Superheroes in the Bush era: between support and rebellion to the war on terror

Abstract

Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in the United States, George W. Bush’s term as president of the country was characterized by the implementation of the War on Terror, a set of controversial actions and measures of foreign policy and domestic security as a defense and belligerence reaction against those responsible for the attacks, the Islamic extremist Al-Qaeda organization, and its alleged allies in the Middle East. To promote and justify this undertaking of global impact marked by the military invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, the patriotic government discourse represented it as a heroic journey of predestined mission in the name of democratic expansion and world peace, reproducing itself through the influential culture industry of the USA. With the support of conceptions, studies and analyses from Slavoj Zizek, Noam Chomsky, Dan Hassler-Forest and Jeffery Moulton, among others, this paper assesses how the famous superheroes of the DC and Marvel companies, historically consolidated as popular symbols of American identity and pride since their origins at the gates of World War II, portrayed literally or metaphorically, in comics and films contemporary to the Bush administration, the September 11 trauma and the interventionist campaign against the “supervillains” of a new Axis. Thus, we identify and elucidate, with emblematic examples involving characters such as Batman and Captain America, not only representations consonant with the official discourse, but also allegories that, contrary to a positive reverberation tendency especially observed in cinema, reflect critical views on the War on Terror, echoing a politically contending counter-discourse remarkable of the time.

Keywords: Superheroes. Politics. War on Terror.