Popula Media, Wa P opaganda, and Re oac i e Con inui y: he
Cons uc ion o he Enemy in Ma el Comics (1942-1981).
In oduc ion.
The cons uc ion o he enemy is a ques ion o doub less ele ance ega ding he
ela ionships be ween wa , media, and p opaganda. The igu e o he enemy may be
unde s ood as he esul o a adical p ocess o ‘O he ing’, i.e. a s e eo yping- ela ed
social ep esen a ion ha objec i ies indi iduals o g oups, leading people o di e en ia e
be ween an in-g oup and an ou -g oup, in o de o ein o ce and p o ec he Sel (De in,
2012). The e o e, he “enemy image” can be de ined as “a cul u ally in luenced, e y
nega i e, and s e eo yped e alua ion o he ‘o he ’―be i indi iduals, g oups, na ions, o
ideologies. ‘O he s’ a e classi ied as ‘enemies’ i hei appea ance is coupled wi h some
kind o ex eme h ea pe cep ion” (Fiebig on-Hase, 1997, p. 2). Such disc imina ion is
ins umen al o enemy images, since g oups eac wi h biased and s e eo ype-d i en
beha io owa ds alien g oups, and g oup in eg a ion bene i s om s igma izing ou -
g oups as enemies (Fiebig on-Hase, 1997).
The po en ial e ec s o such depic ions a e o pa amoun impo ance, as he
his o y o p opaganda, and o he media, a e s eeped in examples o enemy-building ha
s i ex eme emo ions by demonizing and dehumanizing he ou -g oup in wa ime. In his
con ex , Wo ld Wa II (he ea e WWII) is a o emos example o how he logics o
O he ing and enemy-cons uc ion unde lying p opaganda eme ge (Mu ay, 2011).
Alongside he in ensi y o communica i e ou pu , and he use o media like adio o he
cinema (Piza oso, 1993), he wa ing powe s de eloped di e en p opaganda sys ems
and app oaches o message con en du ing WWII. The o midable au ho i a ian appa a us
he Nazis c ea ed in he 1930s backed Ge man wa p opaganda; i s machine y was eady
o mee he exigencies o wa mon hs be o e wa was decla ed (Welch, 1995). Though
also au ho i a ian, he o he Axis membe s, I aly and Japan, had weake p opaganda
sys ems; ye , Japan an a decade-long pe asi e campaign ad oca ing sel -sac i ice and
kamikaze men ali y, added o old “p ope place” heo ies on which hey based hei claim
o be he “leading ace” (Dowe , 1986; Piza oso, 1993; Thomson, 1999). On he o he
side, he UK and he US pu sued a “s a egy o u h” (Taylo , 1995), seeking o dis ance
hemsel es om he emo ional b u ali y o WWI psychological wa a e. Al hough he
Ame ican O ice o Wa In o ma ion (OWI) had a policy “agains he use o a oci y
s o ies” (Hönicke, 1997, p. 265), in eg a ed Anglo-Ame ican p opaganda was by no
means alien o i a ional psychological wa a e (Piza oso, 1993).
In his con ex , he cons uc ion o he enemy was no absen om Ame ican
p opaganda. Allied p opaganda ea ed he Axis o ces emo i ely, inspi ing con emp and
agg ession owa d a dehumanized enemy, whils an O he ing p ocess sepa a ed “us” om
“ hem”. This happened ega ding Ge many and Japan—Ame ican p opaganda la gely
igno ed I aly and he o he Axis powe s (Hunga y, Romania, and Bulga ia) (Mu ay,
2011). The OWI and he O ice o S a egic Se ices channeled messages glo i ying
Ame ican soldie s, while demonizing he enemy—including openly acis po ayals o
he Japanese. Acco ding o Dowe ,“in i s mos ex eme o m acism sanc ions
ex e mina ion […] Soon a e Pea l Ha bo , he p ospec o ex e mina ing he Japanese
e min in hei nes a home was widely applauded” (1996, pp. 173-175).
The e o e, compa ed o an i-Nazi p opaganda, i ook less agi a ion “ o demonize he
Japanese, because he e was al eady a subs an ial deg ee o an i-Asian eeling in
Ame ican socie y” (Mu ay, 2011, p. 235). We mus unde s and his in he his o ical
con ex in which Ame ican an agonism agains Japanese immig a ion and compe ing
expansionis goals in Asia ueled he Ame ican image o he Japanese ha eme ged a e
he Russo-Japanese Wa o 1904-1905 (Fiebig on-Hase, 1997). As a esul , he Japanese
“we e he mos alien enemy he Uni ed S a es had e e ough in an all-ou s uggle”
(Benedic , 1967, p. 1). This cul u al chasm explains how ace pe aded Ame ican an i-
Japanese p opaganda, wi h he in amous in e nmen o Japanese-Ame icans in camps
coexis ing wi h a campaign inci ing acial ha ed (Mu ay, 2011)—indeed, he S a e
Depa men ’s Fa Eas e n Di ision p oduced a memo andum concluding ha “one o he
impo an aspec s o ou wa wi h Japan is ha i is acial” (in Ha , 2004, p. 80). An i-
Japanese p opaganda also e i ed he a oci y s o ies ha had been widely used du ing
WWI.
