This is an accepted version of this page
235-657: Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely Comics , a corporate predecessor to Marvel. Captain America's civilian identity is Steven "Steve" Rogers , a frail man enhanced to the peak of human physical perfection by an experimental " super-soldier serum" after joining
470-471: A mythical realm. Since the 1940s, when Superman, Batman, and many of the company's other heroes began appearing in stories together, DC's characters have inhabited a shared continuity that was later dubbed the " DC Universe " by fans. With the story " Flash of Two Worlds ", in Flash No. 123 (September 1961), editor Schwartz (with writer Gardner Fox and artists Infantino and Joe Giella ) presented
705-595: A successful franchise which pioneered the Kyodai Hero subgenre where the superheroes would be as big as giant monsters ( kaiju ) that they fought. The kaiju monster Godzilla , originally a villain, began being portrayed as a radioactive superhero in the Godzilla films , starting with Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964). By the 1970s, Godzilla came to be viewed as a superhero, with
940-615: A supersoldier after receiving an experimental serum, as "the weakest part of the character", and that he and Kirby "didn't put too much thought into the origin. We just wanted to get to the action." Kirby designed the series' action scenes with an emphasis on a sense of continuity across panels, saying that he "choreographed" the sequences as one would a ballet, with a focus on exaggerated character movement. Kirby's layouts in Captain America Comics are characterized by their distorted perspectives, irregularly shaped panels, and
1175-434: A March 1937 cover date. The themed anthology that revolved originally around fictional detective stories became in modern times the longest-running ongoing comic series. A notable debut in the first issue was Slam Bradley , created in a collaboration between Wheeler-Nicholson, Siegel and Shuster. In 1937, in debt to printing-plant owner and magazine distributor Harry Donenfeld —who also published pulp magazines and operated as
1410-601: A S.H.I.E.L.D. agent with whom he eventually begins a partnership and an on-again off-again romance. He meets and trains Sam Wilson , who becomes the superhero Falcon, and they establish an enduring friendship and partnership. After a conspiracy hatched by the Secret Empire to discredit Rogers is revealed to have been personally orchestrated by the President of the United States, a disillusioned Rogers abandons
1645-508: A Saturday morning live action TV adaptation and gained a prominent position in the mainstream continuity of the DC Universe . As the popularity of superheroes faded in the late 1940s, DC Comics focused on such genres as science fiction, Westerns , humor , and romance . The company also published crime and horror titles, although relatively tame contributions that avoided the mid-1950s backlash against such comic genres. A handful of
1880-471: A block of ice in a state of suspended animation . Reawakened in modern times, Rogers resumes activities as a costumed hero, joining and later becoming leader of the Avengers. Many of his exploits involve missions undertaken for the Avengers or for S.H.I.E.L.D. , an espionage and international law enforcement agency operated by his former war comrade Nick Fury . Through Fury, Rogers befriends Sharon Carter ,
2115-705: A book entitled Business Zero to Superhero . In 2014, he received a cease and desist from DC and Marvel who claimed that his use of the term superhero would cause confusion and dilute their brands. He was offered a few thousand dollars in settlement to change the name of his book, but he did not concede. A few days prior to the scheduled hearing at the Intellectual Property Office in London, the companies backed down. A similar scenario occurred when comic book creator Ray Felix attempted to register his comic book series A World Without Superheroes with
2350-436: A brainwashed cybernetic assassin. Contemporaneously, Captain America was a central character in the 2006 crossover storyline " Civil War ", written by Mark Millar and penciled by Steve McNiven , which saw the character come into conflict with fellow Avengers member Iron Man over government efforts to regulate superheroes. The character was killed in the 2007 storyline " The Death of Captain America " written by Brubaker, which
2585-476: A conceptual mechanism for slotting the 1930s and 1940s Golden Age heroes into this continuity using the explanation that they inhabited an other-dimensional "Earth 2", whilst the modern heroes exist on "Earth 1", consequently laying the foundations of what was later called the DC Multiverse . DC's introduction of the reimagined superheroes did not go unnoticed by their competitors. In 1961, with DC's JLA as
SECTION 10
#17327754549072820-488: A copy of Superman. This extended to DC suing Fawcett Comics over Captain Marvel , who was at the time the top-selling comic character (see National Comics Publications, Inc. v. Fawcett Publications, Inc. ). Faced with declining sales and the prospect of bankruptcy if it lost the lawsuit, Fawcett capitulated in 1953 and ceased publishing comics. Years later, Fawcett sold the rights for Captain Marvel to DC Comics, and in 1972
3055-411: A decade, with Romita noting that "for a while, 'Captain America' was a dirty word". Captain America made his ostensible return in the anthology Strange Tales #114 (November 1963), published by Atlas' corporate successor Marvel Comics . In an 18-page story written by Lee and illustrated by Kirby, Captain America reemerges following years of apparent retirement, though he is revealed as an impostor who
3290-693: A decorated officer in the United States Air Force who would become a costumed superheroine herself years later. In 1975 Shotaro Ishinomori 's Himitsu Sentai Gorenger debuted on what is now TV Asahi, it brought the concepts of multi-colored teams and supporting vehicles that debuted in Gatchaman into live-action, and began the Super Sentai franchise (later adapted into the American Power Rangers series in
3525-568: A drug-fueled storyline in writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Neal Adams ' Green Lantern , beginning with the story " Snowbirds Don't Fly " in the retitled Green Lantern / Green Arrow No. 85 (September 1971), which depicted Speedy , the teen sidekick of superhero archer Green Arrow , as having become a heroin addict. Jenette Kahn , a former children's magazine publisher, replaced Infantino as editorial director in January 1976. As it happened, her first task even before being formally hired,
3760-477: A few years, it yielded the popular animated series Static Shock . DC established Paradox Press to publish material such as the large-format Big Book of... series of multi-artist interpretations on individual themes, and such crime fiction as the graphic novel Road to Perdition . In 1998, DC purchased WildStorm Comics, Jim Lee 's imprint under the Image Comics banner, continuing it for many years as
3995-504: A handful of thematically-linked series he called collectively "The Fourth World" . In the existing series Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen and in his own, newly-launched series New Gods , Mister Miracle , and The Forever People , Kirby introduced such enduring characters and concepts as arch-villain Darkseid and the other-dimensional realm Apokolips . Furthermore, Kirby intended their stories to be reprinted in collected editions, in
4230-479: A highly aerodynamic offensive weapon: when thrown, it is capable of ricocheting off multiple surfaces and returning to the original thrower. Captain America's first sidekick was Bucky Barnes , introduced in Captain America Comics #1 as the teenaged "mascot" of Steve Rogers' regiment. He is made Captain America's partner in that same issue after accidentally discovering the character's secret identity. Joe Simon described Bucky's creation as being largely motivated by
4465-537: A larger one. Another important event was the debut of Mazinger Z by Go Nagai, creating the Super Robot genre. Go Nagai also wrote the manga Cutey Honey in 1973; although the Magical Girl genre already existed, Nagai's manga introduced Transformation sequences that would become a staple of Magical Girl media. The 1970s would see more anti-heroes introduced into Superhero fiction such examples included
4700-449: A letter column of the pulp magazine Thrilling Wonder Stories , the word superhero was used to define the title character of the comic strip Zarnak , by Max Plaisted. In the 1930s, the trends converged in some of the earliest superpowered costumed heroes, such as Japan's Ōgon Bat (1931) and Prince of Gamma (early 1930s), who first appeared in kamishibai (a kind of hybrid media combining pictures with live storytelling), Mandrake
4935-456: A major slump, while manufactured " collectables " numbering in the millions replaced quality with quantity until fans and speculators alike deserted the medium in droves. DC's Piranha Press and other imprints (including the mature readers' line Vertigo , and Helix , a short-lived science fiction imprint) were introduced to facilitate compartmentalized diversification and allow for specialized marketing of individual product lines. They increased
SECTION 20
#17327754549075170-523: A multimedia franchise that used footage from Super Sentai . Internationally, the Japanese comic book character , Sailor Moon , is recognized as one of the most important and popular female superheroes ever created. The first use of the word "super hero" dates back to 1917. At the time, the word was merely used to describe a "public figure of great accomplishments." However, in 1967, Ben Cooper, Inc., an American Halloween costume manufacturer, became
5405-411: A need to give Captain America "someone to talk to" and avoid the overuse of dialogue delivered through internal monologue , noting that "Bucky was brought in as a way of eliminating too many thought balloons ." Bucky was retroactively established as having been killed in the same accident that left Captain America frozen in suspended animation; the character remained deceased for many decades, contrasting
5640-410: A new understanding of his previously held ideals. Stevens argues that the character's seeming paradoxical steadfastness is reflective of "the language of comics, where continuity is continually updated to fit the needs of the serialized present." Despite his status as patriotic superhero, Captain America is rarely depicted as an overtly jingoistic figure. Stevens writes that the character's "patriotism
5875-604: A popular comic genre during this period; in keeping with the trend, the final two issues of Captain America Comics were published under the title Captain America's Weird Tales . Timely's corporate successor Atlas Comics relaunched the character in 1953 in Young Men #24, where Captain America appears alongside the wartime heroes Human Torch and Toro , which was followed by a revival of Captain America Comics in 1954 written by Stan Lee and drawn by John Romita . In
6110-528: A primer. They would get artists ... and they taught them the ABCs, which amounted to learning Jack Kirby ... Jack was like the Holy Scripture and they simply had to follow him without deviation. That's what was told to me ... It was how they taught everyone to reconcile all those opposing attitudes to one single master point of view. Given carte blanche to write and illustrate his own stories, he created
6345-416: A principal in the magazine distributorship Independent News —Wheeler-Nicholson had to enter into partnership with Donenfeld to publish Detective Comics No. 1, and Detective Comics, Inc. (which helped inspire the abbreviation DC) was formed, with Wheeler-Nicholson and Donenfeld's accountant Jack S. Liebowitz listed as owners. As the company continued to experience cash-flow problems, Wheeler-Nicholson
6580-430: A pro-registration faction led by fellow Avengers member Iron Man . After significant rancor, he voluntarily surrenders and submits to arrest. At his trial, he is shot and killed by Sharon Carter, whose actions are manipulated by the villainous Dr. Faustus ; in his absence, a recovered Bucky assumes the title of Captain America. It is eventually revealed that Rogers did not die , but became displaced in space and time; he
6815-423: A profound effect on Japanese television . 1958 saw the debut of superhero Moonlight Mask on Japanese television. It was the first of numerous televised superhero dramas that would make up the tokusatsu superhero genre. Created by Kōhan Kawauchi , he followed up its success with the tokusatsu superhero shows Seven Color Mask (1959) and Messenger of Allah (1960), both starring a young Sonny Chiba . It
7050-505: A promiscuous manner. Through the overdeveloped bodies of the heroes or the seductive mannerisms of the villains, women in comic books are used as subordinates to their male counterparts, regardless of their strength or power. Wonder Woman has been subject to a long history of suppression as a result of her strength and power, including American culture's undoing of the Lynda Carter television series. In 2017's Wonder Woman , she had
