Marvel Comics' Civil War and the Age of Terror by Kevin Michael Scott

Author:Kevin Michael Scott
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: McFarland
Published: 2015-08-27T16:00:00+00:00

Cap here separates the ideals of America—individual freedom and autonomy—from the reality of America—the United States government and the democratic election process. In the process, while he remains firmly within a discourse of American Exceptionalism, he turns that discourse against the United States generally and the memory of World War II specifically. He thus produces an aporia in the World War II rhetorical approach to the War on Terror, deconstructing the foundation of his own moral superiority. Cap reminds us that whatever the ideal, the reality of America has never been above reproach, even during the greatest war the U.S. ever fought; furthermore, that the beliefs of American Exceptionalism have themselves been the justification for some of the least ethical acts in American history. Captain America thus asks the question of how this legacy of American Exceptionalism, and its specific manifestation in the nostalgic memory of World War II, might lead American policy in the GWOT into fascism itself, as he actually rejects the democratic ideal of government. In the end, not only does the use of a nostalgic ideal of World War II as a blueprint for the GWOT undermine that nostalgic ideal, it emphasizes the inherent contradictions within American Exceptionalism.

Unsurprisingly, then, the World War II narrative of the War on Terror did not remain dominant for long in American culture. The realities of the GWOT led to the popularity of a new frame: that of the Cold War. This transition from Greatest Generation nostalgia to Baby Boomer nostalgia began at least as early as 2003, when Bush’s State of the Union address moved from a rhetoric of sacrifice to one of containment. The end of the speech culminates with a conflation of Nazis, Soviets, and terrorists:

Today, the gravest danger in the war on terror, the gravest danger facing America and the world, is outlaw regimes that seek and possess nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons.… Throughout the 20th century, small groups of men seized control of great nations, built armies and arsenals, and set out to dominate the weak and intimidate the world.… In each case, the ambitions of Hitlerism, militarism and communism were defeated by the will of free peoples, by the strength of great alliances and by the might of the United States of America.… Once again, this nation and our friends are all that stand between a world at peace, and a world of chaos and constant alarm. Once again, we are called to defend the safety of our people and the hopes of all mankind. And we accept this responsibility [Bush].

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