Superheroes are the gods of American mythology. They are the incarnation of those who we’d like to be: pioneers and heroes. The comics influenced the Americans, they evolved since their creation to be closer to the people, to be what they need. So we can decipher the American history behind the evolution of the comics.

1. HOW MAY THE SUPERHEROES BE THE
REFLECTION OF AMERICAN HISTORY?
By Alexandre Korda

2. • SUPERHEROES ARE THE GODS OF AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY. THEY ARE
THE INCARNATION OF THOSE WHO WE’D LIKE TO BE: PIONEERS AND
HEROES. THEIR CREATION IS A KIND OF AMERICAN ART.
• HOW MAY THE 1930’S HEROES STILL BE TOPICAL?
• AN INTERVIEW OF ANDY WARHOL IN THE 60’S IS INTERESTING. THE
JOURNALIST ASKED: “YOU, ROSENQUIST AND LICHTENSTEIN ARE
WORKING ALL INDEPENDENTLY. DOESN’T SEEM CURIOUS TO YOU THAT
YOU LOOK AT THE WORLD IN THE SAME WAY?” AND HE ANSWERED “I
THINK WE JUST READ A LOT OF COMIC BOOKS”.
• THE COMICS INFLUENCED THE AMERICANS, THEY EVOLVED SINCE THEIR
CREATION TO BE CLOSER TO THE PEOPLE, TO BE WHAT THEY NEED. SO
WE CAN DECIPHER THE AMERICAN HISTORY BEHIND THE EVOLUTION OF
THE COMICS.

3. THE GOLDEN AGE
1938 - 1954

4. 1935
SUPERMAN CAME FROM ANOTHER PLANET, HE IS
AN IMMIGRANT WHO WILL BECOME AN
UNCONTESTED SYMBOL OF AMERICA. THIS IS THE
VERY STRUCTURE OF THE USA.

5. 1939

6. 1941
THE FEAR OF THE NAZIS GREW. SO TWO
JEWS CREATED A CHARACTER ABLE TO
FIGHT AGAINST THE NAZIS:

7. 1941
THE FEAR OF THE NAZIS GREW. SO TWO
JEWS CREATED A CHARACTER ABLE TO
FIGHT AGAINST THE NAZIS:
THIS WAS A GREAT TOOL FOR PROPAGANDA

8. 1941 THE WAR WAS A PROBLEM TO THE SUPERMAN’S
STORIES BECAUSE HE COULD STOP IT IN ONE
DAY IF HE WANTED. SO THE DRAWERS FOUND
AN EXCUSE TO PUT SUPERMAN ASIDE:

9. 1941
CLARK TRIED TO ENLIST, BUT
DURING THE VISUAL TEST HE
READ THE BOARD BEHIND THE
WALL INSTEAD OF THE BOARD
IN FRONT OF HIM THANKS TO
HIS SUPERVISION. SO HE WAS
EXEMPTED.
THE WAR WAS A PROBLEM TO THE SUPERMAN’S
STORIES BECAUSE HE COULD STOP IT IN ONE
DAY IF HE WANTED. SO THE DRAWERS FOUND
AN EXCUSE TO PUT SUPERMAN ASIDE:

10. 1941
IN THE END, THEY SAID THAT AMERICA
DIDN’T NEED SUPERMAN TO WIN THE WAR.

11. • AFTER THE JAPANESE’S SURRENDER IN
1945, AMERICA HAD REAL HEROES AND
THE SUPERHEROES WERE LOSING
POPULARITY. HEROES LIKE CAPTAIN
AMERICA DIDN’T HAVE REASON FOR
BEING ANYMORE.

12. 1950 THE SUPERHEROES WERE SHARPLY CRITICISM, SUPERMAN WAS
ACCUSED TO REPRESENT AN AGGRESSIVE RACIAL SUPERIORITY.
CHURCHES AND GROUPS OF CITIZENS BOYCOTTED THE
SUPERHEROES.
THEN, THE FREE VIOLENCE AND THE MONSTERS WERE DELETED IN
THE COMICS. SUPERMAN STOPPED FIRE AND BRING BACK SOME CATS.
HE WAS ADOPTING THE EASY POST-WAR WAY OF LIFE.

13. THE SILVER AGE
1955 – 1970s
THAT IS THE END OF THE GOLDEN AGE, ONLY THE BEGINNING OF THE SUPERHEROES.
NOW, THEY WILL EVOLVE SIGNIFICANTLY DURING THE SILVER AGE.