The cons uc ion o he Japanese enemy coexis ed wi h an i-Nazi p opaganda
“ ocused on he ba ba ism and opp ession inhe en in ascism”. The Nazis we e cas ed as
e il, and he Ge man people, o a lesse ex en , as b u al and degene a e (Mu ay, 2011)—
in his 1942 S a e o he Union add ess, P esiden Roose el spoke o he Ge man enemy’s
“unholy con emp o he human ace,” and i s “wo ld o y anny and c uel y and
se dom” (in Hönicke, 1997, p. 247). These depic ions mus be unde s ood in he con ex
o he Ge man s e eo ypes o ged by poli ical conside a ions and in e na ional e en s in
he Ame ican media, om he blood hi s y Hun o WWI o he sadis ic Nazi o WWII o
he s e n- aced Eas Ge man Communis o he Cold Wa (P obs , 1991). Howe e , he
Cold Wa also wi nessed he de elopmen o he good Ge man/bad Nazi s e eo ypical
dis inc ion in Ame ican cul u e and ilms (Cocks, 2015), and i mus be highligh ed ha
he image o he Ge man enemy in he US was ne e as hideous as ha o he Japanese.
Al hough Ame ican go e nmen ega ded Ge many as he main enemy and mas e mind
o he Axis, popula opinion ea ed and ha ed he eache ous and c uel Japanese mo e
han he e icien and obedien Ge mans. Only 5% o Ame icans su eyed ega ded he
la e as enemies (Hönicke, 1997), and e en a e he disco e y o he dea h camps, and
wi h he image o Ge many eaching “an absolu e nadi in he Uni ed S a es, Ame icans
we e s ill mo e a o ably disposed owa d Ge mans han owa d he Japanese” (Reu he ,
2004, p. 602). Hence, bo h p opaganda and popula cul u e ea ed he la e wi h
pa icula iolence: “Whe e simila images o he Nazis had he Ge mans simply unning
away om supe io Ame ican o ces, he Japanese we e me cilessly ounded up, co ne ed
and sho ” (Mu ay, 2011, p. 222).
In his con ex , his pape ocuses on a chap e in he his o y o wa and popula
media ha has ecei ed less a en ion han o icial p opaganda s a egies ega ding he
cons uc ion o he enemy: how comic-book co e s con ibu ed o he ep esen a ion o
wa ime ad e sa ies. Ou pa icula ocus is on he cons uc ion o he enemy in Ame ican
WWII- ela ed comics, a comme cial ma e ial ha endu ingly eso ed o WWII image y,
hemes, and illains long a e he wa ended.
Comics, p opaganda, and he “ e conning” o wa
Besides ilm documen a ies, news eels, o adio s a ions like he BBC o Voice o
Ame ica, en e ainmen o ms we e used wi h poli ical pu poses in he con ex o
WWII— o ins ance, Hollywood made app oxima ely 180 an i-Nazi ea u e ilms
be ween 1939 and 1946 (Hake, 2012). Comic books joined he an i-Axis e o s made by
he en e ainmen indus y, wi h almos all supe he oes becoming pa io ic pi chmen o
go e nmen p opaganda (Johnson, 2012). Al hough he Ame ican go e nmen o icially
sponso ed ou le s such as Wa Vic o y Comics, di ec in e e ence was no all-pe ading
as a as comics we e conce ned. Howe e , he quasi-go e nmen al W i e s’ Wa Boa d
(WWB) encou aged poli iciza ion and b u al depic ion o Axis enemies in comic books
(Hi sch, 2014)—mo eo e , “uncons ained by he ‘s a egy o u h’ imposed upon he
OWI, comics p o ided he WWB wi h an allu ing al e na i e o mo e con en ional media
and a new means o de ining Ame ica’s enemies on he basis o ace and e hnici y”
(Hi sch, 2014, p. 483). Anyhow, comics combined o icial p opaganda image y and
s a egies wi h uno icial esponses o he wa (Mu ay, 2011), hus exempli ying how
popula media can adop poli ical s ances wi hou being o icially co-op ed. Rega ding
he comic eade ship, a e he en y o he US in o WWII, comic books became ex emely
popula eading among child en and adolescen s, as well as se icemen, o whom he
go e nmen deli e ed hese publica ions in la ge quan i ies a home and ab oad (Sa age,
1990; Ben on, 1989; Ben on, 1992).
Al hough many comic-book publishe s joined he wa e o (Sa age, 1990), he
ole o Ma el Comics is no ewo hy1. Ma el’s Cap ain Ame ica was he i s supe he o
ha ba led he eal-wo ld h ea s o he US—as he co e o Cap ain Ame ica Comics #1
(Ma ch 1941) shows, his p ime a ge was Adol Hi le (Johnson, 2012). Hence, Ma el
was an ea ly adop e o he supe he oes’ o ien a ion o o eign policy issues. Mo e
in e es ingly, WWII s ands as a my h o o igin in he Ma el Uni e se, wi h Nazi illains
s ill egula ly e u ning o h ea en he wo ld oday.. I mus be highligh ed ha Timely
Comics engaged wi h WWII p io o Pea l Ha bo , wi h he Ge mans being posi ioned as
he main enemy p io o Decembe 1941, as illus a ed by ea ly Cap ain Ame ica Comics’
co e s, which we e popula ed wi h swas ikas and Nazi illains.
