2016 has found America in the midst of a historic - and historically nasty - political season. The rift between the two sides and their ideologies seem deeper than ever. The struggle for the very symbolism of America is at stake. I'm talking, of course, about Captain America vs. Superman as America’s greatest symbol. This isn't Red vs. Blue; this is Red, White and Blue vs. Red, White and Blue. Yet like Democrat vs. Republican, this is not a new struggle. It's been going on since the '30s. But it's not the typical hypothetical that fans usually discuss. Those are usually JLA vs. the Avengers, Superman vs. Thor or Hulk, Batman vs. Cap. Those are physical battles. This is more of the ideological variety.

In these two characters we have two of the most recognizable representations of America: it's ideals, its dreams, its values. One guy flat out represents the Republic, in name and in attire. The other also wears the colors, and his fabled motto of "truth, justice and the American way" sounds like it came straight out of the Constitution. So in this highly-charged election season, it’s our intent to explore how these two characters’ representations of American ideals in their cinematic incarnations has evolved and whether or not there’s even room for – as Cap put it to Coulson once – “old fashioned” patriotism. Oh, and if you're of the hardcore comic variety and thinking this should really be Cap vs. DC's Uncle Sam, just...no.

So what do we see in Captain America and Superman when it comes to the American ideal? Muscle-bound, physical perfection immediately comes to mind; super-heroic, muscular instruments of justice smacking down (super)villainy in the name of Uncle Sam. Considering that Cap was the physical embodiment of the perfect Aryan, and Superman may (or may not) have had parts of his origin coming from a renowned German philosopher, yet both fought against the Nazis for America, the irony is notable. Also with Cap, the whole “America” thing is as overt as it gets. Cap’s raison d’etre – both in the comics and in real life – was to embody the fight against Hitler and human evil. In terms of true American-themed heroes, only Captain USA is exceeded by Captain America. Meanwhile, Superman doesn’t wear the stars and stripes…but they ain’t exactly strangers.

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Image via Marvel

Be that as it may, and as any good character starts with the person, one has to get to know Steve Rogers to truly appreciate the depth of Cap’s personification of the American ideal. In any battle in which he’s engaged, Cap’s strongest asset – other than that possessed, homing pigeon shield – is always his belief in the values of America, and what they stand for: fairness, justice, liberty. He believes it, he lives by it, he defends it, with his last breath if need be. Steve Rogers is the most square-jawed, forthright and earnest superhero ever conceived. In the comics, Cap bloviates about America, her values and ideals all the time when he's fighting. It's part of his charm. There's an undeniable and unavoidable aura of inspiration that surrounds Steve Rogers whether he's in uniform or not. It's mentioned time and time again by opponents from Red Skull to Ultron to Zemo. Sam Wilson probably laid it out the best in Captain America: The Winter Soldier: “Dude, Captain America needs my help. That’s as good a reason as any (to rejoin the fight).”

Superman’s patriotism is a somewhat different animal, more subject to the era in which he’s portrayed than Cap’s. But he is and has for decades been referred to as a symbol of hope. He’s an impossible man who does impossible things but shares our American values and represents the potential of all Americans to achieve beyond themselves. Plus he’s an immigrant to boot. Superman is a magnanimous god nurtured in the very heart of America. He is the greatest hero and the most recognizable, both in his fictional world and in our real one.

In looking at the various cinematic incarnations of the two, of course there’s the Max Fleischer shorts and the George Reeves incarnation in Superman and the Mole Men in 1951, as well as the 1943 serial Captain America starring Dick Purcell. Those productions are all slathered with patriotism. That was back in the days of Uncle Sam posters, “Buy War Bonds” and “I’d Rather Be Dead Than Red”. For our purposes though, we’re interested in the movies from the original Richard Donner Superman till now. And that starts with the transcendent Christopher Reeve.

