Oliver Queen, also known as the Green Arrow, doesn’t just use a bow and arrow to fight criminals; his greatest weapon is his moral compass. In the comics, Green Arrow represents a push for a better tomorrow and left-leaning political change. In comparison to characters like Superman, he’s powerless. However, his unique perspective keeps him focused on the people he is protecting.
Green Arrow starts his journey as a spoiled billionaire. However, after getting stranded on a desolate island for a year, he learns the art of archery in order to survive. He uses his time on the island to self-reflect, gains perspective on how the actions of the mega-wealthy like himself hurt lower classes, and vows to redeem himself. Upon being saved, he puts his new skills to use, becoming the Green Arrow.
In 1970, the comic arc “Green Lantern and Green Arrow: Hard Traveling Heroes,” written by Dennis O’Neil, began. It portrays him as a more empathic superhero, caring more about helping cause social change and looking out for the little guy than policing the public. He stands up for poor homeowners struggling to make ends meet, fights against racism and tackles issues of drug addiction.
“‘Green Arrow: Crawling through the Wreckage’,” released in 2007, follows Oliver’s adventures as the newly elected mayor of his hometown of Star City. Rather than using his political power to support his vigilantism or further policing, he uses his powers to help progress the city in meaningful ways. He not only legalizes gay marriage in his city, but also works tirelessly to rehabilitate criminals and improve the prison system.
While superheroes like Green Lantern and Superman seek to save the world from global threats, Green Arrow fights to advance humanity, fixing the system rather than just the problems. Other heroes may provide excellent values of decency and honesty, but Green Arrow works more realistically and tirelessly to project a better tomorrow.
“Older superheroes always had to save the world and save normal citizens,” junior Maulik Agarwal said. ”Some superheroes embody more current and progressive values, but older superheroes are still relevant because they represent positive growth.”
World War II was one the most devastating conflicts the world had ever seen, and the American effort relied on comic book figures to inspire patriotism within the population. One of those figures arrived in the form of Marvel Comics’ Captain America, the Nazi-hating super-soldier.
Captain America represented the pinnacle of American values. He was handsome, tall and strong, all while being extremely smart, kind and empathetic, possessing an unique sense of hope. The character was heavily used in the U.S.’s propaganda efforts to convince young men to enlist in the war, as well as in advertising war bonds. One of the most famous covers of Captain America was in his first appearance in Captain America Comics No. 1, with the iconic image of him striking Adolf Hitler on the face.
“Captain America was very focused on World War II and the Cold War,” Special Education teacher Miguel Alderete said. “The character expresses our hopes and fears, but also changes with the times.”
Captain America’s conception was based on supporting the war effort, but after World War II ended, Marvel Comics struggled to find ways to keep the character relevant. As a result, they rebranded Captain America as “Captain America … Commie Smasher!” in 1950. They turned the character into a symbol of the anti-communist movement, representing the shifting focus of the U.S.’s animosity and the public’s fear during the Red Scare. However, Captain America’s rebranding wasn’t very well received; sales declined, leading to the comic’s cancellation for a decade.
Later, in Avengers No. 4, in 1963, the character was retconned to have been frozen in ice since World War II. After the character was brought back to join the Avengers, the anti-Soviet version of Captain America was written off as a U.S. test experiment.
The face behind Captain America’s cowl has shifted across comics history, from the original Steve Rogers to characters like Sam Wilson. In 2003, a lesser-known version of the character was released. Isaiah Bradley, an African American soldier, became the Captain America of the Korean War, after he received the super-soldier serum from U.S experiments on African Americans.
Soon after his service, Isaiah was taken into the U.S. ‘s custody, where he served a 17-year prison sentence in which he was again experimented on by corrupt officials who were prejudiced against him due to his race. Isaiah’s origin represented the infamous Tuskegee Experiments, in which African Americans were experimented on by the government to find a cure for syphilis.
Captain America was created to represent hope, freedom and patriotism. His actions and shifting ideologies, as well as the stories he is centered in, are representative of the issues at the forefront of the nation’s worries.
Superheroes’ overpowered nature has often caused these characters to come off as idealistic and distant from the un-powered readers of the comics they find a home in. Marvel Comics attempted to combat this stigma by creating characters like Spiderman, the web-slinging superhero from the bustling city of Queens, New York, to emulate regular people with regular lives.
Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, the character of Spiderman had his first appearance in August 1962 in the comic series “Amazing Fantasy,” in which the character was introduced as a dorky teenage kid who became the “friendly neighborhood” superhero. As opposed to the idealistic, all-perfect and confident hero archetypes that had been previously established in comics with characters such as Captain America and Superman, Spiderman intended to expose readers and audiences to a perspective that they could directly relate to.