Rega ding he cons uc ion o he enemy, wa ime supe he o comic books
in es ed illains wi h e e y imaginable aul and pe e si y. They hus pe o med an
ex eme ac ic o O he ing, and made i easie o ha e oes—and jus i y killing hem.
Mo eo e , since 1944 he WWB’s in luence made Ge mans and Japanese appea “as
undamen ally, i edeemably e il and iolen ” (Hi sch, 2014, p. 451). Supe he o comics
1 Fo he sake o simplici y, we e e o his publishing house by wha has been i s o icial name since 1962.
I had i s o igins in Ma in Goodman’s Magazine Managemen Company, which p oduced popula
publica ions unde i y-nine di e en imp in s since he 1930s. Comic-book collec o s and his o ians o en
e e o his publishe as Timely in he 1940s, and A las in he 1950s (Ben on, 1989).
connec ed wi h he acis , an i-Japanese ha e ha had c ep in o p opaganda (Mu ay,
2011), hus mi o ing gene al p opaganda ends, as he image o he Japanese was mo e
ha e ul han ha o he Ge mans—ac ually, he e was no Japanese analog o he s e eo ype
o he “Good Ge man” (Hi sch, 2014).
The pe iod o U.S. in ol emen in WWII was he zeni h o he so-called Golden
Age (hence o h GA) o supe he o comics ha had s a ed wi h he debu o Supe man in
1938. Indeed, a e he wa , hese cha ac e s began o disappea apidly om comic books,
un il hey almos became ex inc be ween he end o he 1940s and he ea ly 1950s. In
1956, began he Sil e Age o supe he o comics wi h he e i al o he gen e, i s by DC
Comics, and, in he ea ly 1960s, wi h Ma el’s new line o i les, in wha became known
as he Ma el Age o Comics. This publishe ’s new phase, unde S an Lee’s edi o ship,
connec ed i s di e en se ies in an in e wo en ic ional uni e se ha , e y soon, looked
back o WWII, bo h o wha had been published in hose yea s and o he global con lic
i sel , as a scena io o new s o ies. I is wo h conside ing ha Lee spen his WWII
mili a y se ice inside he US in ela i e com o “in a c ea i e posi ion” (Raphael and
Spu geon, 2003, p. 65), while a is Jack Ki by—Ma el’s chie c ea i e o ce—se ed
o wo yea s on he Eu opean on and was deco a ed o i . The o deal psychologically
sca ed Ki by o li e and in luenced his la e wo k, speci ically he c ea ion o he i le
Sg . Fu y and His Howling Commandos (E anie , 2008). Lee and his collabo a o s
eco e ed cha ac e s om he 1940s—like he Sub-Ma ine and Cap ain Ame ica— o
con inue hei ad en u es in he 1960s and in o he p esen day, bu also c ea ed new se ies
wi h s o ies se du ing WWII, like Sg . Fu y and His Howling Commandos. Bo h
s a egies in ol ed some o m o he na a i e echnique known as “ e oac i e (o
e ospec i e) con inui y” o “ e con,” consis ing in ealigning “di e en his o ical
mani es a ions o a comics se ies o igu e in o de o ensu e o e all logical cohe ence o
ideological consis ency” (Denson & Maye , 2017, p. 109), as well as expanding he
“na a i e ab ic” o i s imagina y uni e se backwa ds (Wol , 2018, pp. 45-46).
Al hough nei he o iginal no exclusi e o he comic-book medium no o he
supe he o gen e, e conning has been especially in ense and cha ac e is ic o his
in e sec ion o popula cul u e. A guably, he mos in luen ial igu e in he delibe a e and
explici use o e con as a c ea i e esou ce has been Roy Thomas, a an o GA comics in
his childhood who began w i ing and edi ing comic books p o essionally in he mid-
1960s. Bo n in 1940, Thomas e iden ly could no ha e been a e e an o WWII, no has
he e e s a ed ha his in e es in e isi ing ha con lic as a se ing o his s o ies was
pe sonally o his o ically ela ed o he eal-li e wa . Ins ead, he choice was due solely o
a childhood ascina ion as a an o he supe he o comic books ha had been published
du ing ha e a (Thomas, 1975).In he B onze Age (ea ly 1970s-mid 1980s), Thomas
c ea ed a new i le o Ma el, The In ade s (1975-79), in which he imagined—and hus
inco po a ed in o he canonical con inui y o his ic ional uni e se— ha he main Ma el
supe he oes o he 1940s had joined o ces o igh he Axis. In eali y, such eam-ups had
been limi ed o he join appea ances o hese cha ac e s on he co e s o comic books
published du ing WWII, wi hou ac ual na a i e de elopmen on he inside pages, bu
hey had so ascina ed he young Thomas ha he la e used hose illus a ions as s a ing
poin s o he s o ies in The In ade s. Howe e , he w i e did no me ely mimic wha
would ha e been he con en o he 1940s comics, bu c ea ed he new s o ies “wi h
(ine i ably, una oidably) a 1970's pe spec i e!” (Thomas, 1975), bo h in he ea men o
he supe he o gen e and in sociopoli ical sensibili ies. Indeed, “ e con”— he e m
o igina ed in a la e wo k by Thomas o DC Comics, All-S a Squad on (# 18, Feb ua y
1983)—cas s a con empo a y gaze on he ec ea ion, ein e p e a ion o e en al e a ion o
ic ional e en s o he pas , whe eby he widesp ead use o his echnique has come o be
unde s ood as con ibu ing o c ea e “a cul u al a mosphe e ha is inc easingly accep ing
o e isionis his o ical na a i es” (F ieden hal, 2017, p. 3).The e o e, he s udy o
p ominen cases o his s o y elling p ac ice can illumina e how he popula pe cep ion o
his o y e ol es—pa icula ly, o such a momen ous episode as WWII, in which so many
na a i es ha e been se .
