Sara Simonich

Sara Simonich
Noyce
English 9
November 21, 2014

Captain America Essay

Many comics have the main hero reflect the same ideals of America or even
reflect the current events of the time. In many situations the characters will be on
the side of the American people while fighting in the same war as the American
Army. This is apparent in William Peitz Undergraduate Senior Theses and Dougals
Historia: the Alpha Rho Papers. The writers of those articles used Captain America to
show the theory those superheroes are the reflection of the American ideal. Captain
America was injected with a performance enhancing drug and was later rehabbed
from that, he was an American ideal mirrored onto a person. In Captain Americas
comics, it was reflected of the Patriot Act, instead of it being called the Patriot Act it
was referred to as the Superhuman Registration Act.
Captain America became who he was because of his super soldier serum,
before he was injected, he was not the American ideal at all, he had no muscle, he
was weak. After his injection he was likeable, he was strong and smart and could be
an amazing soldier, but he was still injected with a performance enhancing drug.
The people involved in the Captain America comics realized what this was and they
fixed it. The Captain America creative team took initiative to remove the supersoldier serum from Captain America because association with the American ideal
being hooked on performance enhancing drugs(Peitz) The initiative that they took
was important to the American people because it showed that their American ideal
was who he was because of his own mental ability not because of a super soldier
serum. It was also important for the American ideal to have a sense of identity in
the world, when wars were happening, new presidents elected, national tragedies
occur, the American people found this a good thing. He epitomized American
values and helped construct an identity for America and helped establish a
geopolitical script.(Peitz) It was also important for America to have an identity in
the world, not only was it important for the super hero to be in the public eye but
America needed a push into the light of the world, and Captain America did that.
Captain Americas comics connected to a national tragedy after 9/11, the
writers incorporated a very terrible act of terrorism into a comic to help soothe the
American people. A law was passed after 9/11 as well as in the Captain America

Sara Simonich

comics. In 2001, in the aftermath of 9/11 terrorist attacks, congress passed the
USA Patriot Act. This law became one of the most controversial laws in U.S history.
(Dougal) As a connection to the current events of America, the writers of Captain
America incorporated a situation. Captain America encountered a similar situation
when the Superhuman Registration Act was passed by US Congress, this law was
also found unpopular.(Dougal)