In an interview, Lee reflected on how Spiderman was completely covered in a suit, allowing any kid from any background to imagine themselves in the character’s shoes. As a result, many cite Spiderman as the first hero that audiences were able to truly grow up with.
Beyond the character’s application to relatability and appeal, the character of Spiderman also provides social commentary on the polarization of economic classes, with the comics identifying disparities present between the rich and the poor. As seen in the comic, “The Amazing Spider-Man” No. 121 and 122, published in 1973, the character is faced with his narrative foil, Norman Osborn, also known as the Green Goblin, one of Spiderman’s primary villains. When comparing Osborn and Parker, the contrast depicts Osborn and his immense wealth against Parker, who is struggling to make ends meet while living with his widowed aunt. Osborn uses his wealth and high authority to his advantage when crafting his weapons and armor to fight Parker, while everything Parker uses to resist Osborn’s attacks is handmade, meticulously crafted through his own labor. The dichotomy of the two characters allegorizes the high-wealth corrupt powers of the world against the diligent labor force that strives for the overall well-being of individuals through grit and grind, rather than the easy way out.
X-men, a mutant group, was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in September 1963. The team was portrayed as the catalyst of a movement against xenophobia in not only comics but also in pop culture. The group’s mutant genes emulated those with differences that made them social outcasts, representing a message of anti-bigotry and toleration. .
The original X-men stories paralleled a time when the civil rights movement was at its peak; the activists resisting discrimination and segregation against African-Americans had a large influence on Lee and Kirby’s characters. They created the X-Men, a group of diverse superheroes who can defy discrimination and open the door to acceptance to mirror African Americans’ fight for equality.
The comics also tackled issues of discrimination outside of mutants. Erik Lensherr, also known as Magneto, is one of the most vital characters in the X-Men mythos. Not only is he one of the most powerful mutants on the planet and the face of the mutant liberation movement, but he is also a survivor of the Holocaust. His experiences with anti-semitism and genocide further fuel his rage toward mutant-phobia, as he deeply fears the new movements of hatred that he recognizes from the past. This connection also pushes mutants as a metaphor of prejudice across different time periods.
Bobby Drake, or Iceman, is one of the members of the original X-Men lineup, yet in recent years, he received a major character change; he came out as gay in All-New X-Men #40. Before his coming out, Bobby’s relationship with his parents was frequently highlighted because — like many LGBTQ+ teens — he was often forced to repress his abilities and to hide his status as a mutant. Bobby’s struggles with his mutation and his sexuality are deliberate allegories for the struggles of those who were forced to struggle against repression and prejudice. Another clear allegory is a well-known catchphrase of the X-Men: ‘Mutant and Proud’.
During World War II, increasing work opportunities were offered to women as a result of millions of American men enlisting in the army. To encourage women’s involvement in the workforce in a time when labor was much needed, many figures were created to spearhead this movement, like the well-known Rosie the Riveter. On the pages of comics, the same efforts were being made, as seen in characters like Wonder Woman, the fearless Amazon warrior.
Wonder Woman, also known as Diana Prince, was first introduced to DC Comics by William Moulton Marston in October 1941 in “All Star Comics,” where the character is portrayed as a powerful and compassionate warrior of the all-woman Amazon tribe. Marston was an impassioned feminist and openly supported the women’s rights movement. He wanted to create a female character that embodied four main principles: courage, honesty, strength and morality, four traits often not seen in pop culture at a time when stories like comics were dominated by the archetype of the damsel in distress. The dominance of Wonder Woman’s weapons and equipment, most notably her lasso of truth, fought stereotypes of the submissive woman and encouraged the character’s female audience to communicate and express themselves freely.
In Wonder Woman’s early runs, she collaborated with many supporting heroes; in 1941 joining the DC Comics superhero group known as the Justice Society of America. The character did not receive highly positive feedback in her first few years, and many vocal critics in the feminist movement believed that she and her supporting heroines or villains were being wrongfully sexualized by the comic creators. In response to the harsh feedback from audiences, the character rebranded Wonder Woman following Marston’s death in 1947, transforming her into a stereotypical background superhero with little to no influence on the plot and abandoning Marston’s original intent for the character.
In the 1960s, Wonder Woman once again immersed herself in active fighting and became a vital member of not only the Justice Society of America but also a founding member of the Justice League, shown in “Justice League” No. 1, published in 1960 — DC Comics’ most popular superhero group.
