The Kairos Behind Captain America

To understand the significance of the Captain America text, it is important to be aware of the historical context prior to its creation.

USSR leader Joseph Stalin

Throughout World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union fought alongside each other against common enemies, but the mutual distrust between them, many historians claim, later developed into the inevitable onset of the cold war. The Soviets immense distaste toward America was a result of the American denial of USSR legitimacy. The fact that America entered the war late, arguably leading to the loss of millions of Russian lives, was also a reason of Soviet dissent toward America. On the other hand, Americans had known for some time about Joseph Stalin’s cutthroat leadership style and punishing governance. After the conclusion of World War II, these ill feelings matured and the relationship seriously deteriorated as the USSR, along with its communist ideology, influenced nearby states. Anxiety rose across American households in fear of worldwide Russian dominance and, as a result, a nuclear arms race began and an ideological war ensued.

Regarding the comic book industry, after World War II ended, the popularity of superheroes was on the decline, being replaced by America's newfound interest in horror and romance comics. Soon enough, Captain America became one of Timely Comics’ least popular characters. The final issue of Captain America Comics did not even mention Captain America. As Charles Moss of The Atlantic put it, “After the Allies won the war, it seemed, America didn’t need him anymore.” Little did Americans know, the Captain America they left gathering dust on their bookshelves would soon become a nationally recognized hero and a hallmark of pro-American, anti-Communist rhetoric in American Society.

      Cover of Simon's autobiography My Life In Comics

Between December 1953 and September 1954, Timely Comics, now known as Marvel but called Atlas at the time, reintroduced Captain America as the “Commie Smasher.” Steve Saffel, who worked with Captain America co-creator Joe Simon on his autobiography stated,

“A lot of comics were struggling to find distribution. So, publishers had to come up with something everybody could agree upon. I think the reason they brought back Captain America was because…he was the biggest seller of the 1940s... All they needed was an enemy who'd placate the government, and that's going to be the Commies.”

Steven Rogers (Captain America) even states in Young Men #24, that the Communists are “the Nazis of the 1950s.”

Senator Joseph McCarthy’s fear-mongering rhetoric and the implementation of his McCarran Internal Security Act in 1950 in which Congress overrode a presidential veto, in addition to the credible threat the USSR posed, only added to the general appeal of these comics.

The appeal to Kairos, or the rhetorical situation described above, shows how the Captain America text was uniquely relevant and, in fact, quite remarkable in that a very real historical relationship, in addition to the exigency of the USSR threat, was represented, in detail, in a widely read comic book.

Written by Jacob Cohen