The Saber and Scroll
American moral superiority to young readers . Simon and Kirby even gave Captain America a sidekick : 12-yearold Bucky Barnes . With an adolescent sidekick dedicated to the cause and the later foundation of the Sentinels of Liberty youth group , Captain America ’ s comics allowed young readers to “ imagine themselves in the action .” 31
Just as the Sentinels of Liberty promoted patriotism in young people on the domestic front , Wonder Woman also promoted the American cause , wore red , white , and blue , and catered to young girls . Though she eschewed traditional gender norms of the time , she rarely took on any of the Axis powers directly . In her early stories , Wonder Woman mostly took on domestic spies , criminals , and “ the world ’ s most villainous men .” 32 Though the possibility of women in combat was still difficult for readers and the general public to accept , Wonder Woman encouraged children of all ages to collect scrap metal , be vigilant for foreign intervention , and keep faith in the American cause . 33 Comic book superheroes like Wonder Woman and Captain America provided an entertaining escape from a world of violence and death , and acted as an outlet for the young people of America to understand and even take part in a cause that was being promoted as helping America win . Beginning with the comics and characters created during World War II , fighting an enemy during war was not just about physical violence or military tactics — the “ common denominator in the struggle against each opponent was patriotism ” at home . 34 The American flag became an essential symbol of patriotism during war time . Comic book characters who wear variations of red , white , and blue — including Captain America , Wonder Woman , and the Shield — became “ a vehicle for nationalist sentiment .” 35
This pure patriotism and promotion of the United States as “ a place where science and equality prevailed over ignorance ” continued in comic books long after World War II ended . 36 The Cold War began barely two years after the end of World War II and continued through the end of the 1980s , though it can be explored by the different comic book trends and stories found in the post-war 1950s , the counterculture of the 1960s and the American malaise of the 1970s . 37 While Germany , Nazism , and the Axis powers were the main threats during World War II , the United States and its Allies faced the Soviet Union and the threat of communism for decades after . Comic books during this “ Nuclear Era ” explore how superheroes reflected American feelings about communism , nuclear weapons , the meaning of family and domestic tranquility , and the role superheroes played in all of it . 38
One of the first superheroes to directly address anti-communist fervor associated with Sen . Joseph McCarthy was Simon and Kirby ’ s Fighting American , published in 1954 by Prize Comics . McCarthy , who served on the Senate Committee on Government Operations from 1953 to 1954 , whipped up an anti-communist frenzy that had both political leaders and the public skeptical of their friends and neighbors and anxi-
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