14. 1960
1960, WE ARE NOW IN A NEW ERA: THE
SPACE EXPLORATION, THE NUCLEAR ENERGY,
THE SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS. BUT THE FEAR
OF THE COLD WAR AND THE ATOMIC WAR
VERY CLOSE TOO.
SO A NEW KIND OF SUPERHEROES CAME
QUICKLY. THEY WERE NO SUPERMEN FROM
ANOTHER PLANET, BUT NORMAL PEOPLE
WHICH ONE WE COULD BE IDENTIFIED.

15. 1960
THEY HAD A NEW FEATURE TOO:
SOME PERSONAL TROUBLE

16. 1960
THEY HAD A NEW FEATURE TOO:
SOME PERSONAL TROUBLE

17. 1960
THEY HAD A NEW FEATURE TOO:
SOME PERSONAL TROUBLE

18. 1962
“THIS IS THE SUPERHERO YOU COULD BE”
STAN LEE

19. 1962
HE IS A HERO…
HE HATES HIS LIFE…

20. 1962
DC COMICS UPDATED HIS
HEROES WITH A NEW LOOK AND
A NEW PERSONALITY

21. 1963
The 22 November 1963,
national tragedy, President
Kennedy was murdered
FOUR MONTHS LATER, STAN
LEE RESUSCITATE A HERO
WHO USED TO BRING THE
BIGGER IDEALS AND THE
TRUST OF THE USA:

22. 1963

23. 1960
DURING THE POP ART TIME THE
FIRST BATMAN’S COMIC BOOKS
WERE REMAKE IN AN ACTUAL
CONTEXT.

24. 1964
MARTIN LUTHER KING FOUGHT TO
THE HUMANS RIGHTS, AGAINST THE
RACISM.

25. 1964
THE FIRST COLOURED
PEOPLE APPEARED IN
MARVEL.

26. 1966
AND THE FIRST
BLACK
SUPERHEROES

27. 1966

28. 1970
DC GAVE RISE TO THIS
PROBLEM TOO…

29. 1970

30. 1970

31. 1970

32. 1970

33. 1970
DURING THIS PERIOD, THE QUESTION OF
THE GENDER EQUALITY RAISED.
DC CREATE A NEW WONDER WOMAN:
WITHOUT POWER AND SEXY.

34. 1970
BUT THIS WASN’T APPRECIATE BY
THE WOMEN BECAUSE IT COULD
MEAN THAT WONDER WOMAN
WOULD NEVER BE EQUAL TO
SUPERMAN. MOREOVER SHE
BECAME A SEX OBJECT…
WE CAN SEE ON THIS EXAMPLE THE
COMPRESSIONS DIFFERENCE ABOUT FEMINISM
BETWEEN MAN AND WOMAN AT THIS TIME.

35. 1970
THEN CAME THE MOVIE.

36. 1971
CRIMINALITY RAISED. PEOPLE
ARE AFRAID TO TAKE METRO,
THEY FELT THAT THEY COULD
BE SHOT AT ANY TIME.
THIS ATMOSPHERE APPEARS
IN THE COMICS TOO.

37. 1972
USUALLY, THE HERO SAVED THE GIRL, BUT THIS
TIME THE RESCUE FAILED AND THE HERO KILL THE
WOMAN HE LOVED TRYING TO SAVE HER.

38. 1972 COMICS CHARACTERS
CAN DIE TOO ?!

39. 1973
AGAINST THE
LAXITY OF THE 70’,
ANTIHEROES, LIKE
THE PUNISHER,
BECAME MORE
AND MORE
POPULAR…
AFTER THE GWEN’S
DEATH, HEROES
SEEMED WEEKS.
PEOPLE TURNED
THEMSELVES INTO
A NEW SOLUTION:
THE ANTIHEROES

40. 1974
DURING THE WATERGATE SCANDAL, PEOPLE THOUGHT
THAT THE PUNISHER WOULD SETTLE THE PROBLEM.

41. 1974
CAPTAIN
AMERICA
BECAME THE
NOMAD.
A HERO
WITHOUT
HOMELAND.