7285-577: A publishing agreement with DC Comics that allowed them to introduce a line of comics that included characters of many ethnic minorities. Milestone's initial run lasted four years, during which it introduced Static , a character adapted into the WB Network animated series Static Shock . In addition to the creation of new minority heroes, publishers have filled the identities and roles of once-Caucasian heroes with new characters from minority backgrounds. The African-American John Stewart appeared in
Captain America - Misplaced Pages Continue
7520-415: A publishing format that was later called the trade paperback , which became a standard industry practice decades later. While sales were respectable, they did not meet DC management's initially high expectations, and also suffered from a lack of comprehension and internal support from Infantino. By 1973 the "Fourth World" was all cancelled, although Kirby's conceptions soon became integral to the broadening of
7755-402: A role of super-patriotism in the world as it is today". Captain America stories in the 1970s began to increasingly focus on domestic American political issues, such as poverty, racism, pollution, and political corruption. Captain America #117 (September 1969) introduced The Falcon as the first African-American superhero in mainstream comic books and who would become Captain America's partner;
7990-658: A romantic interest for Batman named Julie Madison , as well as the Batarang weapon that Batman commonly uses, and the fictional aircraft called the Batplane . The story of Batman's origin was first shown in Detective Comics No. 33 (November 1939), which depicted the death of Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne by a mugger . The origin story remained crucial for the fictional character after its inception. The Daily Planet (a common setting of Superman)
8225-757: A secondary character of the Green Hornet media franchise series since its inception in the 1930s. ). Kitty Pryde , a member of the X-Men, was an openly Jewish superhero in mainstream American comic books as early as 1978. Comic-book companies were in the early stages of cultural expansion and many of these characters played to specific stereotypes ; Cage and many of his contemporaries often employed lingo similar to that of blaxploitation films, Native Americans were often associated with shamanism and wild animals , and Asian Americans were often portrayed as kung fu martial artists . Subsequent minority heroes, such as
8460-406: A single source." DC and Marvel have continued to expand their commercialization of the "superhero" mark to categories beyond comic books. Now, the two publishers jointly own numerous trademarks for figurines (see Spider-Man, Batman), movies, TV shows, magazines, merchandise, cardboard stand-up figures, playing cards , erasers , pencils , notebooks , cartoons , and many more. For instance,
8695-513: A skull-faced creature with superpowers to fight evil; she debuted in Fiction House 's Jungle Comic #2 (Feb. 1940), credited to the pseudonymous "Barclay Flagg". The Invisible Scarlet O'Neil , a non-costumed character who fought crime and wartime saboteurs using the superpower of invisibility created by Russell Stamm, would debut in the eponymous syndicated newspaper comic strip a few months later on June 3, 1940. In 1940, Maximo
8930-523: A subsidiary of Time Warner. In June, the first Tim Burton-directed Batman film was released, and DC began publishing its hardcover series of DC Archive Editions ; these were collections of many of their early, key comics series, featuring rare and expensive stories previously unseen by the majority of modern fans. Much of the restoration work was handled by Rick Keene, with colour restoration performed by DC's long-time resident colourist Bob LeRose . The Archive Editions attempted to retroactively credit many of
9165-406: A suit not unlike the swimsuits in the T.V. show Baywatch . The sexualization of women in comic books can be explained mainly by the fact that the majority of writers are male. Not only are the writers mostly male, but the audience is mostly male as well. Therefore, writers are designing characters to appeal to a mostly male audience. The super hero characters illustrate a sociological idea called
9400-469: A superhero origin story with the reveal of an unnamed planet, later known as Krypton , where he is said to have originated . The issue also contained the first essential supporting character and one of the earliest female characters in any comic, with Lois Lane as Superman's first depicted romantic interest . The Green Hornet -inspired character known as the Crimson Avenger by Jim Chamber
9635-577: A superhero team composed of Timely's wartime-era superheroes, with Captain America as its leader; Thomas, a fan of stories from the Golden Age of Comic Books , drew inspiration for the series from Timely's All-Winners Squad. Jack Kirby wrote and illustrated run on Captain America and the Falcon from 1975 to 1977. This was followed by issues authored by a number of writers and artists, including Roy Thomas, Donald F. Glut , Roger McKenzie , and Sal Buscema;
Captain America - Misplaced Pages Continue
9870-569: A supporting character called James Gordon , the police commissioner of what would later become Gotham City Police Department . Despite being a parody, All-American Publications introduced the earliest female character who became the female superhero Red Tornado (though disguised as a male) in Ma Hunkel who first appeared in the "Scribbly" stories in All-American Comics No. 3 (June 1939). Another important Batman debut
10105-493: A tool of the state)", his status as a patriotic superhero nevertheless tethers him to American foreign policy and hegemony. He argues that Captain America tends to skew away from interventionist actions at moments where the United States is undertaking policies that its critics deem imperialist, specifically citing the character's non-participation in the Vietnam and Iraq wars, and argues that the character's inconsistent position on
10340-418: A traumatic incident, Rogers carries on as a hero in spite of a traumatic incident, with Weiner asserting that this reinforces the nobility of the character. Though Marvel has historically trended away from making overt partisan statements in the post-war period, writers have nevertheless used Captain America to comment on the state of American society and government at particular moments in history. For example,
10575-501: A wholly separate imprint (and fictional universe) with its own unique style and audience. As part of this purchase, DC also began to publish titles under the fledgling WildStorm sub-imprint America's Best Comics (ABC), a series of titles created by Alan Moore which included The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen , Tom Strong , and Promethea . Moore strongly opposed this move, and DC eventually stopped publishing ABC. In March 2003, DC acquired publishing and merchandising rights to
10810-423: A wide array of different backgrounds and origins. Some superheroes (such as Spider-Man and Superman ) possess non-human or superhuman biology or use and practice magic to achieve their abilities (such as Doctor Strange and Captain Marvel ) while others (for example, Iron Man and Batman ) derive their status from advanced technology they create and use. The Dictionary.com definition of "superhero"
11045-599: A world he described as "more cynical [...] in terms of how we view our government, our politicians and people's motives in general". In the wake of the September 11 attacks , a new Captain America series written by John Ney Rieber with artwork by John Cassaday was published under the Marvel Knights imprint from 2002 to 2003. The series received criticism for its depiction of Captain America fighting terrorists modelled after Al-Qaeda , though Cassady contended that
11280-567: A year-long storyline in which Captain America faced a crisis of confidence in the face of what Dematteis described as " Reagan Cold War rhetoric". The story was originally planned culminate in Captain America #300 with Captain America renouncing violence to become a pacifist ; when that ending was rejected by Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter , Dematteis resigned from Captain America in protest. Writer Mark Gruenwald , editor of Captain America from 1982 to 1985, served as writer on
11515-600: Is Nick Fury , who is reinterpreted as African-American both in the Ultimate Marvel as well as the Marvel Cinematic Universe continuities. DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (later simply known as DC ) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment , a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery . DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book series first published in 1937. DC Comics
11750-512: Is "a figure, especially in a comic strip or cartoon , endowed with superhuman powers and usually portrayed as fighting evil or crime", and the Merriam-Webster dictionary gives the definition as "a fictional hero having extraordinary or superhuman powers; also: an exceptionally skillful or successful person." Terms such as masked crime fighters, costumed adventurers or masked vigilantes are sometimes used to refer to characters such as
11985-421: Is a motorcycle-riding hero in an insect-like costume, who shouts Henshin (Metamorphosis) to don his costume and gain superhuman powers. The ideas of second-wave feminism , which spread through the 1960s into the 1970s, greatly influenced the way comic book companies would depict as well as market their female characters: Wonder Woman was for a time revamped as a mod-dressing martial artist directly inspired by
SECTION 50
#173277545490712220-544: Is a website satirizing the sexualized portrayal of women in comics by recreating the same poses using male superheroes, especially Marvel's Hawkeye . In 1966, Marvel introduced the Black Panther , an African monarch who became the first non- caricatured black superhero. The first African-American superhero, the Falcon , followed in 1969, and three years later, Luke Cage , a self-styled "hero-for-hire" , became
12455-477: Is arguable that the Marvel Comics teams of the early 1960s brought the biggest assortment of superheroes ever at one time into permanent publication, the likes of Spider-Man (1962), The Hulk , Iron Man , Daredevil , Nick Fury , The Mighty Thor , The Avengers (featuring a rebooted Captain America , Thor, Hulk, Ant-Man , Quicksilver ), and many others were given their own monthly titles. Typically
12690-533: Is cut to expose his bare chest and stomach, and as The Captain he wears a modified version of the Captain America suit with a red, white, and black design. Captain America's shield is the character's primary piece of equipment. It is a round shield with a design featuring a white star on a blue circle surrounded by red and white rings. First appearing in Captain America Comics #1 as a triangular heater shield , beginning in Captain America Comics #2 it
12925-607: Is defeated by Human Torch of the Fantastic Four . A caption in the final panel indicates that the story was a "test" to gauge interest in a potential return for Captain America; the reader response to the story was enthusiastic, and the character was formally reintroduced in The Avengers #4 (March 1964). The Avengers #4 retroactively established that Captain America had fallen into the Atlantic Ocean in
13160-446: Is framed for murder by the fascistic Secret Empire , whose leader is ultimately revealed to be the president of the United States. The incident causes a disillusioned Steve Rogers to briefly drop the moniker of Captain America to become " Nomad , the man without a country", though he later vowed to "reclaim the ideals of America, which its leaders have trampled upon" and again assumed the role of Captain America. Englehart and Buscema's run
13395-686: Is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero ; typically using their powers to help the world become a better place , or dedicating themselves to protecting the public and fighting crime . Superhero fiction is the genre of fiction that is centered on such characters, especially, since the 1930s, in American comic books (and later in Hollywood films , film serials, television and video games ), as well as in Japanese media (including kamishibai , tokusatsu , manga , anime and video games). Superheroes come from
13630-539: Is more focused on the universal rights of man as expressed through the American Dream " rather than "a position championing the specific cultural or political goals of the United States." Weiner similarly concurs that the character "embodies what America strives to be, not what it sometimes is". Dittmer agrees that while the character sees himself "as the living embodiment of the American Dream (rather than
13865-502: Is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, the first comic under the DC banner being published in 1937. The majority of its publications are set in the fictional DC Universe and feature numerous culturally iconic heroic characters , such as Superman , Batman , Wonder Woman , Green Lantern , the Flash , Cyborg , and Aquaman ; as well as famous fictional teams, including