Resea ch ocus, objec i es, and hypo heses
Media a e i al o wa ma e s because pe cep ions a e c ucial o wa e o s, and
“pe cep ions a e c ea ed, sus ained o challenged” h ough media (Hoskins &
O’Loughlin, 2010, p. 5), hus leading o he ou s anding impo ance o wa symbols and
ep esen a ions. In his con ex , popula cul u e and he en e ainmen media—like
comics—a e an in eg al pa o he pe cep ion-building ega ding wa . Howe e , he
s a egizing and legi imizing o con empo a y wa a e p ima ily a ge ed media like
ele ision and na ional newspape s, wi h he he o ic o adi ional wa a e i ing big
news media’s ins i u ionaliza ion (Hoskins & O’Loughlin, 2010). Thus, al hough
“en e ainmen has been pa and pa cel o mili a y p opaganda om he in en ion o
mass media o wa d” (S ahl, 2010, p. 10), media schola ship on wa ep esen a ion has
ended o eschew he analysis o en e ainmen p oduc s in a o o news jou nalism
(Bu s on, 2003). Gi en his esea ch gap, we aim o illumina e how non-news media
legi imize wa —speci ically, supe he o comic books’ unc ion as cul u al documen s ha
speak olumes abou how Ame icans “ iewed hemsel es, he wa , hei allies, and hei
ad e sa ies” (Mu ay, 2011, p. 39). These publica ions s and as ele an pa s o he social
ab ic o he US, because hey a e cul u al icons, linked o Ame icans’ hopes, desi es, and
ea s, hus mi o ing social changes (Johnson, 2012). Consequen ly, he comic-book
supe he o gen e is an a ac i e subjec o s udy how Ame ican socio-poli ical ends a e
media ed, pa icula ly he media ed ep esen a ion o wa .
Ou main esea ch objec i e is o s udy comic books’ con ibu ion o cons uc ing
he WWII enemy h oughou he second hal o he wen ie h cen u y. S udying he
ep esen a ion o WWII in supe he o comics somehow leads o he his o ical and
discu si e co e o he gen e, as “in many ways Wo ld Wa II con inues o se e as he
gen e’s ecu ing my h o o igin” (Mu ay, 2011, p. 39). Mo e speci ically, we ocus on
Ma el Comics’ cons uc ion o he Ge man and Japanese enemy. A second esea ch
objec i e is o shed ligh on he his o ical e olu ion o hese wa enemies’ po ayal.
P e ious li e a u e has al eady s udied comic-book p opaganda in WWII and in a u he
pe iod (Sco , 2007); he e, we analyze he ep esen a ion o he Nazis and Japanese a wo
di e en imes: i s , Ma el comics published du ing Ame ican in ol emen in WWII;
second, a se o WWII- hemed Ma el comics published du ing he Sil e and B onze
Ages (1960s o ea ly 1980s; he ea e SBA). This esea ch objec i e aims a asce aining
how Ma el pe o med e conning in he la e se . In his ega d, F iedman highligh s a
e ealing di e ence conce ning he his o ical e olu ion o he image o he Japanese and
Nazis in Ame ican cul u e: he o me we e e en mo e ili ied du ing WWII, while he
la e “sa u a e ou cul u e unc ioning as conc e e ep esen a ions o ha speci ic
his o ical e a, ee- loa ing signi ie s o uni e sal e il and, o some, emblems o pu i y,
powe , and e o ic ascina ion” (2004, p. 256).
Based on his heo y and ou e iew o WWII comics and p opaganda, we can
hypo hesize:
H1. Japanese a e he main WWII enemy in Ma el’s GA comics.
H2. Nazis eplace he Japanese as he main enemy in Ma el’s SBA WWII e con
comics.
equen ly, indica ing ha GA comics a e much mo e de o ed o depic ing Axis enemies
as eache ous agg esso s and he d-like inhuman sa ages, while SBA Ma el’s depic ion
o he Ge mans and Japanese as cowa ds and sadis s ends owa ds ze o.
TABLE 2 HERE
Rega ding he depic ion o he enemy, Table 3 shows ha GA co e s ocus hea ily on
ugliness and de o mi y, as well as s e eo ypical Japanese ea u es. Also no ewo hy is he
animaliza ion o he enemy, wi h o e 17% o he co e s emphasizing animal likeness.
