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Rossman, Megan
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Spring 2025
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2025
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Captain America has often been thought of as an iconic American hero. From his first appearance on the comic book page, where he was depicted punching Hitler, the hero has often been seen a defender of American values. However, as American values began to shift at a pace that the writers could not keep up with, the struggle to keep Captain American relevant took center stage in both the comics and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. An analysis of Captain America's entire lifetime in both the comic series and the Marvel Cinematic Universe shows this struggle. In the films, Captain America's spotlight is shifted to make way for other heroes, and his beliefs are constantly being deconstructed to mirror what is going on with the American people at any given time. However, with struggling comic sales figures and massive amounts of political division in the US, Marvel Comics Group knew they would never be able to please everybody in the comic book readership, and when the Marvel Cinematic Universe was created the inclusion of a more international audience also added a layer of complication for this character. All this work to bring Steve Rogers up-to-date from World War II pro-war propaganda to modern American hero was headed for failure. Marvel's decision to make the ultimate sacrifices to the hero is indicative of this struggle, and shows that it was time for America to move on from the Captain America of the past with a new face behind the Captain America shield.
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