If someone told me that Christopher Reeve was in fact a real-life Kal-El, sent from another planet to one day portray Superman, I’d be inclined to believe him. I don’t believe any actor has ever represented a character on screen, especially a long-established and universally-known character, as well as Reeve did with Superman. Confident, irreverent, megawatt smile, filled out the super suit well (gaining some 40 pounds of beef to do so). For many in my generation, Christopher Reeve simply was Superman. Still is.

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Image via Warner Bros.

In those films Superman’s Americanism was wrapped in Clark’s aww-shucks Smallville upbringing. Hence laying out the classic phrase to Lois: “I’m here to fight for truth, justice and the American way.” As well as, “Lois, I never lie.” So while Superman’s Clark Kent persona was a put-on the whole way, his small town, American heartland upbringing certainly wasn’t. Add to that the iconic shot in Superman II of him flying Old Glory back to the White House at the end of the movie and telling the President, “Sorry I’ve been away so long. I won’t let you down again.” Something very much along the lines of the old axiom, “The price of liberty is eternal vigilance,” coming from the one guy who can actually pull that off. Even in Superman IV, Superman’s patriotism is ham-handedly on display by his quick restoration of the flag on the moon after getting the shit kicked out of him by Nuclear Man. And don’t forget that in that same movie Supes left himself vulnerable to the Fingernails of Doom to make sure the Statue of Liberty was undamaged.

The American heart, as it turns out though, isn’t merely found in cornfields of the Midwest, but also in big cities, like Brooklyn for example, in the sickly Steve Rogers for example. Through modern movie magic, Chris Evans, imbued Rogers with a heart three sizes too big for his 90-lb asthmatic frame, and that didn’t change when he got juiced into Cap. Evans is absolutely everything you could want in a Captain America: freakin’ ripped, earnest, courageous, uncompromising.

Director Joe Johnston nicely captured the period and the feeling of genuine, unforced Americana in The First Avenger, and Evans fit in it perfectly. But what made Evans’ Cap really come to life was that no matter his situation, a 4F wannabe army recruit, or a performing monkey in a star spangled suit, Rogers aspired to do more, to give more, to be more. The fact that he took his destiny into his own hands when he went to save Bucky and the 101st, rather than accept his assigned role spoke more than anything to Rogers’ patriotism. Evans has translated well Steve Rogers’ core belief in the best of the American ideal, even as his outright gusto for America itself is much more tempered than in the comics. Evans’ Cap is nowhere as vocal – especially in the heat of battle – about being a patriotic mouthpiece. He generally lets his uniform and his actions speak for him. Evans’ Cap is first and foremost about being a soldier and protecting the innocent.

Back in the time of Superman IV, the innocent, along with the rest of the population, lived under very real threat of nuclear annihilation. Such a threat prompted the Reeve Superman to declare that he was going to eliminate the threat once and for all. This is a bit of a gray area for this particular Superman: doing a heroic thing but having to defy governments to do it. Even so, he had worldwide popular support for the action, so it made it all hunky dory.

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Image via Marvel

He at least did a courtesy to the United Nations to let them know that he was going to do it beforehand. Not asking for permission or a blessing mind you, just that the hands he trusted most to get that particular job done were his own. In that regard his thinking lined up directly with Rogers’.

The Cavill Superman wouldn’t have been anywhere near as thoughtful to show up and address the UN, not unless they, like Senator Finch and Congress did, asked him to. And he sure as hell wouldn’t have gotten a unanimous sponsorship from the assembly had he done so. That speaks to the difference of eras and depiction. The Reeve Superman was beloved by humanity. The Cavill Superman is trending way down on social media (in story and in reality). But back in 1987 death by nuke was a hell of a lot more prevalent than today, even though the threat is no less real. Luckily we have terrorism these days to keep it off our minds. Still, despite this one act of renegade behavior, if you think about it, the Reeve Superman would have abided by the Sokovia Accords. The Cavill Superman wouldn’t. The Routh Superman would have been too busy stalking Lois.