14100-516: Is still being used. The company created a second recurring title called New Comics , first released in December 1935, which was the start of the long-running Adventure Comics series that also featured many anthology titles. By 1936, the group had became Nicholson Publishing. Wheeler-Nicholson's next and final title, Detective Comics , was advertised with a cover illustration dated December 1936 but eventually premiered three months late with
14335-532: Is the Red Skull , introduced from the character's origins as an apprentice to Adolf Hitler . Just as Red Skull represents Nazism , many of Captain America's villains represent specific ideologies or political formations: for example, the Serpent Society represents labor unionism, and Flag-Smasher represents anti-nationalism . The political character of Captain America's enemies has shifted over time:
SECTION 60
#173277545490714570-444: Is third. In 1934, entrepreneur Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson founded National Allied Publications , intended as an American comic book publishing company. Its debut publication was the tabloid -sized New Fun: The Big Comic Magazine #1 (the first of a comic series later called More Fun Comics ) with a February 1935 cover date . An anthology title, essentially for original stories not reprinted from newspaper strips , it
14805-489: Is to be fighting with the supervillain Red Skull. [...] He is 'a man out of time,' a walking emblem of greatest-generation propaganda brought to life in this splintered postmodern time." – Ta-Nehisi Coates Steve Rogers' personality has shifted across his editorial history, a fact that media scholar J. Richard Stevens sees as a natural consequence of the character being written and re-interpreted by many writers over
15040-439: Is ultimately able to return to the present. He resumes his exploits as a superhero, though his public identity is briefly supplanted by a sleeper agent from the terrorist organization Hydra . "Rogers' transformation into Captain America is underwritten by the military. But, perhaps haunted by his own roots in powerlessness, he is a dissident just as likely to be feuding with his superiors in civilian and military governance as he
15275-506: Is uncommon, the USPTO will grant joint ownership in a mark. For example, in the case Arrow Trading Co., Inc. v. Victorinox A.G. and Wegner S.A. , Opposition No. 103315 (TTAB June 27, 2003), the TTAB held that when "two entities have a long-standing relationship and rely on each other for quality control, it may be found, in appropriate circumstances, that the parties, as joint owners, do represent
15510-539: The Infinite Crisis limited series. Immediately after this event, DC's ongoing series jumped forward a full year in their in-story continuity, as DC launched a weekly series, 52 , to gradually fill in the missing time. Concurrently, DC lost the copyright to "Superboy" (while retaining the trademark) when the heirs of Jerry Siegel used a provision of the 1976 revision to the copyright law to regain ownership. In 2005, DC launched its " All-Star " line (evoking
15745-668: The Black Canary , introduced in Flash Comics #86 (Aug. 1947) as a supporting character. The most iconic comic book superheroine, who debuted during the Golden Age, is Wonder Woman . Modeled from the myth of the Amazons of Greek mythology , she was created by psychologist William Moulton Marston , with help and inspiration from his wife Elizabeth and their mutual lover Olive Byrne. Wonder Woman's first appearance
15980-535: The Emma Peel character from the British television series The Avengers (no relation to the superhero team of the same name), but later reverted to Marston's original concept after the editors of Ms. magazine publicly disapproved of the character being depowered and without her traditional costume; Supergirl was moved from being a secondary feature on Action Comics to headline Adventure Comics in 1969;
16215-487: The French Resistance , was retroactively established in comics published in the 1960s as another of Rogers' wartime lovers. When Rogers is revived in the post-war era, he begins a partnership and on-again off-again relationship with S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Sharon Carter ; introduced as Peggy's younger sister, she was later retconned as Peggy's grandniece to reflect Marvel's floating timeline . In comics published in
16450-480: The German American Bund , an American Nazi organization. When members began loitering on the streets outside the company's office, police protection was posted and New York mayor Fiorello La Guardia personally contacted Simon and Kirby to guarantee the safety of the publisher's employees. Simon wrote the first two issues of Captain America Comics before becoming the editor for the series; they were
16685-667: The Green Lantern character, the introduction of the modern all-star team Justice League of America (JLA), and many more superheroes, heralding what historians and fans call the Silver Age of Comic Books . National radically overhauled its continuing characters—primarily Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman—rather than just reimagining them. The Superman family of titles, under editor Mort Weisinger , introduced such enduring characters as Supergirl , Bizarro , and Brainiac . The Batman titles, under editor Jack Schiff , introduced
16920-518: The Harvey Award for Best Writer for the series in 2006. After Brubaker's run on Captain America ended in 2012, a new volume of the series written by Rick Remender was published as part of the Marvel Now rebranding initiative, which saw Sam Wilson assume the mantle of Captain America in 2014. This was followed by a run written by Nick Spencer beginning in 2016, in which Captain America
17155-771: The Justice League , the Justice Society of America , the Teen Titans , and the Suicide Squad . The universe contains an assortment of well-known supervillains , such as the Joker , Lex Luthor , Deathstroke , the Reverse-Flash , Brainiac , and Darkseid . The company has published non-DC Universe-related material, including Watchmen , V for Vendetta , Fables , and many other titles, under
17390-527: The Lady Liberators appeared in an issue of The Avengers as a group of mind-controlled superheroines led by Valkyrie (actually a disguised supervillainess ) and were meant to be a caricatured parody of feminist activists; and Jean Grey became the embodiment of a cosmic being known as the Phoenix Force with seemingly unlimited power in the late 1970s, a stark contrast from her depiction as
17625-706: The New York Times and The Colbert Report , and embraced by anti- Islamophobia campaigners in San Francisco who plastered over anti-Muslim bus adverts with Kamala stickers. Other such successor-heroes of color include James "Rhodey" Rhodes as Iron Man and to a lesser extent Riri "Ironheart" Williams , Ryan Choi as the Atom , Jaime Reyes as Blue Beetle and Amadeus Cho as Hulk . Certain established characters have had their ethnicity changed when adapted to another continuity or media. A notable example
17860-495: The Patriot Act and post-9/11 debates on the balance between national security and civil liberties. While the ideological orientation of Captain America stories has shifted in response to changing social and political attitudes, Stevens notes how a central component of Captain America's mythology is that the character himself does not change: when the character's attitudes have shifted, it is consistently framed as an evolution or
18095-483: The Phantom Stranger ) rose from art director to become DC's editorial director. With the growing popularity of upstart rival Marvel Comics threatening to topple DC from its longtime number-one position in the comics industry, he tried to direct DC's focus towards marketing new and existing titles and characters with more adult sensibilities, aimed at an emerging older age group of superhero comic book fans; this
18330-795: The Silver Age , the comics of the 1970s and 1980s became known as the Bronze Age, as fantasy gave way to more naturalistic and sometimes darker themes. Illegal drug use, banned by the Comics Code Authority , explicitly appeared in comics for the first time in Marvel Comics' story " Green Goblin Reborn! " in The Amazing Spider-Man No. 96 (May 1971), and after the Code's updating in response, DC offered
18565-597: The United States Army to aid the country's efforts in World War II . Equipped with an American flag –inspired costume and a virtually indestructible shield , Captain America and his sidekick Bucky Barnes clashed frequently with the villainous Red Skull and other members of the Axis powers . In the final days of the war, an accident left Captain America frozen in a state of suspended animation until he
18800-612: The X-Men 's Storm and the Teen Titans ' Cyborg avoided such conventions; they were both part of ensemble teams, which became increasingly diverse in subsequent years. The X-Men, in particular, were revived in 1975 with a line-up of characters drawn from several nations, including the Kenyan Storm, German Nightcrawler , Soviet / Russian Colossus , Irish Banshee , and Japanese Sunfire . In 1993, Milestone Comics , an African-American-owned media/publishing company entered into
19035-557: The line further, increasing the number of titles and story pages, and raising the price from 35 cents to 50 cents. Most series received eight-page back-up features while some had full-length twenty-five-page stories. This was a move the company called the "DC Explosion". The move was not successful, however, and corporate parent Warner dramatically cut back on these largely unsuccessful titles, firing many staffers in what industry watchers dubbed "the DC Implosion ". In September 1978,
19270-515: The multiverse of parallel universes that compose the Marvel Universe, there are many variations of Steve Rogers and Captain America; this includes Marvel's Ultimate Comics universe, which possesses its own version of Steve Rogers that is more overtly politically conservative. Superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses superpowers or abilities beyond those of ordinary people,
19505-399: The " male gaze " which is media created from the viewpoint of a normative heterosexual male. The female characters in comic books are used to satisfy male desire for the "ideal" woman (small waist, large breasts, toned, athletic body). These characters have god-like power, but the most easily identifiable feature is their hyper sexualized bodies: they are designed to be sexually pleasing to
19740-526: The 1940s. Designed by Joe Simon, the costume is based on the United States flag , with Simon likening the character's appearance to that of "a modern-day crusader": chain mail armor, and a helmet adorned with wings in reference to the Roman god Mercury . Steve Rogers has worn other costumes when he has adopted alternate superhero alter egos: as Nomad he wears a domino mask and a black and gold suit that
19975-555: The 1944 serial film Captain America ; the character has subsequently appeared in a variety of films and other media , including the Marvel Cinematic Universe , where he was portrayed by actor Chris Evans from the character's first appearance in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) to his final appearance in Avengers: Endgame (2019). "It was a time of deep passion. Hitler
20210-497: The 1960s, many stories gave increased focus to Rogers' civilian identity, particularly his struggles as a "man out of time" attempting to adjust to the modern era. Often, stories depict a brooding or melancholic Rogers as he faces both a physical struggle as Captain America, and an ideological struggle as Steve Rogers to reconcile his social values with modern times. The character is frequently conflicted by his World War II-era "good war" morality being challenged and made anachronistic by
20445-509: The 1960s. In 1969, Sam Wilson was introduced as the superhero Falcon and later became Captain America's sidekick, making the characters the first interracial superhero duo in American comic books. Possessing the power to communicate with birds, Wilson is initially depicted as a former social worker living in Harlem , though this identity is revealed to be the result of memories implanted by
20680-568: The 1970s as an alternate for Earth's Green Lantern Hal Jordan , and would become a regular member of the Green Lantern Corps from the 1980s onward. The creators of the 2000s-era Justice League animated series selected Stewart as the show's Green Lantern. In the Ultimate Marvel universe, Miles Morales , a youth of Puerto Rican and African-American ancestry who was also bitten by a genetically-altered spider, debuted as
20915-610: The 1980s, Rogers dated and became engaged to civilian Bernie Rosenthal , though they ended their relationship amicably after Bernie left New York to attend law school. In the 1990s, Rogers had a romantic entanglement with the alternately villainous and antiheroic Diamondback , a member of the Serpent Society . The title of "Captain America" has been used by other characters in the Marvel Universe in addition to Steve Rogers, including William Naslund , Jeffrey Mace , and William Burnside . John Walker , also known as U.S. Agent,
