Patriotism is a common trait amongst the superheroes and many of the superheroes with roots dating back to the golden age of comics often embody this trait and it’s become so integral to their personality that it’s hard to not imagine them picking up their mantle and fighting for justice for the people of their home country. So today, we’re taking a look at some of those heroes with our list of the top 10 most patriotic superheroes! Note that we’re going beyond just associating patriotism with superheroes steeped in American culture we’re looking at heroes who are patriotic of their homeland, regardless of what country that may be. So let's take a look at the top 10 Most Patriotic Superheroes.
Liberty Belle may not be one of the most popular characters or even memorable ones these days but her history is pretty darn intense, and very much steeped in American patriotism. Libby Lawrence’s powers were linked to the ringing of the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, her hometown. But before she even got her powers, she showed an immense amount of resilience and courage during world war 2. Even though she first debuted in 1942, we would get a better idea of her history thanks to All-Star Squadron issue 61 in 1986. For starters, she was in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, where she won 3 gold medals in swimming. Then in WW2, she was stationed in Poland as the personal secretary to her father who was in the military. When he’s killed in an air raid by the Nazis, she flees to Amsterdam, which later falls into Nazi control, causing her to make arrangements to be smuggled into France. At the battle of Dunkirk, she gets into a boat that’s shot out of the water, leaving her to swim the English Channel all the way to England, where she’s hailed as the Miracle of Dunkirk. She heads back to Philly, where she visits the Independence Hall, where a worker named Tom gives her a replica of the bell which she uses to fight back evil, including Nazis.
Created in New Teen Titans issue 16 of 1982, Yankee Poodle is, in fact, a poodle, all jazzed out in the red white and blue. Living on Earth C, she’s part of an alternate world that has a whole bunch of anthropomorphic superhero animals and is a part of the Zoo Crew. Now if you’ve seen any of our alternate versions of superheroes lists, you’re probably more than familiar with the Zoo Crew – a team of superheroes that are basically the DC animal parody version the Justice League and other heroes from the DCU. Her powers consist of animal magnetism, in which she can shoot semi-solidified electromagnetic stars from one of her hands that repels objects, and from the other hand, shoot stripes that attract objects.
When one initially thinks of patriotic superheroes, Black Panther might not be the first character to come to mind, but his loyalty to his home of Wakanda is undeniable. Aside from literally being the nation’s King, most of Black Panther’s actions are done for the good of the nation to protect his people, and to protect the culture and legacy that they’ve created. If the recent Black Panther film showed us anything, we can see why the lineage of Black Panthers wouldn’t want to put their home and their people in any sort of danger, even if that meant isolating them from the rest of the world. But T’Challa aims to bridge that gap. Regardless of their feelings towards quiet and hidden sovereignty, T’Challa in the comics has always been a politician first, superhero second, with those two roles often colliding to give us storylines of epic proportions when Black Panther is concerning.
While the US has some obvious choices for patriotic heroes that we’ll be touching on later in this list, there are some other heroes who represent the values of other countries that have popped up in panels over the years. Like Canada’s own Captain Canuck. First published in 1975, Captain Canuck was the first successful Canadian comic book since the end of the golden age following World War 2. Three different characters have held the mantle over the years, with the first gaining his powers from contact with aliens, and all three working to keep Canada safe from the likes of international threats and conspiracy.
Speaking of Canadian superheroes, our next number is a character who is often confused with Captain Canuck due to donning similar outfits – Guardian. While Captain Canuck was a product of independent publishers outside of the big fish in the comics industry, Guardian was crafted by John Bryne for Marvel. Intended to be the Canadian version of Captain America, the hero made his debut in X-Men issue 109, co-written by Chris Claremont. Marvel is no stranger to having Canadian heroes in their comics – both Wolverine and Deadpool are also from the north. Anywho, the character was originally supposed to be named the Canadian Shield after the famous rock formation, but Guardian ended up sticking despite initial protest against it. Guardian has enhanced physical attributes, is capable of flight, can create a personal force field and has the ability to fire energy blasts. He would even appear in an issue of the Uncanny X-Men that featured Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau – our current prime minister’s daddy in a story titled Chaos in Canada!
