The release of Nick Spencer and Daniel Acuña's Captain America: Sam Wilson #1 has angered people in conservative media. Fox & Friends in particular railed against the fact that in the issue, Wilson (formerly the Falcon, now the new Cap) fought the Sons of the Serpent, who were kidnapping illegal immigrants. The co-hosts lamented the fact that Cap apparently now fights conservatives instead of traditional Captain America villains like Hydra and wish they could go back to the days when Cap punched Hitler. One of the hosts even said, "keep politics out of comics." These hosts (including the proclaimed comics "expert" Clayton Morris) have obviously never actually read any of those comics; Captain America has long reflected contemporary politics. Even dating back to that first issue, the iconic image of Cap punching Hitler was considered very controversial at the time, released before America entered World War II. So controversial, in fact, that New York Nazi sympathisers sent death threats to Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. But these two instances weren't the only times Cap got very political. Here are ten other times when controversial issues were portrayed in the comics.
Percival Constantine is the author of several novels and short stories, including the Vanguard superhero series, and regularly writes and comments on movies, comics, and other pop culture. More information can be found at his website, PercivalConstantine.com