21150-458: The 1980s, superhero fiction centered on cultural, ethnic, national, racial and language minority groups (from the perspective of US demographics ) began to be produced. This began with depiction of black superheroes in the 1960s, followed in the 1970s with a number of other ethnic-minority superheroes. In keeping with the political mood of the time, cultural diversity and inclusivism would be an important part of superhero groups starting from
21385-409: The 1980s. In the 1990s, this was further augmented by the first depictions of superheroes as homosexual. In 2017, Sign Gene emerged, the first group of deaf superheroes with superpowers through the use of sign language . Female super heroes—and villains—have been around since the early years of comic books dating back to the 1940s. The representation of women in comic books has been questioned in
21620-561: The 1990s). In 1978, Toei adapted Spider-Man into a live-action Japanese television series . In this continuity, Spider-Man had a vehicle called Marveller that could transform into a giant and powerful robot called Leopardon, this idea would be carried over to Toei's Battle Fever J (also co-produced with Marvel) and now multi-colored teams not only had support vehicles but giant robots to fight giant monsters with. In subsequent decades, popular characters like Dazzler , She-Hulk , Elektra , Catwoman , Witchblade , Spider-Girl , Batgirl and
21855-415: The 1990s, culminating in the company filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1996, and "Heroes Reborn" was introduced as part of an effort to increase sales. As part of the rebrand, Liefeld illustrated and co-wrote with Jeph Loeb a run on Captain America that was ultimately cancelled after six issues. Marvel stated that the series was cancelled due to low sales, though Liefeld has contended that he
22090-548: The Amazing Superman debut in Big Little Book series , by Russell R. Winterbotham (text), Henry E. Vallely and Erwin L. Hess (art). Captain America also appeared for the first time in print in December 1940, a year prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese government, when America was still in isolationism . Created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby , the superhero was the physical embodiment of
22325-405: The American comic book market was shared by DC Comics and its long-time major competitor Marvel Comics (acquired in 2009 by Warner Bros. Discovery's main competitor, The Walt Disney Company ), though this figure may be distorted by the fact that sales of graphic novels are excluded. When all book sales are included, DC is the second largest publisher of comic books, after Viz Media ; and Marvel
22560-800: The American spirit during World War II. One superpowered character was portrayed as an antiheroine , a rarity for its time: the Black Widow , a costumed emissary of Satan who killed evildoers in order to send them to Hell —debuted in Mystic Comics #4 (Aug. 1940), from Timely Comics , the 1940s predecessor of Marvel Comics . Most of the other female costumed crime fighters during this era lacked superpowers. Notable characters include The Woman in Red , introduced in Standard Comics ' Thrilling Comics #2 (March 1940); Lady Luck , debuting in
22795-478: The Avengers) with her brother, Quicksilver. In 1963, Astro Boy was adapted into a highly influential anime television series. Phantom Agents in 1964 focused on ninjas working for the Japanese government and would be the foundation for Sentai -type series. 1966 saw the debut of the sci-fi/horror series Ultra Q created by Eiji Tsuburaya this would eventually lead to the sequel Ultraman , spawning
23030-490: The Bible as the foundation of his own new company, EC Comics . At that point, "Liebowitz promptly orchestrated the merger of All-American and Detective Comics into National Comics... Next he took charge of organizing National Comics, [the self-distributorship] Independent News, and their affiliated firms into a single corporate entity, National Periodical Publications ". National Periodical Publications became publicly traded on
23265-639: The Birds of Prey became stars of long-running eponymous titles. Female characters began assuming leadership roles in many ensemble superhero teams; the Uncanny X-Men series and its related spin-off titles in particular have included many female characters in pivotal roles since the 1970s. Volume 4 of the X-Men comic book series featured an all-female team as part of the Marvel NOW! branding initiative in 2013. Superpowered female characters like Buffy
23500-472: The Changing Man , as well as an increasing array of non-superhero titles, in an attempt to recapture the pre- Wertham days of post-War comicdom. In 1977, the company officially changed its name to DC Comics . It had used the brand "Superman-DC" since the 1950s, and was colloquially known as DC Comics for years. In June 1978, five months before the release of the first Superman film , Kahn expanded
23735-544: The DC Universe, especially after the major toy-company, Kenner Products , judged them ideal for their action-figure adaptation of the DC Universe , the Super Powers Collection . Obligated by his contract, Kirby created other unrelated series for DC, including Kamandi , The Demon , and OMAC , before ultimately returning to Marvel Comics in 1976. Following the science-fiction innovations of
23970-471: The Magician (1934), Olga Mesmer (1937) and then Superman (1938) and Captain Marvel (1939) at the beginning of the Golden Age of Comic Books , whose span, though disputed, is generally agreed to have started with Superman's launch. Superman has remained one of the most recognizable superheroes, and his success spawned a new archetype of characters with secret identities and superhuman powers. At
24205-466: The Red Skull. He later receives a winged suit from the superhero Black Panther that enables him to fly. Other characters who have served as Rogers' sidekick include Golden Girl (Betsy Ross), Demolition Man (Dennis Dunphy), Jack Flag (Jack Harrison), and Free Spirit (Cathy Webster). Over the course of several decades, writers and artists have established a rogues' gallery of supervillains to face Captain America. The character's primary archenemy
24440-556: The Silver Age Teen Titans led DC's editors to seek the same for the wider DC Universe . The result, the Wolfman/Pérez 12-issue limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths , gave the company an opportunity to realign and jettison some of the characters' complicated backstory and continuity discrepancies. A companion publication, two volumes entitled The History of the DC Universe , set out the revised history of
24675-514: The Spirit , who may not be explicitly referred to as superheroes but nevertheless share similar traits. Some superheroes use their powers to help fight daily crime while also combating threats against humanity from supervillains , who are their criminal counterparts. Often at least one of these supervillains will be the superhero's archenemy or nemesis . Some popular supervillains become recurring characters in their own right. Antecedents of
24910-827: The Sunday- newspaper comic-book insert The Spirit Section June 2, 1940; the comedic character Red Tornado , debuting in All-American Comics #20 (Nov 1940); Miss Fury , debuting in the eponymous comic strip by female cartoonist Tarpé Mills on April 6, 1941; the Phantom Lady , introduced in Quality Comics Police Comics #1 (Aug. 1941); the Black Cat , introduced in Harvey Comics ' Pocket Comics #1 (also Aug. 1941); and
25145-697: The TV series. This change in tone coincided with the prominent "Go-Go Checks" cover-dress that featured a black-and-white checkered strip at the top of each DC comic (all cover dates between February 1966 and August 1967), a misguided attempt by then-managing editor Irwin Donenfeld to make DC's output "stand out on the newsracks". In particular, DC artist Carmine Infantino complained that the distinctive cover made it easier for readers to spot DC's titles and avoid them in favor of Marvel's titles. In 1967, Infantino (who had designed popular Silver Age characters Batgirl and
25380-408: The USPTO. Felix is one of many who argue that the term "superhero" has become generic (see discussion below). Felix's mark is currently abandoned, but he has stated that he intends to fight against DC and Marvel for use of the term. In 2024, Superbabies Limited managed to obtain a default judgement and cancel the "super heroes" trademarks as genericized, except for the animation pictures mark. This
25615-540: The Vampire Slayer and Darna have a tremendous influence on popular culture in their respective countries of origin. With more and more anime , manga and tokusatsu being translated or adapted, Western audiences were beginning to experience the Japanese styles of superhero fiction more than they were able to before. Saban 's Mighty Morphin Power Rangers , an adaptation of Zyuranger , created
25850-471: The West as Astro Boy , was published. The series focused upon a robot boy built by a scientist to replace his deceased son. Being built from an incomplete robot originally intended for military purposes, Astro Boy possessed amazing powers such as flight through thrusters in his feet and the incredible mechanical strength of his limbs. The 1950s saw the Silver Age of Comics . During this era DC introduced
26085-525: The aftermath of the September 11 attacks , Rogers reveals his secret identity to the world. Following the disbandment of the Avengers , he discovers that Bucky is still alive , having been brainwashed by the Soviets to become the Winter Soldier. Later, in reaction to government efforts to regulate superheroes , Rogers becomes the leader of an underground anti-registration movement that clashes with
26320-422: The aim of the series was to depict "the emotions this hero was going through" in the wake of 9/11, and the "guilt and anger a man in his position would feel". In 2005, Marvel relaunched Captain America in a new volume written by Ed Brubaker and illustrated by Steve Epting . The run saw the publication of " The Winter Soldier ", which reintroduced Captain America's previously deceased partner Bucky Barnes as
26555-676: The alternative imprint Vertigo and DC Black Label . Originally at 432 Fourth Avenue in Manhattan , New York City, the company offices have been located at 480 and later 575 Lexington Avenue , 909 Third Avenue , 75 Rockefeller Plaza , 666 Fifth Avenue , and 1325 Avenue of the Americas . DC Comics was located at 1700 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan until April 2015, when DC Entertainment transferred its headquarters to Burbank, California . DC Comics books are distributed to
26790-587: The antihero. These titles helped pave the way for comics to be more widely accepted in literary-criticism circles and to make inroads into the book industry, with collected editions of these series as commercially successful trade paperbacks . The mid-1980s also saw the end of many long-running DC war comics , including series that had been in print since the 1960s. These titles, all with over 100 issues, included Sgt. Rock , G.I. Combat , The Unknown Soldier , and Weird War Tales . In March 1989, Warner Communications merged with Time Inc. , making DC Comics
27025-512: The archetype include mythological characters such as Gilgamesh , Hanuman , Perseus , Odysseus , David , and demigods like Heracles , all of whom were blessed with extraordinary abilities, which later inspired the superpowers that became a fundamental aspect of modern-day superheroes. The distinct clothing and costumes of individuals from English folklore , like Robin Hood and Spring-Heeled Jack , also became inspirations. The dark costume of
27260-419: The archetypical hero stock character in 1930s American comics, superheroes are predominantly depicted as White American middle- or upper-class young adult males and females who are typically tall, athletic, educated, physically attractive and in perfect health. Beginning in the 1960s with the civil rights movement in the United States, and increasingly with the rising concern over political correctness in
27495-571: The bookstore market by Penguin Random House Publisher Services . The comics shop direct market was supplied by Diamond Comic Distributors until June 2020, when Lunar Distribution and UCS Comic Distributors (who were by then dominating direct market distribution on account of the disruption to Diamond caused by the COVID-19 pandemic ) replaced Diamond as the direct market distributor. In 2017, approximately 70% of
27730-413: The brand's popularity, like the presence of the color red or word balloons on the cover, or that the perceived crudeness of the interior art was somehow more appealing to readers. When Lee learned about DC's subsequent experimental attempts to imitate these perceived details, he amused himself by arranging direct defiance of those assumptions in Marvel's publications as sales strengthened further to frustrate
27965-653: The character fight gangsters rather than wartime enemies in Captain America Comics #42 (October 1944), appearing as a high school teacher in Captain America Comics #59 (August 1946), and joining Timely's first superhero team, the All-Winners Squad , in All Winners Comics #19 (Fall 1946). The series nevertheless continued to face dwindling sales, and Captain America Comics ended with its 75th issue in February 1950. Horror comics were ascendant as