From Canada to its Monarch country, let’s look at a hero whose repping all things British – Captain Britain. Initially intended to be an exclusive for the British comics market, this Marvel character has been written by the likes of iconic writers Chris Claremont and Alan Moore. Alan Davis, the artist who revamped the character in later years, has stated “I decided to base his costume on military uniforms. If you’ve ever seen the mounted guards outside Buckingham Palace, you’ll recognize the components. The white leggings and the tall boots with the flaps over the knees were easy.” Often Captain Britain's stories were political commentaries, which led to the title being given to Alan Moore. According to his lore, each earth in the Marvel multiverse has a version of Captain Britain who upholds Britain’s laws.
Uncle Sam was one of the many superheroes that emerged during World War 2, created by legend Will Eisner. First appearing in National Comics issue 1, published by Quality Comics at the time, the character had a whole lot of epic abilities to draw from in battle superhuman strength, enhanced speed, invulnerability, limited clairvoyance, size alteration and the ability to transport himself and others to the heartland a pocket dimension. Uncle Sam was initially depicted as a mystical being, the spiriting of a deceased patriotic soldier who had fought in the American War of Independence. His heyday was most definitely during the 40s in the 50’s, DC had gotten the rights to the character through its acquisition of Quality Comics, and while Uncle Sam has popped up several times since then, it seems that his glory days may be behind him. Side note, Uncle Sam was also featured in a story in National Comics that was released just before the tragedy at Pearl Harbour that featured the military base being bombed an eerie coincidence that some believe ‘predicted the future; despite the enemies being German in the comic, not Japanese.
Another figure who was rallied around during WW2 was DC’s Superman. While the character these days has very much branched off into representing different kinds of ideologies, much of who he is today was rooted in the stories he was featured in during the Golden Age, along with the US war propaganda that he was heavily present in. This was the age in which he became the ideal man, the ubermensch, the role model for what masculinity, bravery and the American way should be. He appeared on the front lines of the fight long before the US entered the war, and when the country did, he was often used – and sometimes paired with Batman to sell War bonds and rally national pride. There were even Superman comics produced specifically for men in the army to help improve literacy amongst troops, who were often required to operate complex machinery. For years since, Superman has been seen as the all American man, wholesome, brave and strong, and many associate his red and blue colors with the red and blue of the country.
First appearing in Timely Comic’s Marvel Mystery Comics issue 49 in 1943, Miss America was created in an attempt to attract female readers to comics the way that Wonder Woman had in 1941. This version of the character was Madeline Joyce, a socially aware teenaged heiress who had superhuman strength, flight, enhanced stamina and, at one point, x-ray vision. But perhaps the more patriotic version of the character came in the second woman to don the mantle of Miss America – America Chavez, the first Latin-American LGBTQ character to star in an ongoing series. Despite being cancelled, the series received rave reviews, lauding the comic for representing a brand new generation of readers and superheroes that accurately depicted young Americas. Also worth noting, America even went back in time to punch Hitler herself before Cap could get in that punch, and that’s pretty darn great.
Captain American embodies every virtue that American patriotism strives to uphold. Despite that, unfortunately, a stint as a Hydra operative in Secret Empire – yes, we know, it wasn’t really him but sorry, it was still pretty bad you guys – Cap is the ultimate American soldier through and through. For starters, the character’s first appearance featured him on the cover of his debut issue PUNCHING Adolf Hitler which, at the time, was the most patriotic thing one could do, despite the US not even being in the war at that point. And, if recent social media trends featuring superheroes punching Nazis after those horrible marches in Charlottesville taught us anything, tackling those who threaten our freedom is still pretty high on the priority list. Steve Rogers was a character, who against all odds, got what he desired most the chance to stand up and fight for his country and fight for what was right. His sense of morality has become an integral part of the character’s personality over the years – an ethics code of conduct that continues to inspire Americans to this day.
10. LIBERTY BELLE
9. YANKEE POODLE
8. BLACK PANTHER
7. CAPTAIN CANUCK
6. GUARDIAN
5. CAPTAIN BRITAIN
4. UNCLE SAM
3. SUPERMAN
2. MISS AMERICA
1. CAPTAIN AMERICA
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