Captain America Comics No. 1: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Debuting in the appropriately titled 1940 comic book Captain America No. 1 , Captain America was the brainchild of Jewish American creators Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. Intended to personify American ideals and inspire patriotism, the star-spangled, shield carrying superhero is presented on the issue’s cover punching Nazi Germany’s real-life fascist leader, Adolph Hitler, in the face.

The comic and its subsequent issues tell the story of Steve Rogers, a once frail man who undergoes a secret military experiment. Injected with a secret “super soldier” serum that gives him incredible strength, Rogers dons the guise of Captain America to fight nefarious supervillains and the Axis powers with the help of teenage sidekick Bucky Barnes. The duo was part of the vast pantheon of superheroes that emerged in the wake of the phenomenal success of Superman, introduced in 1938’s Action Comics No. 1.

In true comic book fashion, cancellation in the 1950s did not kill the wartime hero, with Kirby and writer Stan Lee bringing the character back in Marvel Comics Avengers No. 4, 1961. Since that time, Captain American has been a fixture in the Marvel Universe, featured in stories that explore such topics as terrorism, nationalism and racial injustice.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 1941-03
• Object Name: comic book
• Physical Description: paper (overall material)
• Physical Description: ink (overall material)
• Physical Description: metal (staples material)
• Measurements: overall: 9 7/8 in x 7 1/2 in; 25.0825 cm x 19.05 cm
• Subject: Comics
• Subject: Captain America
• ID Number: 2024.0179.02
• accession number: 2024.0179
• catalog number: 2024.0179.02
• Credit Line: Brandon Beck
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.