A Hero or Vigilante: A Study of Captain America Through New Historicism

Since the early 1930s the genre of comic books has featured stories to amaze, to frighten and to entertain readers. However, comic books are not just forms of entertainment, but cultural artifacts that study, mimic and bring out the attitudes of a particular period. The sphere of comic books presents unique experience with its unique characteristics. One of the most unappreciated and less researched barometers of social change is the genre of comic books. When flipping through the pages of the latest instalment of their favourite series, comic book readers are met with images of the latest fashions, music styles,, cultural memes and other trends. However, while comic books portray surface level trends of a certain time period, they also show the reader some of the more deeply held truths of their society.(1) Comic series like ‘Captain America’ has become cultural and popular icons throughout history. This character has often been associated with nationalism and humanism. The creation of the character in various roles differs throughout its publication history. Different writers have used different positions, techniques and ideological standpoints to write comics as reactions of their time and place. In the latest films and comics they show the readers Captain America’s journey from a hero to a vigilante. There is a lack of research on how cultural and political shift has caused changes in publication of Captain America comics. For that I would be using the theory of New Historicism as my framework.