The co e o Young Allies #8 (July 1943) exempli ies he s e eo ypical—and acis —
po ayal o Japanese soldie s, wi h one o he young he oes machine-gunning a yellow-
skinned, buck- oo hed, bespec acled o ice (Image 3). As e idenced by his co e , acis
s e eo ypes we e no limi ed o he depic ion o he enemy, bu also se ed o po ay
iendly bu bu oonish cha ac e s who we e decidedly in e io o hei whi e eamma es,
as in he case o Young Allies’ A ican-Ame ican Whi ewash Jones (Aus in and
Hamil on, 2019).
TABLE 3 HERE
IMAGE 3 HERE
In con as , he only p ominen physical ea u e on SBA co e s is ha o he s e eo ypical
monocled Nazi o ice , which, no coinciden ally, is mo e ele an han in he GA pe iod.
A ecu ing example o his s e eo ype in SBA Ma el is Ba on S ucke (Image 4).
IMAGE 4 HERE
These di e ences no wi hs anding, soldie s and mili a ies a e he main ype o illain
ound in bo h GA and SBA (Table 4).
TABLE 4 HERE
O ice s and soldie s a e he mos equen illains, appea ing on almos 60% (285) o he
o al a e age (490). SBA co e s use soldie s mo e equen ly han wa ime comics in
ela i e e ms and, mo e signi ican ly, end o use supe illains much mo e han GA
comics. He e, i is wo h men ioning a quali a i e dis inc ion be ween low- anking and
high- anking se icemen: GA co e s end o depic ho des o undi e en ia ed p i a es,
while SBA co e s end o depic high- anking Nazi o ice s—no coinciden ally, some
a e also supe illains, such as he a o emen ioned S ucke , indica ing a mo e
pe sonalized app oach o soldie s in he SBA. As o o he ypes o illains, only eal-
wo ld dic a o s and leade s su pass 5% in he a e age o al, while he s a is ical p esence
o an as ical menaces such as aliens, obo s, o supe na u al beings is i ele an .
En ep eneu s do no appea as illains e en once.
A close examina ion o he eal-wo ld leade s appea ing on he co e s (Table 5)
e eals he e conning o he enemy in he SBA, a pe iod in which Japanese leade s such
as Hi ohi o o Admi al Tojo do no appea . Al hough he p esence o eal-wo ld leade s
is mo e o less i ele an in all cases and pe iods in ela i e e ms, i is no ewo hy ha
he only ones appea ing on SBA Ma el co e s a e Ge man: Hi le and He mann Gö ing.
TABLE 5 HERE
Discussion and conclusions
P opaganda inno a ions in he WWII pe iod a e usually ela ed o media such as adio,
ilms, o lea le s. Consis en wi h p e ious s udies unde lining he p opaganda alue o
comics in WWII (Mu ay, 2011; Johnson, 2012; Hi sch, 2014), ou analysis p o ides
u he e idence ha popula cul u e joined he wa e o , wi h GA Ma el Comics
ul illing a p opagandis ic ole whe eby enemies we e depic ed as mili a is ic agg esso s
pe o ming mons ous a oci ies.
A key na a i e conce ning he ole o mains eam media in communica ing
con lic is ha o he “publicis ”, i.e., a ole whe eby he media “ ep oduce he
amewo ks o poli ical and mili a y leade s and in so doing p o ide p opaganda” (Thussu
& F eedman, 2003, pp. 4, 6). Ma el’s WWII ou pu clea ly ul illed his ole, wi h
supe he oes and illains embedded in a na a i e ha mi o ed o icial p opaganda ends.
In his ega d, Ma el’s comics om he 1940s can be seen as an ea ly con ibu ion o
wha nowadays we migh call he mili a y-en e ainmen es ablishmen , o he mili a y-
en e ainmen complex (Bu s on, 2003). Ma el’s ou pu also indica es he need o
ques ion he so-called “in o ma i e” quali y o Anglo-Ame ican WWII p opaganda—an
o icial s a egy o “ u h” challenged by comic-book depic ion o he enemy.
Conce ning he con en o his p opaganda, ou da a a e consis en wi h he no ion
ha Ame ican WWII p opaganda was o e ly acis , inso a as comic-book co e s po ay
Japanese enemies as ugly, s e eo yped, de-indi idualized ho des, hence enac ing a
s a egy o O he ing ha de-humanizes he enemy. Ma el’s co e s i he idea ha
supe he o comics we e an impo an pa o he “o he ing” s a egy ega ding he enemy
(Mu ay, 2011). The ha d-co e acism o an i-Japanese comic-book p opaganda somehow
e lec s he acial disc imina ion o eal-wo ld policies, like wa ime in e nmen o
Japanese Ame icans (Ha , 2004). WWII comics we e no only ha sh as ega ds acial
s e eo yping: as o enemy- ela ed hemes con eyed by he co e s, e e y single one is
mo e equen ly used in wa ime—excep mili a ism, which is mo e ele an in SBA
comics han in wa ime publica ions. The e o e, we can answe o ou esea ch ques ion
abou he di e ences in how he he o- illain ela ionship is amed hema ically in he
a i ma i e. Thema ic ep esen a ion is much mo e iolen in he GA han in he SBA,
wi h Japanese and Nazis depic ed as ea ul, sa age agg esso s in Go hic ho o scena ios.