What’s notable about both Superman and Captain America is that while their belief in American ideals is usually consistent, their belief in the American government is anything but. Superman has vacillated from super-patriotic American government toadie in The Dark Knight Returns movie (also a loyal Soviet toadie in the Elseworlds comic Red Son) to the currently reticent and mopey Henry Cavill version. Cavill has actually mentioned Red Son, an alternate dimension story that wonders what would happen if Kal-El had crash-landed in Soviet Russia, as an inspiration for his portrayal of Superman. Cavill’s (i.e. Snyder’s) Superman is clearly not the Reeve Superman. The Cavill incarnation is still trying to decide if he wants to continue bothering with the whole Superman thing or not; although his reluctance has little to do with his relationship with the American government but more with humanity at large. In some respects, he’s somewhat Hancock-ian, only way less drunk and with a better wardrobe. Although, Cavill’s Superman did state matter-of-factly in Man of Steel: “I grew up in Kansas. I’m about as American as it gets.” But the American that he is, and the hero that he is, a far less idealistic one than the ever-upbeat Reeve version. The Cavill Superman’s relationship with America – and the world in general – reflects a mutual status: it’s not a universally-accepted lovefest for either side.

Rogers has had his own souring with the world to which he awoke. He’s gone from loyal soldier to loyal SHIELD agent to distrustful Avenger to worldwide outlaw and ultimately, ex-Captain America. His unwillingness to be caught unaware again by a governing body that could be compromised, even if it’s the United Nations, has landed him afoul of almost every government in the world, including the one his uniform represents. Without knowing how the next two Avengers films are going to play out yet, what would seem to be a logical progression is Rogers’ adoption of The Captain persona. Although every blogger and their grandmother keeps bringing up this misfire.

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Image via Warner Bros

Rogers has given up being Captain America a few times over the years in the comics, either by choice or necessity. For my money, The Captain storyline was the best, especially his final showdown with his replacement, John Walker, for the very mantle of Captain America. If there were to be a Cap 4, I’d go for that to be the plot. In the meantime, the ending of Civil War plugs into Rogers becoming The Captain much tidier than other scenarios, especially considering that in the comics, T’Challa provided The Captain with a replacement vibranium shield when Rogers gave up Cap’s shield and uniform .

As the franchises have both progressed, it’s pretty clear that the wide-eyed patriotism of the Reeve era was left well back there. Funnily enough, Cap’s was lost during Winter Soldier, a movie that harkened back to that time. Within the span of three films, Cap has gone from wanting just the chance to lay down his life if necessary for his country, to fighting like hell for the freedom to make a different call if necessary. Cap is still down for the sacrifice play if need be, he just isn’t down anymore for The Man to make that call for him. Hydra’s most enduring legacy in the MCU may have been to successfully shatter Cap’s blind allegiance to authority.

The Cavill Superman doesn’t really have much to say on the subject, (other than giving away to the military the exact amount of time he’s been on the planet and in what state he grew up in….). He’s very Megaforce about the whole thing actually: “Deeds Not Words”. He won the respect and trust of the armed forces, the American government and a good chunk of the populace in Man of Steel, and then spent half of Batman v Superman moping about the ones that he didn’t get. He’s not bothering with on-the-spot soundbite press conferences about the relative safety of subway trains or the relative safety of the airline industry. He’s doing his Superman thing when he has to, and showing up at the Capitol like it’s jury duty. Ultimately he had to sacrifice himself for a world that is decidedly split in its opinion of him.

So where does all this lead us to in examining the evolving patriotism of Captain America and Superman in the movies? There’s hardly a straightforward answer to be found, because in these days of protesting the national anthem, of strife over the legacy of a certain bygone flag, and especially of Edward Snowden, the very concept of patriotism itself isn’t so straightforward lately. Cap’s defiance of world authorities – including American authorities – and abdication of the mantle, and Superman’s lone(ly) wolf approach is right at the forefront of the ongoing argument about what patriotism really means. Which is the true patriot these days: the one who exercises American freedoms to protest it or the one who exercises American freedoms to protest the protesters?

I think that the one thing that we will always look for from these two heroes is that they first be true to who they are – or more accurately, our belief in who they should be – above anything else. The recent Cap movies have done that. The recent Superman movies, less so.