by Alistair Marquise

Created on: July 24, 2009   Last Updated: December 02, 2010

The society we live in and our thoughts regarding that society are often reflected in our art forms, which themselves are portrayals of our feelings regarding the world around us and an examination of just where we fit into it. There is perhaps no art form that reflects these thoughts and emotions more so than that of comic books.  Comic books tell their stories using a combination of both visual and written forms, and in this way can express the ideas of the creators in a clearer, much more illustrative way. We may not be conscious of these ideas, and certainly we are not always in the mood for an examination of the strengths and weaknesses of our society while reading an issue of "Green Lantern", but they exist there nonetheless

Perhaps the simplest form of this reflection comes in the form of superhero comics. While the adventures of costumed heroes are certainly thrilling to read and offer us a method for brief escape from our daily lives, there are deeper, underlying ideas about society that permeate through super hero comics whether they are made explicit or not. The simplest idea represented in super hero comics is that justice will always prevail and evil will always be punished. These ideas are in turn a reflection of our society's desire for justice and to see that wrongdoing does not go unchecked. They are also reflections of our wish as a society that evil could be viewed in easy terms of black and white, which they often can not be. Superheroes and their adventures quite often represent our desire for simple solutions to complex problems. If a masked man could just crash into a den of criminals and exact swift and painful justice, then our world may become a much easier, not to mention safer, place to live. The best example of this is the character of Captain America, who like his title would suggest, is the symbol of all that is right and good about American society. Captain America defended our American ideals with his mighty shield and was strong enough to put down an entire battalion. During the 40's, specifically during World War II, Captain America took the good fight right to the front doors of the Axis Powers, even getting a chance to sock Adolf Hitler square in the jaw (Captain America Comics #1, 1941). During the 50's, The Star Spangled Avenger did battle with Communism, which was seen as fiercely anti-American at the time. Captain America represented the common man's desire to be able to do something to help their country while

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