Howe e , ha ho i ying image o enemies subsides conside ably in he SBA, wi h much
less b u al co e s no ocused on he de ea and/o ex e mina ion o he enemy. Besides
he ob ious ac ha wa ime logic migh ha e pushed Ma el owa ds exploi a i e
a oci y p opaganda, ano he ac o unde lies his change: in 1954, he comic-book
indus y—including Ma el—adop ed he so-called Comics Code, whose sel - egula o y
ules exp essly p ohibi ed scenes o “excessi e iolence, ... b u al o u e ..., physical
agony and g uesome c ime,” as well as “[ ]idicule o a ack on any eligious o acial
g oup” (Comics Magazine Associa ion o Ame ica Comics Code, in Nybe g, 1998, pp.
166-167).
In his line, changes also occu ed ega ding ou second RQ (A e he e di e ences
ega ding he depic ion o he wa enemy in Ma el’s comics du ing he GA and he
SBA?). O e all, we migh conclude ha acism and ugliness we e mo e o less elimina ed
om Ma el’s SBA co e s. Wa ime comics ocus hea ily on ugliness and de o mi y,
along wi h s e eo ypical acial ea u es, and nea ly a hi d o he co e s ea u e yellow-
skinned, buck- oo hed, bespec acled soldie s—in his ega d, ou esul s a e consis en
wi h Kimble and Goodnow (2016), who emphasize—in hei edi ed collec ion on comics,
p opaganda and WWII— ha s a egies o dehumaniza ion we e pa icula ly elen less
agains he Japanese, o en educed o “li le mo e han beas s o e min” (p. 17). In he
SBA, howe e , Japanese acial s e eo ypes a e almos absen om he co e s, enemy
ugliness subs an ially a enua ed, and animaliza ion i ele an . In e es ingly, SBA co e s
do emphasize he s e eo ype o he monocled Nazi o ice , p obably because i had
become a popula -cul u e icon by ha ime. Con ex ually, he less dehumanizing—and
less acis —pe spec i e Ma el adop ed in he SBA can be ela ed o wide poli ical
ac o s. As Ha no es, “ he impo ance o image―especially wi h espec o
ace―became clea o policymake s du ing he cou se o Wo ld Wa II” (2004, p. 84).
This shi in pe cep ion may be ela ed o he ole o US image in he pos colonial wo ld
ha eme ged a e WWII, in which acism migh ha e p oblema ized he pos wa impe ial
design o US dominance and he Ame ican Cen u y (Ha , 2004). Al hough by WWII he
US s ill adhe ed o a semi-isola ionis o eign policy, he global wa , and la e he Cold
Wa , ga e ocus o Ame ica’s in ol emen in wo ld a ai s (B zezinski, 1973). In his
geopoli ical amewo k, he lessening o acis a i udes, and o hei sp ead h oughou
popula cul u e, would ha e been ins umen al o he US public image. Gi en i s ole as
he leading capi alis supe powe du ing he Cold Wa , he US delibe a ely sough o
ex end he pe cei ed supe io i y o i s cul u e and he Ame ican Way o Li e: “G adually
he Uni ed S a es acknowledged a g ea ly inc eased need o p o ec wha i pe cei ed as
he igh ness o i s s ance and supe io i y o i s way o li e in e e y pa o he wo ld”
(Thomson, 1999, p. 286). Howe e , his aim aced wha Ha calls “ he nea ly uni e sal
pe cep ion ha he U.S. go e nmen endo sed acism” in he WWII con ex (2004, p. 78).
The WWB con on ed a simila con adic ion: on he one hand, i p omo ed acial
ha mony o po ay he US as an inclusi e socie y; on he o he hand, i encou aged ace-
based ha ed o suppo he US policy o o al wa (Hi sch, 2014).
Jus as he OWI a emp ed o coun e he widesp ead image o he US as a acis
coun y du ing WWII (Ha , 2004), we may in e p e SBA Ma el’s comics as ano he
e o o pu ge acism—and mo e speci ically, an i-Japanese acism— om popula
cul u e, hus esol ing he con adic ion aced by Ame ican p opaganda in WWII. Fac o s
ela ed o he ideological e olu ion o wa comics should also be conside ed: as Sco
(2014) indica es, mos comics du ing he Vie nam-e a we e p o-wa , o neu al, bu he e
was also a signi ican numbe aking an an i-wa s ance. Ne e heless, he an i- acis ,
p og essi e s a egy mus be unde s ood as a speci ic ai o Ma el’s app oach o
poli ics, since i has been poin ed ou ha ep esen a ions o he Asian “O he ” emained
usable a e WWII—a e he Ko ean Wa s a ed in 1950, o ins ance, he e was a lood
o wa comics (Ri as, 2021)—and we e e en cen al in depic ions om he 1960s
(Conno , 2022)—ac ually, Ma el’s engagemen wi h he Vie nam wa in he ea ly 1970s
o e s an essen ialized cha ac e iza ion o “O ien als” which unde sco es a long-s anding
adi ion o acializa ion (Schlund-Vials, 2015). Thus, Asian cha ac e s ook e en longe
han A ican Ame icans o Hispanics o b eak ee o popula cul u e’s acis s e eo ypes,
and Ma el con inued o p esen di e en o ms o he so-called yellow pe il, om he
illainous Yellow Claw o he 1950s o he Vie cong gue illa in he o igin o I on Man
and his a chenemy Manda in in he 1960s o Fu Manchu himsel , licensed by his
publishe in he 1970s (Madison, 2013).