28200-517: The character fought enemies associated with communism during his brief revival in the 1950s before shifting back to Nazi antagonists in the mid-1960s, while comics since 9/11 have frequently depicted the character facing terrorist villains. Steve Rogers' first love interest was Betsy Ross, introduced in his World War II-era comics as a member of the Women's Army Corps who later became the costumed superhero Golden Girl. Peggy Carter , an American member of
28435-402: The character specifically in response to the American non-interventionism movement . Political messages have subsequently remained a defining feature of Captain America stories, with writers regularly using the character to comment on the state of American society and government. Having appeared in more than ten thousand stories in more than five thousand media formats, Captain America is one of
28670-430: The character was often criticized for being two-dimensional as a result. He argues that this was an intentional device, writing that these critics "failed to grasp the true implication of his being. Steve Rogers never existed, except perhaps as an abstract device for the convenience of storytelling. Captain America was not an embodiment of human characteristics but a pure idea." Following the character's return to comics in
28905-424: The character was revived in DC's new title Shazam! , which featured artwork by Captain Marvel's creator C. C. Beck . In the meantime, the abandoned 'Marvel' trademark had been seized by Marvel Comics in 1967, with the creation of their Captain Marvel , preventing DC from using the name in the title of their own comic series. While DC's Captain Marvel failed to recapture his earlier popularity, he later appeared in
29140-429: The comic book limited series . This publishing format allowed for the deliberate creation of finite storylines within a more flexible publishing format that could showcase creations without forcing the talent into unsustainable open-ended commitments. The first such title was World of Krypton in 1979, and its positive results led to subsequent similar titles and later more ambitious productions like Camelot 3000 for
29375-413: The comic-strip characters Patoruzú (1928) and Popeye (1929) and novelist Philip Wylie 's character Hugo Danner (1930). Another early example was Sarutobi Sasuke , a Japanese superhero ninja from children's novels in the 1910s; by 1914, he had a number of superhuman powers and abilities. The French character L'Oiselle , created in 1909, can be classed as a superheroine. In August 1937, in
29610-534: The companies filed a trademark application as joint owners for the mark "SUPER HEROES" for a series of animated motion pictures in 2009 (Reg. No. 5613972). Both DC and Marvel also individually owned trademarks involving the "super hero" mark. Notably, DC owns the mark " Legion of Super-Heroes " for comic magazines and Marvel owns the mark "Marvel Super Hero Island" for story books, fiction books, and children’s activity books. DC and Marvel have become known for aggressively protecting their registered marks. In 2019,
29845-552: The companies pursued a British law student named Graham Jules who was attempting to publish a self-help book titled Business Zero to Superhero . Much academic debate exists about whether the "super hero" mark has become generic and whether DC and Marvel have created a duopoly over the "super hero" mark. Conversely, DC and Marvel hold that they are merely exercising their right and duty to protect their registered marks. The following trademarks were or are registered jointly with MARVEL CHARACTERS, INC. and DC COMICS: As mentioned,
30080-465: The company after they completed work on Captain America Comics #10. The authorship of Captain America Comics was subsequently assumed by a variety of individuals, including Otto Binder , Bill Finger , and Manly Wade Wellman as writers, and Al Avison, Vince Alascia , and Syd Shores as pencilers. Superhero comics began to decline in popularity in the post-war period. This prompted a variety of attempts to reposition Captain America, including having
30315-482: The company. The resulting influx of sophisticated horror-fantasy material led to DC in 1993 establishing the Vertigo mature-readers imprint, which did not subscribe to the Comics Code Authority . Two DC limited series, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller and Watchmen by Moore and artist Dave Gibbons , drew attention in the mainstream press for their dark psychological complexity and promotion of
30550-488: The competition. However, this ignorance of Marvel's true appeal did not extend to some of the writing talent during this period, and attempts were made to emulate Marvel's narrative approach. For instance, there was the Doom Patrol series by Arnold Drake (who had previously warned DC's management about Marvel's strength), a superhero team of outsiders who resented their freakish powers, which Drake later speculated
30785-502: The compromising demands of the post-war era. Prior to Bucky Barnes' return to comics in the 2000s, many Captain America stories centered on Rogers' sense of guilt over Barnes' death. Culture scholar Robert G. Weiner argues that these stories mirror the post-traumatic stress disorder and survivor guilt held by many war veterans, and that this trauma distinguishes the character from other well-known superheroes such as Batman and Spider-Man : while those characters became heroes because of
31020-543: The conspiracy storyline of "Secret Empire" reflected what writer Steve Englehart saw as broad disillusionment with American institutions in the wake of the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal, the "Streets of Poison" storyline by Mark Gruenwald in the 1990s was intended to address anxieties around the drug trade and debates on the war on drugs , and "Civil War" by Mark Millar was widely interpreted as an allegory for
31255-415: The corporate predecessor to DC Comics – by hiring freelancer Joe Simon to create a new superhero for the company. Simon began to develop the character by determining who their nemesis could be, noting that the most successful superheroes were defined by their relationship with a compelling villain, and eventually settled on Adolf Hitler . He rationalized that Hitler was the "best villain of them all" as he
31490-564: The debut issue, which outstripped even the circulation of news magazines such as Time during the same period. Captain America Comics was additionally one of 189 periodicals that the US Department of War deemed appropriate to distribute to its soldiers without prior screening. The character would also make appearances in several of Timely's other comic titles, including All Winners Comics , Marvel Mystery Comics , U.S.A. Comics , and All Select Comics . Though Captain America
31725-477: The debut of Shotaro Ishinomori 's Skull Man (the basis for his later Kamen Rider ) in 1970, Go Nagai's Devilman in 1972 and Gerry Conway and John Romita's Punisher in 1974. The dark Skull Man manga would later get a television adaptation and underwent drastic changes. The character was redesigned to resemble a grasshopper, becoming the renowned first masked hero of the Kamen Rider series. Kamen Rider
31960-429: The design beginning with Captain America Comics #2. The revised round shield went on to become an iconic element of the character; its use as a discus -like throwing weapon originated in a short prose story in Captain America Comics #3, written by Stan Lee in his professional debut as a writer. Timely's publication of Captain America Comics led the company to be targeted with threatening letters and phone calls from
32195-450: The development of the "Super-Soldier Serum". Though the serum successfully enhances Rogers to the peak to human physical perfection, a Nazi spy posing as a military observer destroys the remaining supply of the serum and assassinates its inventor , foiling plans to produce additional super soldiers. Rogers is given a patriotic uniform and shield by the American government and becomes the costumed superhero Captain America. He goes on to fight
32430-547: The direct market in 1982. These changes in policy shaped the future of the medium as a whole, and in the short term allowed DC to entice creators away from rival Marvel, and encourage stability on individual titles. In November 1980 DC launched the ongoing series The New Teen Titans , by writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Pérez , two popular talents with a history of success. Their superhero-team comic, superficially similar to Marvel's ensemble series X-Men , but rooted in DC history, earned significant sales in part due to
32665-512: The distribution of NPP's shows. A 1966 Batman TV show on the ABC network sparked a temporary spike in comic book sales and a brief fad for superheroes in Saturday morning animation ( Filmation produced most of DC's initial cartoons) and other media. DC significantly lightened the tone of many of its comics—particularly Batman and Detective Comics —to better complement the "camp" tone of
32900-723: The end of 2009. By 2007, DC was licensing characters from the Archie Comics imprint Red Circle Comics . They appeared in the Red Circle line, based in the DC Universe, with a series of one-shots followed by a miniseries that led into two ongoing titles that each lasted for ten issues. In 2011, DC rebooted all of its running titles following the Flashpoint storyline. The reboot called The New 52 gave new origin stories and costume designs to many of DC's characters. DC licensed pulp characters including Doc Savage and
33135-401: The end of the decade, in 1939, Batman was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger . During the 1940s there were many superheroes: The Flash , Green Lantern and Blue Beetle debuted in this era. This era saw the debut of one of the earliest female superheroes, writer-artist Fletcher Hanks 's character Fantomah , an ageless ancient Egyptian woman in the modern day who could transform into
33370-450: The example of Atlas/Seaboard Comics and such independent companies as Eclipse Comics —DC began to offer royalties in place of the industry-standard work-for-hire agreement in which creators worked for a flat fee and signed away all rights, giving talent a financial incentive tied to the success of their work. As it happened, the implementation of these incentives proved opportune considering Marvel Comics' Editor-in-Chief, Jim Shooter ,
33605-824: The final days of World War II, where he spent decades frozen in ice in a state of suspended animation before being found and recovered. Captain America solo stories written by Lee with Kirby as the primary penciller were published in the anthology Tales of Suspense alongside solo stories focused on fellow Avengers member Iron Man beginning in November 1964; the character also appeared in Lee and Kirby's World War II-set Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos beginning in December same year. These runs introduced and retroactively established several new companions of Captain America, including Nick Fury , Peggy Carter , and Sharon Carter . In 1966, Joe Simon sued Marvel Comics, asserting that he
33840-515: The first black superhero to star in his own series . In 1989, the Monica Rambeau incarnation of Captain Marvel was the first female black superhero from a major publisher to get her own title in a special one-shot issue. In 1971, Red Wolf became the first Native American in the superheroic tradition to headline a series. In 1973, Shang-Chi became the first prominent Asian superhero to star in an American comic book ( Kato had been
34075-425: The first Timely character to debut with his own ongoing series without having first appeared in an anthology . Simon sought to have Jack Kirby be the primary artist on the series: the two developed a working relationship and friendship in the late 1930s after working together at Fox Feature Syndicate , and had previously developed characters for Timely together. Kirby also shared Simon's pro-intervention views, and
34310-463: The first comic book to feature the character archetype later known as the "superhero", Action Comics was a sales hit that brought to life a new age of comic books, now affectionately termed the "Golden Age" . Action Comics #1 is credited as featuring the first appearance of Superman, both on the cover illustration and inside the issue, and is now one of the most valuable and sought-after comic book issues of all time. The first Superman tale included
34545-454: The first entity to commercialize the phrase "super hero" when it registered the mark in connection with Halloween costumes. In 1972, Mego Corporation , an American toy company, attempted to register the mark "World's Greatest Superheroes" in connection with its line of action figures. Mego Corporation’s attempted registration led Ben Cooper, Inc. to sue Mego Corporation for trademark infringement. Due to its financial struggles, Mego Corporation