42. BRONZE AGE
1970s - 1986
THE SUPERHEROES ARE NOW IN CINEMA, ON THE TV, IN THE VIDEO GAMES,
EVERYWHERE… THERE ARE A PART OF THE POP CULTURE

43. 1978
THE FIRST FULL-LENGTH FEATURE FILM OF SUPERMAN WITH CHRISTOPHER REEVE
PRODUCED BY WARNER BROS BRING THE TRUST IN SUPERHEROES BACK AFTER
WATERGATE

44. 1980
THE PUBLIC
HAS GROWN,
SUPERHEROES
HAD TO GROW
TOO.
SOME GET
MARRIED,
SOME GET
CHILDREN,
SOME DIED
AND ARE
REPLACED…

45. 1986 BATMAN
BECOME
MORE
VIOLENT,
MORE
SOMBRE TO
MATCH WITH
AN
ADULTHOOD
PUBLIC.

46. 1989

47. 2016

48. 1980 THE ACCEPTATION OF THE
DIFFERENCES APPEARS.
MARVEL CREATES THE X-
MEN.
THEY REPRESENTS THE
DISCRIMINATED
MINORITIES. THE MORAL
IN THIS STORIES IS THAT
WE SHOULDN’T HATE
SOMEONE BECAUSE OF HIS
DIFFERENCES AND WE
SHOULDN’T BE ASHAMED
OF BEING DIFFERENT.

49. 1980

50. 1980

51. 2013

52. MODERN AGE
1986 – 2016+
THE HEROES WILL UNLEASH THEIR POTENTIAL LIKE NEVER BEFORE.

53. 1992
A NEW KIND OF
COMICS, MORE
VIOLENT, BECAME
POPULAR.

54. 1992
IN THE 90’S, THE
SCRIPTWRITERS
OF SUPERMAN
DECIDED TO
KILL HIM.
THEY WROTE A
FIGHT DURING
11 NUMBERS
FINISHING WITH
HIS DEATH.
HE WAS TOO
“NICE” FOR THE
TIME WHO CLAIM
MORE AND MORE
VIOLENCE.
IN FACT, THE SALES
WERE MULTIPLIED
BY 12.

55. 1993

56. 1993

57. 1993

58. 2001
THE MOST
TRAGICALLY
EVENT OF THIS
CENTURY
HIGHLIGHTED A
NEW THREAT:
THE TERRORISM.

59. 2001
MARVEL PUBLISHED A
SPECIAL STORY WHERE
SPIDERMAN FAILED TO
SAVE THE TWIN TOWERS.
THE IDEA WAS TO SHOW
THAT THE REAL HEROES
AT THIS MOMENT WERE
THE EMERGENCY
SERVICES AND THE
VOLUNTEERS WHO
HELPED TO SAVE PEOPLE.
EVEN THE SUPERHEROES
WERE ADMIRING THEM.

60. 2001

61. 2001
AFTER THAT, THE HEROES
USED TO FIGHT AGAINST
INVISIBLE THREATS WHO
COULD APPEAR ANYTIME
(LIKE RA’S AL GHUL IN
BATMAN BEGIN).

62. 2005

63. 2007
TODAY, WE CAN FIND
PEOPLE WHO LIKE
SUPERHEROES EVEN
THOUGH THEY DIDN’T
READ ANY COMICS.
WE CAN FIND PEOPLE
WHO DRESS UP TO FIGHT
CRIME IN REAL LIFE.
BARACK OBAMA CONFESSED THAT HE IS A
FAN OF SPIDERMAN AND BATMAN.
SUPERHEROES ARE A SOCIAL
PHENOMENON NOW!

64. 2007
THE S IN THE SUPERMAN’S
SUIT IS A SYMBOL OF HOPE
NOW.

65. 2007

66. BIBLIOGRAPHY
HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=IVSP_-PTTNQ
REPORT ABOUT THE SUBJECT ITSELF.
HTTP://COURSES.UNT.EDU/EFIGA/5680PDFS/AIKEN_2010.PDF
ARTICLE ABOUT A TEACHER WHO TEACHES HISTORY WITH COMICS BOOKS.
BOOKS :
COMIC BOOKS AND AMERICAN CULTURAL HISTORY: AN ANTHOLOGY
DES COMICS ET DES HOMMES : HISTOIRE CULTURELLE DES COMIC BOOKS
AUX ETATS-UNIS

67. Alexandre Korda
alexandre.korda@etu.emse.fr
http://www.mines-stetienne.fr/