Captain America and the Golden Age of Comics

1057 Words3 Pages

The Golden Age of Comics was perhaps the greatest era in comic book history. Many people loved the comics during this time period because they were all stories about good triumphing over evil. Many of these stories reflected over historical events over the time period. “Pro-American characters were popular due to the time period occuring mostly during World War II.” (PBS)
“The precise era of the Golden Age is disputed, though most agree that it was born with the launch of Superman in 1938.” (PBS) The tremendous success that Superman had created many spinoff superheroes such as Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Flash, who had superpowers and secret identities. One of these spinoffs was Captain America. Part of Timely Comics and created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, Captain America ended up being arguably the most popular superhero during the Golden Age.
Captain America is not like the average superhero. Captain America, or his alter ego Steve Rogers, was a frail young man who was chosen by scientist Abraham Erskine to be tested with his experimental serum. That experimental serum made Rogers from a weak, bony young man to being to the peak of human perfection. Right after that, a Nazi spy appeared and shot Erskine, killing him. “In order to keep Nazi spies from obtaining the serum, Erskine hadn't written down the serum's ingredients, along with much of the procedure, having instead committed it to memory.” (Comic Vine) Rogers was the only super soldier manifested. Given a patriotic costume and a shield that not only is nearly indestructable but is used as a weapon, Captain America was born.
During the time of Captain America's inception World War II was going on. “He was a superhero whose entire creation was based on aiding the...

... middle of paper ...

...erica” Comic Vine. Comic Vine, 2014, Web. Retrieved on Februaru 11, 2014 from http://www.comicvine.com/captain-america/4005-1442/
“Captain America” Marvel. Marvel, 2014, Web. Retrieved on February 11, 2014 from http://marvel.com/universe/Captain_America_(Steve_Rogers)
“Captain America Profile” Superhero Stuff. Superhero Stuff, 2014. Web. Retrieved on February 11, 2014 from http://www.superherostuff.com/biographies/captainamericabiography.html
“Red Skull” Comic Vine. Comic Vine, 2014, Web. Retrieved on February 11, 2014 from http://www.comicvine.com/red-skull/4005-2250/
“The Captain” America in WWII. America in WWII, Web, 2013. Retrieved on February 11, 2014 from http://www.americainwwii.com/articles/the-captain/
“The Golden Age of Comics” PBS. PBS, 2011 Web. Retrieved on February 11 2014 from http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/feature/the-golden-age-of-comics/

More about Captain America and the Golden Age of Comics

Open Document