34780-686: The first mention of Batman's utility belt by Gardner Fox . Outside of DC's publishing, a character later integrated as DC was introduced by Fox Feature Syndicate named the Blue Beetle released in August 1939. Fictional cities were a common theme of DC; the first revealed city was Superman's home city of Metropolis , originally named in Action Comics No. 16 (September 1939). Detective Comics No. 31 (September 1939) by Gardner Fox, Bob Kane and Sheldon Moldoff introduced
35015-639: The first recurring Superman enemy referred to as the Ultra-Humanite ; created by Siegel and Shuster, this is commonly cited as one of the earliest supervillains in comic books. The Superman character had another breakthrough when he was given his own comic book series , which was previously unheard of. The first issue, published in June 1939, helped directly introduce Superman's adoptive parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent , also created by Siegel and Shuster. Detective Comics No. 29 (July 1939) included
35250-503: The groundwork for a full continuity-reshuffling sequel to Crisis on Infinite Earths , promising substantial changes to the DC Universe (and side-stepping the 1994 Zero Hour event which similarly tried to ret-con the history of the DCU). In 2005, the critically lauded Batman Begins film was released; also, the company published several limited series establishing increasingly escalating conflicts among DC's heroes, with events climaxing in
35485-413: The heavy use of speed lines . The first issue of Captain America Comics sold out in a matter of days, and the second issue's print run was set at over one million copies. Captain America quickly became Timely's most popular character, with the publisher creating an official Captain America fan club called the "Sentinels of Liberty". Circulation figures remained close to a million copies per month after
35720-458: The hero's name, but felt there were already multiple comic book characters with "super" in their names. He worked out the details of the character, who was eventually named "Captain America", after he completed sketches in consultation with Goodman. The hero's civilian name "Steve Rogers" was derived from the telegraphy term " roger ", meaning "message received". Goodman elected to launch Captain America with his own self-titled comic book, making him
35955-479: The hypothetical heteronormative male audience. Villains, such as Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy , use their sexuality to take advantage of their male victims. In the film versions of these characters, their sexuality and seductive methods are highlighted. Poison Ivy uses seduction through poison to take over the minds of her victims as seen in the 1997 film Batman and Robin . Harley Quinn in 2016's Suicide Squad uses her sexuality to her advantage, acting in
36190-470: The idea of a masked avenger and the superhero trope of a secret identity . Over the next few decades, masked and costumed pulp fiction characters such as Jimmie Dale/The Grey Seal (1914), Zorro (1919), Buck Rogers (1928), The Shadow (1930), and Flash Gordon (1934), and comic strip heroes such as the Phantom (1936), began appearing, as did non-costumed characters with super strength , including
36425-467: The latter, complete with a domino mask and a cape, became influential for the myriad of masked rogues in penny dreadfuls and dime novels . The vigilantes of the American Old West also became an influence to the superhero. Several vigilantes during this time period hid their identities using masks. In frontier communities where de jure law was not yet matured, people sometimes took
36660-472: The law into their own hands with makeshift masks made out of sacks . Vigilante mobs and gangs like the San Diego Vigilantes and the Bald Knobbers became infamous throughout that Old West era. Such masked vigilantism later inspired fictional masked crimefighters in American story-telling, beginning with the character Deadwood Dick in 1877. The word superhero dates back to 1899. The 1903 British play The Scarlet Pimpernel and its spinoffs popularized
36895-419: The likes of Batwoman in 1956, Supergirl , Miss Arrowette , and Bat-Girl ; all female derivatives of established male superheroes. In 1957 Japan, Shintoho produced the first film serial featuring the superhero character Super Giant , signaling a shift in Japanese popular culture towards tokusatsu masked superheroes over kaiju giant monsters. Along with Astro Boy , the Super Giant serials had
37130-446: The line was dramatically reduced and standard-size books returned to 17-page stories but for a still increased 40 cents. By 1980, the books returned to 50 cents with a 25-page story count but the story pages replaced house ads in the books. Seeking new ways to boost market share , the new team of publisher Kahn, vice president Paul Levitz , and managing editor Giordano addressed the issue of talent instability. To that end—and following
37365-483: The long-running fantasy series Elfquest , previously self-published by creators Wendy and Richard Pini under their WaRP Graphics publication banner. This series then followed another non-DC title, Tower Comics ' series T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents , in collection into DC Archive Editions. In 2004, DC temporarily acquired the North American publishing rights to graphic novels from European publishers 2000 AD and Humanoids . It also rebranded its younger-audience titles with
37600-524: The magazine King of the Monsters in 1977 describing Godzilla as "Superhero of the '70s." In 1971, Kamen Rider launched the "Henshin Boom" on Japanese television in the early 1970s, greatly impacting the tokusatsu superhero genre in Japan. In 1972, the Science Ninja Team Gatchaman anime debuted, which built upon the superhero team idea of the live-action Phantom Agents as well as introducing different colors for team members and special vehicles to support them, said vehicles could also combine into
37835-502: The major DC characters. Crisis featured many key deaths that shaped the DC Universe for the following decades, and it separated the timeline of DC publications into pre- and post-"Crisis". Meanwhile, a parallel update had started in the non-superhero and horror titles. Since early 1984, the work of British writer Alan Moore had revitalized the horror series The Saga of the Swamp Thing , and soon numerous British writers, including Neil Gaiman and Grant Morrison , began freelancing for
38070-402: The mantle of Captain America and assumes the title of " Nomad ", the "man without a country". He eventually re-assumes the title, and later declines an offer from the "New Populist Party" to run for president himself. He again abandons the mantle of Captain America to briefly assume the alias of " The Captain " when a government commission orders him to work directly for the U.S. government. In
38305-399: The mark in connection with comic books, and were granted the mark by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in 1981. In the years leading up to the assignment of the mark, both DC and Marvel battled to register various trademarks involving the phrase “superhero.” However, DC and Marvel quickly discovered that they could only register marks involving the phrase "superhero" if
38540-401: The mascot Johnny DC and established the CMX imprint to reprint translated manga . In 2006, CMX took over from Dark Horse Comics ' publication of the webcomic Megatokyo in print form. DC also took advantage of the demise of Kitchen Sink Press and acquired the rights to much of the work of Will Eisner , such as his The Spirit series and his graphic novels. In 2004, DC began laying
38775-413: The most popular and recognized Marvel Comics characters , and has been described as an icon of American popular culture . Though Captain America was not the first United States–themed superhero , he would become the most popular and enduring of the many patriotic American superheroes created during World War II. Captain America was the first Marvel character to appear in a medium outside of comic books, in
39010-408: The most popular superhero titles continued publication, including Action Comics and Detective Comics , the medium's two longest-running titles. In the mid-1950s, editorial director Irwin Donenfeld and publisher Liebowitz directed editor Julius Schwartz (whose roots lay in the science-fiction book market) to produce a one-shot Flash story in the try-out title Showcase . Instead of reviving
39245-464: The most significant storylines appearing in Gruenwald's run was " The Choice " in 1987, in which Steve Rogers renounces the identity of Captain America to briefly become simply "The Captain" after the United States government orders him to continue his superheroic activities directly under their control. After Gruenwald departed the series, writer Mark Waid and artist Ron Garney began to author Captain America in 1995. Despite early acclaim, including
39480-432: The new Spider-Man after the apparent death of the original Spider-Man, Peter Parker . Kamala Khan , a Pakistani-American Muslim teenager who is revealed to have Inhuman lineage after her shapeshifting powers manifested, takes on the identity of Ms. Marvel in 2014 after Carol Danvers had become Captain Marvel. Her self-titled comic book series became a cultural phenomenon, with extensive media coverage by CNN ,
39715-415: The old character, Schwartz had writers Robert Kanigher and John Broome , penciler Carmine Infantino , and inker Joe Kubert create an entirely new super-speedster, updating and modernizing the Flash's civilian identity, costume, and origin with a science-fiction bent. The Flash's reimagining in Showcase No. 4 (October 1956) proved sufficiently popular that it soon led to a similar revamping of
39950-461: The only Captain America stories he would ever directly write. While Captain America generated acclaim and industry fame for Simon and Kirby, the pair believed that Goodman was withholding the promised percentage of profits for the series, prompting Simon to seek employment for himself and Kirby at National Comics Publications. When Goodman learned of Simon and Kirby's intentions, he effectively fired them from Timely Comics, telling them they were to leave
40185-411: The original 56-year copyright term has expired. Marvel challenged the claim, arguing that Simon's 1966 settlement made the character ineligible for copyright transfer. Simon and Marvel settled out of court in 2003, in a deal that paid Simon royalties for merchandising and licensing of the character. Writer and artist Dan Jurgens took over Captain America from Waid in 2000, positioning the character in
40420-412: The other imprints was Impact Comics from 1991 to 1992 in which the Archie Comics superheroes were licensed and revamped. The stories in the line were part of its own shared universe. DC entered into a publishing agreement with Milestone Media that gave DC a line of comics featuring a culturally and racially diverse range of superhero characters. Although the Milestone line ceased publication after
40655-425: The pages of several popular superhero titles from the late 1950s onward: Hal Jordan 's love interest Carol Ferris was introduced as the Vice-President of Ferris Aircraft and later took over the company from her father; Medusa , who was first introduced in the Fantastic Four series, is a member of the Inhuman Royal Family and a prominent statesperson within her people's quasi-feudal society; and Carol Danvers ,
40890-420: The past decade following the rise of comic book characters in the film industry (Marvel/DC movies). Women are presented differently than their male counterparts, typically wearing revealing clothing that showcases their curves and cleavage and showing a lot of skin in some cases. Heroes like Power Girl and Wonder Woman are portrayed wearing little clothing and showing cleavage. Power Girl is portrayed as wearing
41125-441: The peak of human physical perfection. His physical conditioning is superior to any Olympic athlete who ever competed. He is additionally an master tactician and field commander, and has achieved mastery in a variety of hand-to-hand combat styles, including boxing and judo . The precise parameters of Captain America's physical prowess vary across stories due to editorial dictates and artistic license taken by authors; Steve Englehart
41360-406: The phrase referenced their own company or a character associated with their company. As a result, DC and Marvel decided to become joint owners of the "superhero" trademark. Although many consumers likely see DC and Marvel as competitors, the two comic book publishing giants are allies when it comes to protecting the trademark "superhero" and variants thereof. Although joint ownership in a trademark
41595-419: The power of a god, but was still drawn to a much weaker, mortal male character. This can be explained by the sociological concept "feminine apologetic," which reinforces a woman's femininity to account for her masculine attributes (strength, individualism, toughness, aggressiveness, bravery). Women in comic books are considered to be misrepresented due to being created by men, for men. The Hawkeye Initiative
