a representation of Americans’ greatest fears allows him to appeal to a wide range of readership.

Jason Dittmer’s original definition of a nationalist superhero stated that only a character who is a product of the nation and reinforces the dominant national rhetoric, constantly proclaiming the perfection and greatness of its creator.83 While this definition applies to Captain

America at different stages of his character development, the term is too narrow and single-minded for the modern era. The phrase “nationalist superhero” must take into account the diversification of American society in the 21st century as well as the vast expansion of the comic universes. When deciding on a nationalist superhero it is no longer a limited choice; the roster of superheroes has become as infinite and diverse as the American public. This change means that one superhero cannot possibly represent the entire population, and no one superhero should have to. As shown in the explanation of Civil War, both Captain America and Iron Man can be considered nationalist superheroes depending on which side of the argument about national security an individual aligns with. This one issue, demonstrates the need for divergence in Dittmer’s definition. In order to use the term nationalist superhero today, one must be open to the idea that there is not one narrative of the nation, but many. Captain America transcends his status as a figure of popular culture; his role as a nationalistic superhero allows him to act as a stand in for the American nation, upholding our ideals in the face of uncertainty. More than anything, the Captain reminds us what it is to be

American and why we should be involved in the decisions our country makes.

83 Dittmer, 1-4.

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