Comic Book Superheroes and War in Twentieth Century America
The Cold War and other events of the 1970s gave Americans the feeling that the country was on a downward spiral , and comics books reflected that not even superheroes could save the nation and its ideals . As the malaise gave way to the conservative era of President Ronald Reagan and the 1980s , comic book creators crafted and reimagined superheroes as violent vigilante that “ no longer exclusively followed the traditional comic book view of right and wrong .” 57 In the 1980s and into the 1990s , scholars began studying comic books as historical material and writing of the role these colorful texts played in American culture . 58 At the same time , while some comic characters returned to their 1940s or 1950s innocent roots , new characters emerged that violently “ critiqued and criticized ” society ’ s direction . 59
In 1986 , two comic series emerged that directly reflected the last years of Cold War anxieties and skepticism and the rise of radical conservativism in America . British writer Alan Moore ’ s “ Watchmen ” series presents an alternative history where superheroes are real , the United States won the Vietnam War , and Watergate never happened . The superheroes in “ Watchmen ” are not moral patriots , but rather brooding , costumed vigilantes . As World War III and the Soviet Union loom in the series , Moore explores the fear of “ impending atomic doom and how even superheroes appear to be unable to prevent a nuclear holocaust .” 60 “ Watchmen ” showed what a world with unregulated and unsupervised superheroes would be like and how America would react to knowing these heroes could not save them from themselves . With the series ’ writer , artist , and colorist being British , “ Watchmen ” was also commentary on how other countries viewed American ideals and culture at the end of the Cold War . One character , Dr . Manhattan , shows a man who ’ s lost his humanity and now embodies the 1980s understanding of nuclear power : “ cold , calculating , and extremely dangerous .” 61 Dr . Manhattan , named after the Manhattan Project that created the first atomic bomb , is the only character in “ Watchman ” with superpowers and lives on Mars after allegations that he gave people cancer . 62
Frank Miller ’ s “ Batman : The Dark Knight Returns ” also draws on 1980s post-Watergate opinions about political leaders and American society . Contradicting fellow DC character Superman , Batman as The Dark Knight was a billionaire vigilante with no powers but exuding skepticism of the government and promoting individualism above all else . 63 “ The Dark Knight Returns ” was Miller ’ s view of Reagan-era America told through the lens of a fictional caped crusader fighting Gotham City gangs and old enemies like the Joker and Two-Face . Within this series that eventually pitted Superman against Batman at the request of President Reagan , Miller critiqued the news media , local government and law enforcement corruption , and American culture . 64 Miller ’ s series illustrated what the creator considered acceptable comic tales during the mid-1980s and how Miller concluded that society and superheroes suffer from the same flaws .
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