41830-520: The public, and policing unauthorized uses. However, misuse by the public alone does not necessarily cause a trademark to become generic if the primary significance of the term is still to indicate a particular source. Some legal experts argue that, like the once-trademarked terms "aspirin" and "yo-yo," the term "superhero" now primarily refers to a general type of character with extraordinary abilities, rather than characters originating from specific publishers. In keeping with their origins as representing
42065-413: The reintroduction of Captain America's love interest Sharon Carter, their run was terminated after ten issues as a result of Marvel's " Heroes Reborn " rebranding in 1996. The rebrand saw artists Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld , who had left the company in the early 1990s to establish Image Comics , return to Marvel to re-imagine several of the company's characters. Marvel faced various financial difficulties in
42300-415: The series from 1985 to 1995. Various artists illustrated the series over the course of Gruenwald's decade-long run, including Paul Neary from 1985 to 1987, and Kieron Dwyer from 1988 to 1990. In contrast to DeMatteis, Gruenwald placed less emphasis on Steve Rogers' life as a civilian, wishing to show "that Steve Rogers is Captain America first [...] he has no greater needs than being Captain America." Among
42535-495: The series was also re-titled Captain America beginning with issue 223 in 1978. Owing to the series' lack of a regular writer, Captain America editor Roger Stern and artist John Byrne authored the series from 1980 to 1981. Their run that saw a storyline in which Captain America declines an offer to run for president of the United States. Following Stern and Byrne, Captain America was authored by writer J.M. Dematteis and artist Mike Zeck from 1981 to 1984. Their run featured
42770-406: The series was cover titled as Captain America and the Falcon beginning February 1971, which it would maintain for the next seven and a half years. These political shifts were significantly shaped by comics created by writer Steve Englehart and artist Sal Buscema , who joined the series in 1972. In a 1974 storyline written by Englehart directly inspired by the Watergate scandal , Captain America
43005-409: The series, and was replaced by Gene Colan . In 1969, writer and artist Jim Steranko authored a three-issue run of Captain America . Despite the brevity of Steranko's time on the series, his contributions significantly influenced how Captain America was represented in post-war comics, reestablishing the character's secret identity and introducing a more experimental art style to the series. "This
43240-399: The span of multiple decades. However, Stevens identifies two aspects of the character's personality that have remained consistent across expressions: his "uncompromising purity" and "his ability to judge the character in others". Early Captain America stories typically paid little attention to Rogers' civilian identity; in his 1970 book The Steranko History of Comics , Jim Steranko notes that
43475-449: The specific inducement, Marvel Comics' writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby ushered in the sub-Silver Age "Marvel Age" of comics with the debut issue of The Fantastic Four . Reportedly, DC dismissed the initial success of Marvel's editorial change until its consistently strengthening sales—albeit also benefiting DC's parent company Independent News, as Marvel's distributor—made it impossible to ignore. This commercial situation
43710-441: The spirit of the Cold War and McCarthyism , the character was billed as "Captain America, Commie Smasher" and faced enemies associated with the Soviet Union . The series was a commercial failure, and was cancelled after just three issues. Romita attributed the series' failure to the changing political climate, particularly the public opposition to the Korean War ; the character subsequently fell out of active publication for nearly
43945-446: The stability of the creative team, who both continued with the title for six full years. In addition, Wolfman and Pérez took advantage of the limited-series option to create a spin-off title, Tales of the New Teen Titans , to present origin stories of their original characters without having to break the narrative flow of the main series or oblige them to double their work load with another ongoing title. This successful revitalization of
44180-490: The stock market in 1961. Despite the official names "National Comics" and "National Periodical Publications", the company began branding itself as "Superman-DC" as early as 1940 and became known colloquially as DC Comics for years before the official adoption of that name in 1977. DC Comics began to move aggressively against what it saw as copyright-violating imitations from other companies, such as Fox Comics ' Wonder Man , which (according to court testimony) Fox started as
44415-441: The successful Batwoman , Bat-Girl , Ace the Bat-Hound , and Bat-Mite in an attempt to modernize the strip with non-science-fiction elements. Schwartz and Infantino then revitalized Batman in what the company promoted as the "New Look", with relatively down-to-earth stories re-emphasizing Batman as a detective. Meanwhile, editor Kanigher successfully introduced a whole family of Wonder Woman characters having fantastic adventures in
44650-435: The superhero supergroups featured at least one (and often the only) female member, much like DC's flagship superhero team the Justice League of America (whose initial roster included Wonder Woman as the token female ); examples include the Fantastic Four 's Invisible Girl , the X-Men 's Jean Grey (originally known as Marvel Girl ), the Avengers ' Wasp , and the Brotherhood of Mutants ' Scarlet Witch (who later joined
44885-410: The term "SUPER HERO" trademark is at risk of becoming generic. Courts have noted that determining whether a term has become generic is a highly factual inquiry not suitable for resolution without considering evidence like dictionary definitions, media usage, and consumer surveys. Trademark owners can take steps to prevent genericide , such as using the trademark with the generic product name, educating
45120-412: The title of the 1940s publication ), designed to feature some of the company's best-known characters in stories that eschewed the long and convoluted continuity of the DC Universe. The line began with All-Star Batman & Robin the Boy Wonder and All-Star Superman , and All-Star Wonder Woman and All-Star Batgirl was announced in 2006, but neither of these stories had been released or scheduled as of
45355-421: The two companies also own a variety of other superhero-related marks. For instance, DC owns "Legion of Super-Heroes" and " DC Super Hero Girls " and Marvel owns “Marvel Super Hero Island" and "Marvel Super Hero Adventures." DC and Marvel have garnered a reputation for zealously protecting their superhero marks. As noted above, one of these instances included a man by the name of Graham Jules, who sought to publish
45590-442: The typically ephemeral nature of comic book deaths , until he returned in 2005 as the Winter Soldier. Initially introduced as a brainwashed assassin and antagonist to Captain America, Bucky's memories and personality were later restored, and he was re-established as an ally to Steve Rogers. Rick Jones briefly assumed the role of Captain America's sidekick and the public identity of Bucky following Captain America's return to comics in
45825-619: The use of deadly force across his editorial history "is perhaps a tacit acknowledgment of the violence, or the threat of violence, at the heart of American hegemony." "Cap is one of the hardest hero characters to write, because the writer cannot use some exotic super-power to make his episodes seem colorful. [...] All he has to serve him are his extraordinary combat skills, his shield, and his unquenchable love for freedom and justice." – Stan Lee The Super-Soldier Serum has enhanced Captain America's strength, speed, agility, endurance, reflexes, reaction time, and natural self-healing ability to
46060-422: The use of non-traditional contractual arrangements, including the dramatic rise of creator-owned projects, leading to a significant increase in critically lauded work (much of it for Vertigo) and the licensing of material from other companies. DC also increased publication of book-store friendly formats, including trade paperback collections of individual serial comics, as well as original graphic novels . One of
46295-452: The villainous Red Skull and other members of the Axis powers both domestically and abroad, alongside his sidekick Bucky Barnes and as a member of the Invaders . In the final days of the war, Rogers and Barnes seemingly perish after falling from an experimental drone plane into the northern Atlantic Ocean . Rogers is found decades later by the superhero team the Avengers , the Super-Soldier Serum having allowed him to survive frozen in
46530-498: The weakest member of her team a decade ago. Both major American publishers began introducing new superheroines with a more distinct feminist theme as part of their origin stories or character development. Examples include Big Barda , Power Girl , and the Huntress by DC comics; and from Marvel, the second Black Widow , Shanna the She-Devil , and The Cat . Female supporting characters who were successful professionals or hold positions of authority in their own right also debuted in
46765-401: The writers and artists who had worked for DC without receiving much recognition during the early age of comic books when individual credits were rare. The comics industry experienced a brief boom in the early 1990s, thanks to a combination of speculative purchasing—mass purchase of the books as collectible items, with the intention to resell at a higher value (as the rising value of older issues
47000-454: Was "hated by everyone in the free world", and that it would be a unique approach for a superhero to face a real-life adversary rather than a fictional one. This approach was also intentionally political. Simon was stridently opposed to the actions of Nazi Germany and supported U.S. intervention in World War II , and intended the hero to be a response to the American non-interventionism movement . Simon initially considered "Super American" for
47235-426: Was accompanied by the miniseries Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America written by Jeph Loeb; the character was later revived in the 2009 limited series Captain America: Reborn . Brubaker's run on Captain America , which ran across various titles until 2012, was critically and commercially acclaimed; Captain America #25 (which contains the character's death) was the best-selling comic of 2007, and Brubaker won
47470-412: Was alienating much of his company's creative staff with his authoritarian manner and major talents there went to DC like Roy Thomas , Gene Colan , Marv Wolfman , and George Pérez . In addition, emulating the era's new television form, the miniseries while addressing the matter of an excessive number of ongoing titles fizzling out within a few issues of their start, DC created the industry concept of
47705-457: Was born in the 1920s to an impoverished family on the Lower East Side of New York City . The frail and infirm Rogers attempts to join the U.S. Army in order to fight in the Second World War , but is rejected after being deemed unfit for military service. His resolve is nevertheless noticed by the military, and he is recruited as the first test subject for "Project Rebirth", a secret government program that seeks to create super soldiers through
47940-406: Was changed to its current circular design due to a complaint from MLJ Comics that the original design too closely resembled the chest symbol of their superhero The Shield . The shield is depicted as constructed from an alloy of vibranium and adamantium , two highly resilient fictional metals appearing in Marvel comic books. It is portrayed as both a virtually indestructible defensive object and
48175-444: Was charging fifteen cents. At this time, the senior DC staff were reportedly unable to explain how this small publishing house was achieving its increasingly threatening commercial strength. For instance, when Marvel's product was examined in a meeting, the emphasis on more sophisticated character-based narrative and artist-driven visual storytelling was apparently overlooked. Instead, superficial reasons were put forward to account for
48410-415: Was discontinued in 1950. The character saw a short-lived revival in 1953 before returning to comics in 1964, and has since remained in continuous publication. Captain America's creation as an explicitly anti-Nazi figure was a deliberately political undertaking: Simon and Kirby were stridently opposed to the actions of Nazi Germany and supporters of U.S. intervention in World War II, with Simon conceiving of
48645-628: Was featured in Detective Comics No. 20 (October 1938). This character is known to be the first masked vigilante published by DC. An unnamed "office boy", retconned as Jimmy Olsen 's first appearance, was revealed in a Superman story by Siegel and Shuster in Action Comics No. 6 (November 1938). Starting in 1939, Siegel and Shuster's Superman was the first comic-derived character to appear in other formats, later featuring in his own newspaper comic strip , which first introduced his biological parents Jor-El and Lara . All-American Publications' debut comic series, All-American Comics ,