We should also conside cul u al changes in he comics indus y, and pa icula ly
in Ma el. F om he beginning o he Ma el Age, acial di e si y mani es ed i sel in he
publishe ’s comic books, some imes in s e eo ypical oles such as Doc o S ange’s Asian
ale , bu also in o he s e lec ing mo e ad anced hinking, especially he A ican-
Ame ican soldie Gabe Jones in Se gean Fu y…, o , since 1966, he supe he o Black
Pan he , mona ch o he ic ional A ican na ion o Wakanda (Fan as ic Fou # 52, July
1966). Th oughou he ollowing decade his end owa ds di e si y in ensi ied in e ms
o bo h ace and gende , consis en wi h social changes and hanks o he inco po a ion o
a new gene a ion o mo e p og essi e-minded w i e s. In gene al, Ma el comics began
o hos new non-whi e cha ac e s, such as he case—especially in e es ing o he p esen
s udy—o he Japanese supe he o Sun i e, a mu an bo n wi h supe human powe s due o
he adia ion o he Hi oshima A-bomb (X-Men #64, Jan. 1970); his c ea o was he same
Roy Thomas who would la e e ise Ma el's e sion o WWII in The In ade s. As o
ou hi d RQ—conce ning he ype o enemy p e alen in each pe iod—o ice s and
soldie s a e he mos equen illains in bo h pe iods. Howe e , SBA co e s end o use
supe - illains much mo e han GA comics. This could be in e p e ed as a u he s ep
away om a ealis ic accoun o wa ho o s du ing he SBA, hus ein o cing he an as ic
aspec s o he Ma el Uni e se. Mo eo e , his e lec s Ma el’s mo e owa ds
depoli icizing he illain in he SBA. Al hough he enemies depic ed in The In ade s o
Sg . Fu y… a e ep esen a i e o Nazi Ge many, we mus unde s and hese comics in a
con ex whe e supe he oes “did no ush o o igh agains he ho des o communis
o ces in Indo-China … Ra he i was he g ea age o he supe illain, wi h supe he oes
s aying a home o igh an as ic illains, a he han becoming in ol ed in hese
in e na ional con lic s” (Mu ay, 2011, pp. 243-244). The co e s analyzed e lec his
“age o he supe illain,” ul ima ely implying a mo e an as ic—i no anboyish and
childish— e conning o Ma el’s pas .
Ou i s hypo hesis, which s a ed ha he Japanese a e he main enemy in
Ma el’s GA comics, is e i ied. Ce ainly, he Japanese a e he mos equen ly ea u ed
enemy on he co e s o WWII comics; howe e , he pe cen age di e ence be ween
Japanese and Ge man enemies amoun s o a meage 6%. Simply pu , he Japanese a e he
main i al o WWII he oes and supe he oes, bu he dis ance wi h espec o he Ge mans
is no s a is ically ele an . This leads us o he main inding o ou esea ch: he ac ha
he Nazis eplace he Japanese as he main enemy in Ma el’s WWII- ela ed SBA s o ies,
hence suppo ing ou second hypo hesis. Ma el e conned he pas in wo ways: by
subs an ially downsizing he p esence o Japanese illains on comic-book co e s; and by
mo e han doubling he p esence o Nazi and Ge man enemies. Thus, he e is a clea
ein e p e a ion o he his o ical wa pas whe eby indi idual Nazi supe illains eplace
he o iginal ho des o e min-like Japanese soldie s. Such a e conning by Ma el
con o ms o he no ion ha wa a e cul u e’s ields o pe cep ion al e wa in signi ican
ways (Hoskins & O’Loughlin, 2010).
As S ahl obse es, he line be ween en e ainmen and wa is a poli ical space ha
unc ions as “a ba ome e o public a i udes abou wa ” (2010, p. 10). Wha is mo e,
popula cul u e is he oun ainhead o wha many people know abou he Nazi pas
(Abbenhuis and Bu swo h, 2010), hence i can be ega ded as he “p ima y a enue
h ough which Nazism is in oduced, explained, and in e p e ed. Pos -wa Ame ican wa
comic books ce ainly ep esen an impo an medium o doing ha ” (Conno , 2020, p.
