Comic Book Superheroes and War in Twentieth Century America
By the outbreak of World War II in 1939 and the United States entry into the war in 1941 , domestic and foreign conflicts had become as intertwined in comic books as they were in the country . 19 In the 1940s , more than 80 percent of adolescents and more than 90 percent of children were reading comic books . 20 These popular illustrations and stories “ helped determine the attitudes of Americans toward issues in the real world , including the use of military force abroad .” 21 Leading comic books writers at Marvel Comics and DC discussed and included in their work subtle hints of the need for the United States government to become more involved with issues abroad . Even before the United States entered the war , comics had been attempting to build support among skeptical Americans of the superiority and morality of the Allied cause . 22 Eight months before the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor , Joe Simon and Jack Kirby published the first issue of “ Captain America ,” a red , white , and blue clad super patriot who fought the enemies of the United States both at home and overseas . While Adolf Hitler proclaimed American popular culture to be inferior to that of any other European country , the first issue of “ Captain America ” featured a colorful illustration of Captain America punching Hitler in the face . 23
Simon described Captain America as the “ first major comic book hero to take a political stand .” 24 During his first appearance in March 1941 , Captain America took on sabotage within the U . S . Army , villainous caricatures of German scientists and Nazi leaders attempting to infiltrate the U . S ., and the “ flaming red terror ” of the Red Skull . 25 By the third issue , Marvel Comics co-creator Stan Lee contributed Captain America ’ s first use of his star-spangled shield as a throwing weapon . 26 How the character Steve Rogers came to be Captain America “ mimicked the transition the United States needed at the outset of World War II .” 27 Steve Rogers was a scrawny weakling unfit for service in the U . S . Army , but a team of government scientists used an experimental serum to transform him into the perfectly strong and moral soldier with superpowers to defend his country . Just as Steve Rogers went from weakling to war machine , the United States transformed from a nation concerned only with itself to a country able to defend itself and crush any enemies . 28
The American public needed hope and entertainment during World War II , and Captain America ’ s stories provided them , along with the assertion that America ’ s cause and the Allied cause were right and moral . Lee ’ s storylines advocated U . S . intervention and resources , and the Captain America story arcs emphasized Germany ’ s threat to the entire world , explaining the Axis efforts to rule the world through fictional characters and stereotypes . 29 The “ Captain America ” comics contained all the key elements of contemporary American propaganda : “ German atrocities , Allied war goals … vengeance against the evil enemy , and … a sense of adventure and excitement .” 30 The stories of Captain America fighting Nazis , the Japanese , and Axis spies helped define the “ American way ” and asserted
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