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Captain America and Wonder Woman

Captain America and Wonder Woman were introduced as comic book superheroes in 1941 to promote anti-fascism before the US entered World War II. Both heroes openly opposed Hitler and fascism. They encouraged Americans to support the war effort through patriotic appeals. As the US joined the war, the heroes continued fighting in the comics and supported wartime efforts like recycling and fundraising. They also promoted women joining military support roles as the war increased opportunities for women.

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David Ayala
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106 views3 pages

Captain America and Wonder Woman

Captain America and Wonder Woman were introduced as comic book superheroes in 1941 to promote anti-fascism before the US entered World War II. Both heroes openly opposed Hitler and fascism. They encouraged Americans to support the war effort through patriotic appeals. As the US joined the war, the heroes continued fighting in the comics and supported wartime efforts like recycling and fundraising. They also promoted women joining military support roles as the war increased opportunities for women.

Uploaded by

David Ayala
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Captain America and Wonder Woman, Anti-

Fascist Heroes
Who needs black clothing to fight fascism when red, white,
and blue will do quite nicely?

via Flickr
By: Matthew Wills

November 11, 2020

3 minutes
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Captain America and Wonder Woman both premiered in comic books in 1941 as
anti-fascist superheroes. On the cover of the first issue of Captain America, the hero
in red, white, and blue clocked Adolf Hitler in the mustache. In Wonder Woman’s
debut (All Star Comics #8), she rescues an American spy and captures a Japanese
one. Both of these comics appeared before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on
December 7, 1941, so the comics were at war before the country. During the war
years, these superheroes didn’t let up their fight.

“To fight ‘the good fight’ Captain America and Wonder Woman appealed to
Americans’ sense of patriotism and service through patriotic appeals to the audience
to fight on behalf of the American nation-state,” writes scholar Mia Sostaric.

The myth of World War II as the “Good War” elides the country’s prior
ambivalence.

Before Pearl Harbor, Americans were deeply divided about participating in yet
another European conflict. As Sostaric notes, the myth of World War II as the
“Good War”elides the country’s prior ambivalence. There were pacifists and non-
interventionists, isolationist “America Firsters,” and even outright pro-Nazis in the
antiwar camp. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who clearly favored the Allies
(Britain, France, Russia), had to be cautious about angering this politically significant
bloc.

But Roosevelt and his administration did try to move public opinion both before and
after Pearl Harbor. In addition to official propaganda, the state also found allies in
the private sector. Popular culture was a fruitful way to get the patriotic message
across.

Plenty of artists and producers didn’t have to be asked. For Joe Simon and Jack
Kirby, the originators of Captain America, Hitler was “a natural foe for a superhero,”
writes Sostaric. Beyond the Nazi punching, Captain America Comics “primarily used
political obligations, such as the defense of democracy, to encourage citizens to
contribute to the war effort.”

Psychologist William Moulton Marston created Wonder Woman under the pen
name Charles Moulton for DC Comics. Influenced by the feminism of the 1910s and
1920s, he specifically created Wonder Woman to “help inspire and promote women’s
political, economic, and social advancement.” The war did a lot of that, too, as
women filled roles traditionally occupied by men in offices and factories during the
“manpower” shortage. Wonder Woman’s alter ego, Diana Prince, was a secretary in
the U.S. Army. Wonder Woman was costumed in an American flag–inspired outfit
and was “a patriotic role model to American readers.” Captain America also literally
wore the flag.

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Both of these superhero books fundraised for the war effort, supported wartime
recycling campaigns, and carried advertisements for volunteers. Wonder Woman,
whose fan club was called the Junior Justice Society of America, “encouraged
women to build their physical strength” by joining the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps
(better known as WAACs) or the Women’s Naval Reserve, also known as WAVES
(Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service). Wonder Woman doubled
down on inspiring girls and young women through the stories they told, activities like
“victory puzzles,” and even the advertisements. A 1945 plea for Army nurses urged
readers to “show this to your mother, your big sisters, and your aunts!”

“Never before in our history has Uncle Sam needed the wholehearted support of
every man, woman, and child,” went the appeal of the Junior Justice Society of
America. Uncle Sam wanted you, and so did Captain America and Wonder Woman.

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