181). In his con ex , Ma el’s pos -1945 wa - ela ed comics in e p e Nazism and WWII
in a conc e e way, and he company’s ein e p e a ion o he pas ela es o b oade
cul u al ends ega ding he public image o Ge many in he 20 h cen u y. Ge man-
Ame ican poli ical ela ionships be ween 1945 and 1968 we e ema kably ha monious
and con e gen (Schwa z, 2004), and, a ew yea s la e , Ge ald Fo d’s e m o o ice was
ma ked by “[c]lose ha mony be ween Wes Ge many and he Uni ed S a es” (Schwabe,
2004, p. 5). Howe e , Ge man-Ame ican poli ical collabo a ion, diploma ic coope a ion
(Schwabe, 2004), and he eac i a ion o posi i e, e iciency- ela ed ideas abou
Ge many, did no elimina e he Nazi shadow. As Schwa z (2004) no es, he necessi y o
he alliance o bo h he US and Ge many, and he Ame ican ole in suppo ing Ge man
democ acy, coexis ed wi h he memo y o he Nazi e a and he wa s ha he Ame icans
waged agains Ge many. Al hough he “bad guy” Ge man s e eo ype shi ed o he
a ogan Eas Ge man Communis a e WWII (P obs , 1991), bo h ou da a and p e ious
li e a u e indica e ha he s e eo ype o he b u al Nazi has emained a p esence in he
media and popula cul u e. Echoes o Na ional Socialism and he wa pe iod “ emained
an endu ing heme in schola ly and popula cul u e”, hence Nazi Ge many became “a
cliché igu e o coun less ilms, ele ision shows, wa no els, and ic ion, al hough e e
mo e s ongly beginning in he 1960s” (Reu he , 2004, p. 605). In he ea ly 1960s, and
alongside he Eichmann ial in 1961, William L. Shi e ’s bes selle The Rise and Fall o
he Thi d Reich sold mo e han h ee million copies in he US be ween 1960 and 1975,
eleasing a wa e o publica ions abou he Thi d Reich; in 1978, an ex ao dina ily la ge
audience ollowed he ele ision se ies Holocaus (Reu he , 2004; Schwa z, 2004); and
75% o all Hollywood-p oduced ea u e ilms since 1946 associa e Ge mans wi h WWII,
Nazism, and he Holocaus (Hake, 2012). The e o e, al hough he Ame ican image o
Ge many had imp o ed a e he wa , he Nazi expe ience e ained a place in he
Ame ican mind in he decades in which Ma el was e conning i s wa my hology
(Reu he , 2004). The 1953-1968 Gallup polls indica ed ha only abou 15% o Ame icans
held un a o able iews owa ds Wes Ge mans; on he g ounds o such indings, Kayse
pe inen ly no ed in 1977,
hen how can we accoun o he pe asi e nega i e a i ude owa ds he Ge mans
we ind in ce ain books, pe iodicals and ilms which exploi he Nazi image as a
means o en e ainmen ? The answe is ob ious. The media eed on iolence and
he Nazi image is he epi omy o b u ali y and sadism - so i con inues o be used
o ickle he an asy o he Ame ican public (1977, p. 848).
We migh enhance Kayse ’s explana ion: he Nazi image no only unc ions as an
exploi a i e a che ype o sadism, bu also as a empla e o he no ion o he Pe ec
Enemy, as Ma el’s comics illus a e. I mus be aken in o accoun ha he a che ypal
Nazi ela es o he unc ion o Nazism in popula cul u e, ha is, a “signi ie o secula
e il” (Abbenhuis and Bu swo h, 2010, p. xix). The ein, he comic books whose co e s
we ha e analyzed belong o a much b oade cul u al phenomenon: “Non- ic ional as well
as ic ional accoun s o he Nazi pe iod since 1945 ha e long been de ined by a sha ed
belie in Nazism’s absolu e e il” (Rosenbe g, 2005, p. 18)—a phenomenon ha spans
decades, since, as Abbenhuis and Bu swo h poin ou , Nazism “con inues o exe po en
cu ency in popula cul u e” (2010, p. xi ). In his ega d, Ma el’s SBA comics
s eng hen wha Conno calls “ he seemingly undispu able and uncomplica ed
in e p e a ion o Wo ld Wa II as he “good wa ” ough by he “g ea es gene a ion”
agains he uncon es ed e il o Nazism” (2020, p. 183).
Ma el’s e conned wa na a i e also has in e es ing implica ions ega ding he
image o Japan in he second hal o he 20 h cen u y. Pos wa Ame icans ea s ha he
Japanese would be “a na ion o wa ch ul a enge s who migh sabo age any peace ul
p og am” p o ed unjus i ied (Benedic , 1967, p. 210). Ins ead, he Japanese ejec ed
mili a ism and op ed o coope a ion, peace, and iendliness—and, in u n, he US
adminis a ion o Japan unde Gene al MacA hu a oided humilia ion echniques
(Benedic , 1967). Al hough pos wa Ame ican popula cul u e has depic ed Japan
ambi alen ly— o ins ance, he Japanese ha e appea ed in he hi ele ision show The
Simpsons as bo h obo ic wo kaholics and poli e people (Dobson, 2006)— he his o ical
de elopmen o Japan-US ela ions may shed ligh on he con ex o Ma el’s p o-
Japanese e conning. His o ical ac o s also in luence wide changes in he ep esen a ion
o he Asian “O he ” in comics: as Conno explains (2022, p. 113), “In Wo ld Wa II
Comics, he Japanese we e he enemy because hey we e Japanese”, while in he con ex
o he Vie nam wa , he oe was cons uc ed on an ideological, an i-Communis basis,
a he han on a acial basis.
Pos wa peace enabled Japan o eco e economically and engage in global
comme cial ac i i ies, hence edi ec ing i s na ionalism owa ds economic sup emacy in
