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Captain America: From Perfect Soldier to Man of the People

            From the first prints in the early 20th century, comic books had been intended as children's entertainment, though often laced with "adult" issues such as politics, war and social problems in America. Comic strips had been featured on newspapers since the earliest days of news print, however comic books as they are known today came into great popularity from the Great Depression through the 1950's as an emerging form of entertainment for young people, and served as escapist media from the hard times of war and poverty. This era later came to be known as the Golden Age of Comics. It is this era that spawned one of the most famous fictional characters in American children's entertainment, the war hero Steve Rodgers, better known as Captain America. The purpose of this paper is to explore the changes in American popular culture from the WWII era to contemporary times through the evolution of Captain America as the image of the American hero to modern audiences and readers. The Captain represents both nostalgia in The greatest generation and a point of contrast for the social changes in American culture after WWII.
             Written and illustrated by Jack Kirby, Captain America #1 was published in 1941, just as the U.S. was making preparations for war in Europe against the Nazi regime. The issue glorified the efforts of the U.S. military and demonized the Nazi Party as heartless invaders, with the Captain symbolizing the ideal "All American" young man made powerful by enlisting in the army. In an effort to make the Captain more relatable to the readers, Kirby purposefully created Rogers as a weak and frail young man, yet brave enough to stand up against any bully. His desire to sere his country was met with rejection, as he was not physically fit for service. Eventually, he was accepted into the ranks and given a serum propelled his body to the peak of human physical ability.


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