Communism in Comics

This week's comics collection from Marvel publications were originally printed in the 1960s when communism was considered a domestic threat. In the way that Wonderwoman and heroes of the 1940s battled against the notorious Nazi villains, heroes like the Incredible Hulk and the Fantastic Four fight communism in an attempt to thrill readers of the following era. This pattern of political targetting falls in line with the output of propaganda against political ideologies that garners an overwhelming response from readers. It is not surprising that publishers would take advantage of the public's sensitivity to issues of foreign political ideologies, but it is intriguing that comics readers are so easily won over with tales of fighting against Nazis and communists over and again. It is clear, however, that villains of these particular backgrounds are not given exclusive antagonist rights in the comics industry. We have seen, in fact, more stories of villains with no overt political agenda than otherwise. But no hero has successfully captivated the attention of an American audience without referring at least once to the evil guise of some political ideology like communism.

In the demonization of these ideologies, the readers are pushed to view democracy as the hero's stark contrast to his or her opponent's barbaric political opinions. Through association, the fights in the comics become a battle of ideologies. In every case seen through the lenses of this class, democracy trumps the other. No comics author in the 20th century - from what we've seen - has been able to expose democracy as a virtue of villainy. The image of democracy, therefore, has gradually been raised up in the eyes of readers of comics literature. The danger in this scenario is that democracy has historically gained an almost dogmatic legitimacy by American citizens. The polarization between democracy and communism, for example, has catalyzed an overwhelming agreement of the public audience with every facet of democracy that is generated by actions of the government. This gives political leaders the false confidence in supporting any claim in the name of democracy while ultimately assuming infallibility in their decisions. As long as the concept of democracy is reached by the ears of the public, the actions of political leaders will not be truly judged by their people.