When the powerful alliance of superheroes called The Avengers were called by Marvel Comics (or rather, by S.H.I.E.L.D.), each member represented certain traits, powers, mindsets and even ideologies. The “Sentinel of Liberty,” a nickname (turned nom-de-guerre at various occasions on countless missions) for Captain America, unlike other superheroes of the Golden Age not simply existed as a mere member of the group, but as something bigger.
And something more meaningful. Even though he – like many of his superhero colleagues – was a product of WWII, his adventures continued, and he has been around for many decades (with some interruptions in the 1950s, to be back at the newsagents from 1963 onward).
Timely Comics (the company that would become Marvel Comics in 1961) introduced him in December 1940, more than a year before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor; nevertheless, already on the cover of Captain America Comics Vol. 1 he knocks out Hitler. Legendary comic artists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby showed good instincts with their new character, as Captain America would easily become Timely’s most successful title. The Captain America comic book series is still running and so far has seen hundreds of volumes since 1940, together with a number of spin-offs such as The Falcon, Nomad or Winter Soldier series.
Over the decades, Cap would stand as an icon for American values, the free world, and the American way; even as these topics are subject to constant change.
Author Richard A. Hall at that point opens a serious discussion of this uniquely American superhero: what exactly is/was his definition or role, what is his political statement, or is he just like any other superhero? Hall, a retired teacher from Laredo, Texas who wrote his dissertation on Captain America and superheroes and has published on popular culture and US military, approaches Cap’s political and popcultural journey throughout the decades.
“Overall, Cap represents the best of America’s ideals, the ones that both ends of the political spectrum claim to revere: patriotism ….; a belief in freedom for all life-forms; the ability to live up to one’s potential and seek out one’s own destiny; and being a symbol for such beliefs to the rest of the world (and, in the case of Marvel Comics, the entire multiverse).”
Each generation of readers, a well as each new team of comic artists changed aspects of his character and meaning. Furthermore, Cap in the comic books was represented and “performed” by several other characters; his outfit and helmet sometimes facilitated that. Nevertheless, the one Cap most readers are familiar with and who would be introduced to millions in the 2011 Blockbuster Captain America: The First Avenger is Steve Rogers, played by Chris Evans. However, over the years, several others wore his spandex suit and bore his shield, like Bucky Barnes, Sam Wilson, John Walker, Isiah Bradley, and even “Agent” Peggy Carter in one weird alternate setting.
At this point, Hall’s main thesis in the ten chapters goes into detail: not only was Cap represented by others, but at various times, he and his vision of the US how “it should be”(as the superhero states often enough), were subject to those changing times. And the respective zeitgeist, reactions to varying threats from outside or inside via diplomacy or warfare, or political movements and social change that informed the country. Cap, not an alien superhero from outer space, but an American was in the unique position to have witnessed more American decades than anybody else, as the secret serum provided him with a certain longevity, and unlike anybody else he can evaluate the development the country went through since the Great Depression. Which highlights one of the major arguments in Hall’s assumption: is Cap rather a Democrat or a Republican, would his opinions or actions point to one political school or would he adapt? Or would patriotism, the urge to “do better,” to foster and defend democracy, individualism and freedom be right wing at one time in history, but change to fulfill left wing thought in another decade? Or would Rogers, as a child and teenager of the 1930s and 1940s – one of America’s Greatest Generation – forever stick to traits, religious beliefs, ideas of race, gender, justice, liberty or a “national character” popular then, even while he saw the country constantly changing and sometimes (as in the 2016 movie The First Avenger: Civil War War) for the worse?
Simultaneously, he not only represents the American way of life, but, with his shield in hand, he also at times represented the US, likewise, shielding democracy, capitalism and the free world. Hall starts each of his chapters with a short but good overview, touching those and other subjects; and as they informed and led Cap – or his respective comic book artists – over the years. While eight chapters discuss with the respective decades from the American point of view, chapters nine and ten deal with the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Winter Soldier, the Falcon and race, respectively.
Let’s not forget that comic books usually do portray the zeitgeist, current affairs and social change. Probably not as thoroughly and detailed as some academic paper on the same subjects, but it usually will do the trick. “In hero narratives, the medium that brings the hero most closely to the day-to-day lives of everyday Americans is that of the comic books. Whereas novels and films take years to complete … comic books come out every single month … When comic books in early 1942 bore the message “Remember Pearl Harbor” on their covers, the men behind those books were still dealing with the shock and trauma of the attack, only weeks passed for them. … When Steve Rogers cleared rubble from the site of Ground Zero in 2002, there were still undiscovered bodies lying beneath that rubble in the real world.”
So starting with the comic book volumes of the 1960s, according to Hall, the Star-Spangled Avenger of that decade was more than just a hero who beat up either communists, gangs, murderers or thieves, but he also became what he calls a “social crusader.” The 70s, 80s and 90s had Cap alter his views on race, gender politics, and sexism; later decades had him fight a new quality of terrorism in the aftermath of 9/11 and immigration from the southern border.
And the hero also has developed into a thinker, or even philosopher at times. “Captain America has been used as a guidepost, defending pride in national identity while, at the same time, understanding the importance of constantly questioning and, when wrong, opposing national policy and history. …. The history of America over the last 80-plus years is the history of Captain America as well.” Captain America and the American Journey is a good read for anybody interested in American Studies, the American character (experienced through the eyes of a comic book superhero), US politics, and recent American history.
Review by Dr. A. Ebert © 2024
Richard A. Hall. Captain America and the American Journey, 1940-2022. McFarland, 2024, 277 p.