Superhero comics’ earliest rise to prominence occurred at the height of World War II — so it’s no surprise that the Nazi party became fodder for all sorts of spandex-clad superheroes, from their early days all the way up to 2017. As a reminder, here’s a few of the most famous examples of fictional heroes rising up to tackle a very real evil.
Image: DC Comics. DC Comics Special #29 cover art by Neal Adams and Cory Adams
In the wake of last weekend’s horrific white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, people all over the world — except for, seemingly, Donald Trump — looked to condemn the resurgence of fascist and neo-Nazi ideology at an event that ultimately lead to the death of a counter-protester. Among them was comics writer Gail Simone, who established the hashtag #ComicsHatesNazis to serve as a reminder that superheroes and their creators have helped fight back against hateful ideologies for decades. There’s many, many examples out there, but here’s just a sampling of a few of the very best fascist-busting moments from some iconic comics heroes.
From Fiorello La Guardia’s impassioned defence of Captain America creators Jack Kirby and Joe Simon from Nazi sympathisers, to America Chavez clocking Hitler himself in the pages of her new comic 76 years later, superheroes’ fight against the evils of Nazism is a long story, one that’s still going on today in 2017.
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7 responses to “Superhero Comics’ Long History Of Beating Up Nazis”
Beating up Nazi’s is always a good thing no matter the context.
Very true. It’s good to introduce kids to it early so it becomes second nature.
I agree, we need to teach kids to punch Nazi’s and eat Communists.
There’s also a lot of the same characters advocating freedom of speech, no matter if it’s right or wrong. But of course none of those panels are mentioned anywhere in videos or articles.
We need to be teaching the next generation that violence is not the answer, and also that not everyone you disagree with are “Nazi”. Yes, there are White Supremacists, but they do not deserve to be punched. Talk them down with facts, not punch them with your fists.
I thought we were going to get smarter as time went on… Guess not.
Just for your information, that didn’t work too well when it was tried in early 20th century Italy and Germany.
Turns out authoritarians aren’t exactly big on ‘facts’.
And yes, White Supremacists deserve to be punched, as does anyone else who advocates genocide. If you don’t get that, then you’re either someone so cocooned in privilege that you’d rather get a buzz out of false moral superiority than consider the actual consequences of your views, or you’re someone who secretly agrees with them.
Why don’t you try it? Go to r/donald or a similar lair of cockroaches and see how much attention they pay to your logic and facts. Then try to imagine how much worse would it be if you were there, in person, facing a bunch of thuggish jocks wielding torches and hate symbols, high on testoterone, adrenaline and herd mentality. Then, make an ever higher effort of imagination and try to think how it’d be if you were actually one of the minorities whom they are literally chanting to make extinct or subservient.
Is it just me or are Americans a little over-the-top about Nazi’s?
Could it be that they have a social, sub-conscious guilt over the majority supporting them until Perl Harbour?