From his first appearance in 1941 to the current storyline, Nazism has been of central importance to Captain America. Due to the nature of the patronym, Captain America comics have also offered a sustained engagement with the concepts of patriotism and nationalism, regularly using zealous patriots as Captain America’s “evil” double. These encounters with right-wing nationalist or obedient government agents have been an attempt to paint Captain America and the country he stands for as liberal, internationalist, and cosmopolitan. As America shifts towards a white nationalist government under Donald Trump, the comic has taken its most bold stance yet in its depiction of Nazism, and not everyone is happy…
In a lecture given at the University of Auckland, Neal Curtis looks at what Captain America can reveal to us about nationalism and fascism in the Trump era.
Neal Curtis is an Associate Professor in Media and Communication at the University of Auckland. Curtis is an expert in critical theory and comics and is the author of Sovereignty and Superheores.
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Disclaimer: The ideas expressed in this lecture reflect the views of the lecturer and not necessarily the views of The Big Q.
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