CONSTRUCTING THE SUPERHERO

#1

CONSTRUCTING THE SUPERHERO

Patriotism and Propaganda: the Superhero and Public Support of WW2

SYMBOLS OF PATRIOTISM

Early comic books from the 1940s promoted strong narratives about brave and valiant heroes triumphing over evil. Superman was the first comic book superhero to be conceptualised, making his debut in Action Comics, 1938. As a superhuman spaceman, clad in the American colours, Superman projected a visual embodiment of power. With escalating tensions emerging in Europe threatening a war, it is unsurprising that comic book narratives developed which promoted American domination and supremacy. The politically uncertain time sparked a wave of comic books featuring narratives about super-human heroes intent on saving the world from destruction. One such hero was Captain America, who became a personification of Americanism and American ideals. When the first issue of the Captain America comics was published in 1940, America was following a foreign policy of isolationism and hadn’t officially entered the war. the publication of this issue in itself was a political statement by authors Jack Kirby and Someone Simon, as it promotes the idea of America entering the war, emphasising the cultural significance of the comic book medium as a tool for understanding social values at the time. Many of the villains in Golden Age comic books were non-democratic, and thus were a threat to American way of life. The visualisation of good triumphing over evil promoted American liberalism as it connotes a destruction of non-americas, anti-democratic ideals. Captain America became a symbol of American national identity during WWII. Clad head to toe in America colour, his uniform featuring the patriotic stars and stripes, the visual link to the American flag, the emblem of American national identity, is undeniable. It was through this cult of the flag mentality that the superhero image came to be synonymous with social support for

THE SUPERHERO BECAME A SYMBOL OF AMERICAN NATIONAL IDENTITY

DURING WW2. the war effort. The following extract is from an essay by Mia Sostaric entititled The American Wartime Propaganda Cover of Issue #1 Captain America, During World War II: How Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, March 1941 Comic Books Sold the War.

Cover of Issue #13 Superman comics, cover art by Fred Ray, Novermber 1939