Adwin McCants, staff writer
CW: mentions of Nazis
Let me start off by saying that I am a huge Marvel fan and I heavily enjoy Captain America as a character. I loved the first three “Captain America” films. I have read some of his comics, and I’ve read comics featuring Captain America in a prominent role. I’m not the most knowledgeable on the character’s history in comics, but I know about his conception and evolution over the years, as well as the character’s various adaptations.
Captain America was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby in response to the explosion in popularity of Superman’s comic debut. Simon wanted to find a great villain to grab the attention of readers, and decided that the real world, then living and breathing Nazi Germany, would be the antagonist. Of course, a superhero comic needs a hero, and Simon’s desire for the United States to join the war against the Nazis led him to make the hero a symbol for his nation. The real-world leader of the Nazi regime, Adolf Hitler, famously was on the cover of the first “Captain America” comic ever. Subverting the cover’s preview, the plot of the comic itself introduced long lasting villain Red Skull as an American who sold himself out to the Nazis. This is drastically different from the Red Skull we know today, who was the leader of the Nazis’ top secret science division.
The story of Captain America’s creation says a lot about what his original intended purpose was: to entertain comic readers while also portraying that America coming into conflict with Nazi Germany was inevitable and necessary. Captain America was created with a goal in mind by creatives who were passionate about their country making the right choice.
Captain America was created with a goal in mind by creatives who were passionate about their country making the right choice.
adwin mccants
World War II came and went, and Captain America was put on ice as his relevancy went away. Stan Lee worked with Kirby to create the modern day Marvel Comics we know, and one day they decided to bring back Kirby’s old superhero. Revived by The Avengers in a new era, Captain America found himself back in his own comic. However, as Captain America’s popularity only grew, every decade required the character’s once-set-in-stone purpose to change.
However, as Captain America’s popularity only grew, every decade required the character’s once-set-in-stone purpose to change.
adwin Mccants
His original enemy Red Skull was brought back as a Nazi mad scientist, and still remains relevant as a warning against Nazi ideology. However as the country changed over the decades, it was inevitable that Captain America could never stay the same. Now that the character was more popular than ever, how Americans viewed their country needed to reflect back on Captain America. Then, when Hollywood stepped in with this character’s introduction into the newborn Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), many different hands started to pull the icon in different directions.
Skipping to the present day: post-Cold War, post-9/11, post-Obama, post-Trump, post-Biden then back into Trump’s post-Biden America, what could Captain America possibly mean now? Evidently, many separate and conflicting messages. In the newest movie, “Captain America: Brave New World,” the writers, director, studio and the Hollywood blockbuster system struggle to give the character a coherent theme. He’s a symbol of the United States, but only of the ideals the country claims it holds. He works with a president with a shady past, but rebels just enough to not be a puppet. However, Captain America is ultimately portrayed as vaguely as possible to represent a broad concept of togetherness.