48880-417: Was fired after he refused to take a lower pay rate amid Marvel's bankruptcy proceedings. Waid would return to Captain America in 1998, initially with Garney as arist and later with Andy Kubert . In 1999, Joe Simon filed to claim the copyright to Captain America under a provision of the Copyright Act of 1976 that allows the original creators of works that have been sold to corporations to reclaim them after
49115-684: Was first named in a Superman newspaper strip around November 1939. Doll Man was the first superhero to be produced by Quality Comics , which DC now owns. Fawcett Comics was formed around 1939 and became DC's original competitor company over the next decade. At the end of 1944, All-American titles began using its own logo to distinguish it from the National comics. All-American Publications , an affiliate concern co-owned by Gaines and Liebowitz, merged with Detective Comics, Inc. on September 30, 1946, forming National Comics Publications . The previous year, in June 1945, Gaines had allowed Liebowitz to buy him out and had retained only Picture Stories from
49350-411: Was first published in April 1939. The series Detective Comics made history as being the first to feature Batman —a Bob Kane and Bill Finger creation—in issue No.27 (March 1939) with the request of more superhero titles. Batman was depicted as a masked vigilante who wore a caped suit known as the Batsuit and drove a car that was later referred to as the Batmobile . The Batman story also included
49585-581: Was forced out after the first year. Shortly afterwards, Detective Comics, Inc. purchased the remains of National Allied (also known as Nicholson Publishing) at a bankruptcy auction and absorbed it. Meanwhile, Max Gaines formed the sister company All-American Publications in 1939. Detective Comics, Inc. soon launched a new anthology title called Action Comics ; the first issue , cover dated June 1938, featured new characters such as Superman by Siegel and Shuster, Zatara by Fred Guardineer , and Tex Thompson by Ken Finch and Bernard Baily . Considered as
49820-466: Was frequently debated by readers in the letters to the editor section in Captain America . Marvel maintained a position of neutrality on Vietnam; in 1971, Stan Lee wrote in an editorial that a poll indicated that a majority of readers did not want Captain America to be involved in Vietnam, adding that he believed the character "simply doesn't lend himself to the John Wayne -type character he once was" and that he could not "see any of our characters taking on
50055-464: Was given an editorial order to give the character superhuman strength in the 1970s, but the change did not remain permanent and was soon forgotten. Steve Rogers is also a skilled visual artist, having worked as a commercial illustrator prior to joining the military, and several storylines have depicted the character working as a freelance artist. The basic design of Captain America's costume has remained largely consistent from its original incarnation in
50290-439: Was grabbing all of Europe, we had Nazis in America, Nazis holding mass meetings in Madison Square Garden . [...] Captain America was created in that atmosphere, he was a natural outgrowth of the passionate mood of the country." – Jack Kirby In 1940, Timely Comics publisher Martin Goodman responded to the growing popularity of superhero comics – particularly Superman at rival publisher National Comics Publications ,
50525-418: Was highlighted by Marvel's superior sell-through percentage numbers which were typically 70% to DC's roughly 50%, meaning that DC's publications were barely making a profit after returns from the distributors were factored in, while Marvel was making a healthy profit by comparison. Also in 1961, both DC and Marvel increased their cover price from ten cents to twelve cents, while the rival publisher Dell Comics
50760-411: Was highly acclaimed, bringing Captain America from one of Marvel's lowest-selling titles to its top-selling comic, and the conflict between America as it idealizes itself to be and America in reality would recur frequently as a theme in Captain America comics in the subsequent decades. In 1975, Roy Thomas created the comic book series The Invaders . Set during World War II, the comic focuses on
50995-494: Was in All Star Comics #8 (Dec. 1941), published by All-American Publications , one of two companies that would merge to form DC Comics in 1944. Pérák was an urban legend originating from the city of Prague during the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in the midst of World War II . In the decades following the war, Pérák has also been portrayed as the only Czech superhero in film and comics. In 1952, Osamu Tezuka 's manga Tetsuwan Atom , more popularly known in
51230-457: Was in response to Marvel's efforts to market their superhero line to college-aged adults. Infantino also recruited major talents such as ex-Marvel artist and Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko , and promising newcomers Neal Adams and Denny O'Neil , and he replaced some existing DC editors with artist-editors, including Joe Kubert and Dick Giordano , to give DC's output a more artistic critical eye. In 1967, National Periodical Publications
51465-501: Was introduced as a villainous Captain America in 1988, and Isaiah Bradley was established in the 2003 limited series Truth: Red, White & Black as an African American man who acquired superpowers after being used as a test subject for the Super-Soldier Serum. Rogers' sidekicks Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson have also alternately held the title of Captain America: Barnes in 2008 following Rogers' death in 2007 , and Wilson following Marvel's 2012 rebranding campaign Marvel Now! . Within
51700-462: Was legally entitled to renew the copyright on the character upon the expiration of the original 28-year term. The two parties settled out of court, with Simon agreeing to a statement that the character had been created under terms of employment by the publisher, and was therefore work for hire owned by the company. Captain America's self-titled ongoing series was relaunched in April 1968, with Lee as writer and Kirby as penciller; Kirby later departed
51935-426: Was not the first United States-themed superhero – a distinction that belongs to The Shield at MLJ Comics – he would become the most popular patriotic American superhero of those created during World War II. Captain America's popularity drew a complaint from MLJ that the character's triangular heater shield too closely resembled the chest symbol of The Shield. This prompted Goodman to direct Simon and Kirby to change
52170-517: Was particularly drawn to the character in this regard. Goodman, conversely, wanted a team of artists on the series. It was ultimately determined that Kirby would serve as penciller , with Al Avison and Al Gabriele assisting as inkers ; Simon additionally negotiated for himself and Kirby to receive 25 percent of the profits from the comic. Simon regards Kirby as a co-creator of Captain America, stating that "if Kirby hadn't drawn it, it might not have been much of anything." Captain America Comics #1
52405-419: Was plagiarized by Stan Lee to create The X-Men . There was also the young Jim Shooter who purposely emulated Marvel's writing when he wrote for DC after studying both companies' styles, such as for the Legion of Super-Heroes feature. In 1966, National Periodical Publications established its own television arm, led by Allen Ducovny, to develop and produce TV projects, with Superman TV Corporation handling
52640-424: Was published on December 20, 1940, with a cover date of March 1941. While the front cover of the issue featured Captain America punching Hitler, the comic itself established the Red Skull as Captain America's primary adversary, and also introduced Bucky Barnes as Captain America's teenaged sidekick . Simon stated that he personally regarded Captain America's origin story , in which the frail Steve Rogers becomes
52875-456: Was purchased by Kinney National Company , which purchased Warner Bros.-Seven Arts in 1969. Kinney National spun off its non-entertainment assets in 1972 (as National Kinney Corporation ) and changed its name to Warner Communications Inc. In 1970, Jack Kirby moved from Marvel Comics to DC, at the end of the Silver Age of Comics , in which Kirby's contributions to Marvel played a large, integral role. As artist Gil Kane described: Jack
53110-821: Was replaced by a version of himself later known as "Hydra Supreme", loyal to the villainous organization Hydra , culminating in the 2017 crossover event Secret Empire . As part of Marvel's Fresh Start rebrand in 2018, a new Captain America series written by Ta-Nehisi Coates with art by Leinil Francis Yu was published from 2018 to 2021. A new volume of Captain America written by J. Michael Straczynski began publication in September 2023. As of 2015, Captain America has appeared in more than ten thousand stories in more than five thousand media formats, including comic books, books, and trade publications. The character's origin story has been retold and revised multiple times throughout his editorial history, though its broad details have remained generally consistent. Steven "Steve" Rogers
53345-432: Was revived in modern times. He resumes his exploits as a costumed hero and becomes leader of the superhero team the Avengers , but frequently struggles as a "man out of time" to adjust to the new era. The character quickly emerged as Timely's most popular and commercially successful wartime creation upon his original publication, though the popularity of superheroes declined in the post-war period and Captain America Comics
53580-424: Was the '70s – prime anti-war years – and here was a guy with a flag on his chest who was supposed to represent what most people distrusted. No one knew what to do with him." – Steve Englehart In contrast to the character's enthusiastic participation in World War II, comics featuring Captain America rarely broached the topic of the Vietnam War , though the subject of Captain America's potential participation
53815-405: Was the introduction of the fictional mansion known as Wayne Manor first seen in Detective Comics No. 28 (June 1939). The series Adventure Comics followed in the footsteps of Action Comics and Detective Comics by featuring a new recurring superhero called Sandman who first appeared in Adventure Comics No. 40 (July 1939). Action Comics No. 13 (June 1939) introduced
54050-417: Was the single most influential figure in the turnaround in Marvel's fortunes from the time he rejoined the company ... It wasn't merely that Jack conceived most of the characters that are being done, but ... Jack's point of view and philosophy of drawing became the governing philosophy of the entire publishing company and, beyond the publishing company, of the entire field ... [Marvel took] Jack and use[d] him as
54285-408: Was thought to imply that all comics would rise dramatically in price)—and several storylines gaining attention from the mainstream media. DC's extended storylines in which Superman was killed , Batman was crippled , and Green Lantern turned into the supervillain Parallax , resulted in dramatically increased sales. However, the increases were temporary, and sales dropped off as the industry went into
54520-421: Was to convince Bill Sarnoff, the head of Warner Publishing, to keep DC as a publishing concern, as opposed to simply managing their licensing of their properties. With that established, DC had attempted to compete with the now-surging Marvel by dramatically increasing its output and attempting to win the market by flooding it. This included launching series featuring such new characters as Firestorm and Shade,
54755-404: Was unexpected as Marvel and DC had filed a motion to extend time to answer. There is an ongoing debate among legal scholars and in the courts about whether the term "superhero" has become genericized due to its widespread use in popular culture, similar to terms like "aspirin" or "escalator" which lost their trademark protection and became generic terms for their respective products. Some argue
54990-449: Was unlike many comic book series before it. While DC Comics is now primarily associated with superhero comics , the genres in the first anthology titles consisted of funnies , Western comics , and adventure-related stories. The character Doctor Occult —created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in December 1935 and included in issue No. 6 of New Fun Comics —is considered to be the earliest recurring superhero created by DC that
55225-467: Was unwilling to defend itself against Ben Cooper Inc.'s suit. As a result, in 1977, Mego Corporation jointly assigned its interest in the trademark to DC Comics , Inc. ("DC") and Marvel Comics ("Marvel"). Due to the financial prowess of DC and Marvel, Ben Cooper, Inc. decided to withdraw its trademark opposition and jointly assigned its interest in the "World's Greatest Super Heroes" mark to DC and Marvel. Two years later in 1979, DC and Marvel applied for
#906093