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Captain America recently visited my home state of Idaho. To be more precise, in early February 2010, readers of issue #602 of Captain America learned that the superhero's evil double, also calling himself Captain America, was in Boise, plotting with a right-wing militia-type organization called the Watchdogs. Meanwhile, the good Captain America, joined by African American superhero Falcon, arrived in town to infiltrate the group and foil their plans. Hiding atop a building on the main street, the good guys saw a crowd of angry protesters, presumably Watchdog sympathizers who bore a striking resemblance to the conservative Tea Party activists who appeared on the scene this past year. In the sea of white faces, one could spot placards with slogans including "No New Taxes," "Stop the Socialists," and "Tea Bag the Libs Before They Tea Bag You." Falcon joked that it would be a challenge to slip undetected into the crowd of "angry white folks." Conservative activists, however, did not find the joke funny. Soon, Fox News aired the story and Marvel Comics apologized, promising to pull the explicit reference to Tea from subsequent reprints (1).
The Captain America Tea Party flap is a potent reminder that, as historian Bradford Wright has written, "Comic books are history." As primary sources of popular culture, they have emerged from a specific context, reflecting the politics, prejudices' and concerns of a particular historical moment. Comics have also shaped the outlook of America's young people. As Wright notes, they "have helped to frame a worldview and define a sense of self for the generations who have grown up with them" (2). Among the comic books that have fulfilled that function, superhero comics have occupied a special place ever since Superman first came on the scene in 1938. For teachers seeking to use new types of approaches to engage students, superhero comics offer a suprisingly valuable window into twentieth century U.S. history. In addition, as uniquely American inventions' they are particularly appropriate for American history courses (3). In my classes, I like to focus on three of the most popular superheroes of all time in order to suggest ways in which they provide insights into shifting historical contexts and ongoing themes: Captain America, Wonder Woman, and Spider-Man. Captain America and...