They positioned the character as a time-tossed representative of old-school American values set adrift in the turbulent 1960s. Ignoring the 1950s revival, Lee and Kirby had the Avengers fish Captain America out of an ice flow where he had lain since World War II. Lee rejected the simplistic, perfect heroes that typified previous comics in favor of fantastical soap operas grounded in very human emotions, where heroes bickered and faced personal crises, punctuated by kinetic fights choreographed by Kirby.

Stan Lee speaking at the 2014 Phoenix Comic-Con. The iconic duo of artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee brought Cap back for good in 1964, during the self-proclaimed Marvel Age of comics.Ī 1992 photo of Jack Kirby from The Art of Jack Kirby (left). Still, it was hard to keep a good character down. The Korean War brought Rogers (now a professor!) out of retirement as “Captain America, Commie Smasher!” in 1953, but Korea was no substitute for the “good war.” Four-color McCarthyism could not pull enough coins from adolescent pockets to prevent the superhero revival from fizzling. Fans could join the Sentinels of Liberty, whose card featured a saluting Cap alongside a set of principles that pledged members to honor God, the constitution, and their duties as citizens.Ĭaptain America Comics continued to be published until 1949, but postwar sales faltered without a real-world conflict to give the character weight. His winged visage enlivened patriotic calls for children to collect scrap metal and buy war bonds. These dynamic adventures made Captain America an unofficial part of the war effort. Captain America's Sentinels of Liberty kit postage, 1941 (bottom). Stories of fanciful Nazi invasions reinforced the real sense of insecurity that accompanied the war, while stereotyped depictions of Japanese enemies mirrored the dehumanizing propaganda used by allied governments.Ĭaptain America’s Sentinels of Liberty membership card, 1941 (top). While superhero rivals Batman and Superman mostly stayed home, Timely plunged Cap into battle in Europe and the Pacific.

Nine months after Captain America’s first appearance, the United States entered the war for real. Together, he and the United States would-in the words of the first issue- “gain the strength and the will to safeguard our shores.” Classified “4-F,” or unfit for military service, Rogers accepted a role in an experimental program meant to create an army of super soldiers to defeat the Nazis, only to become the program’s sole success when German agents murdered the scientist leading the research. Over the decades following his debut, Cap-as fans called him-has continued to anticipate and reflect our changing national attitudes toward war and patriotism.Ĭaptain America was Steven Rogers, an undersized youth who wanted desperately to fight overseas. Joined by young sidekick Bucky Barnes, Captain America placed the United States firmly on the side of the Allies months before Pearl Harbor. Interior artwork from the same issue (right). The cover of Captain America Comics #1 from March 1941 (left). Created by writer Joe Simon and artist Jack Kirby in the eponymous Captain America Comics #1, the patriotic hero became a breakout star for Timely Comics (the company that would evolve into Marvel Comics). This was the first appearance of Captain America. Yet next to the adult fare at the newsstands was something far less ambiguous: a four-color spectacle featuring a red, white, and blue clad figure holding a shield in one hand and using the other to punch Adolf Hitler square in the jaw.

Newspapers announced policies to support the Allies like the Lend-Lease Act, even as isolationist sentiment earned space in opinion pages. In March 1941, the United States remained neutral while World War II raged in Europe and Asia, but the country was inching toward war.

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