O Say Can You See: The Greatest Patriotic Super Heroes of All-Time

[Atomic Archer]

Good question about The Fighting American.

Did The Spirit of '76 ever hold a title of his own (or a feature in an anthology), or was he created solely for his appearance in The Invaders? I know he was integrated into 616 continuity after a What If... story, but all those listed in the article at least had a feature somewhere (however brief the run). Of course, buy that standard, Crazy '50s Cap AKA The Grand Director could have an entry as well.

On a related note, what about USAgent, AKA Captain America AKA Super-Patriot AKA John Walker. He did star in Captain America's title for a while, and he was created as a US patriotic character (however cynical).

What about Mr.Scarlet & Pinky?

Kirby's Fighting American (later used by Rob Liefield) as I understand it, was Kirby's way of saying "I can't do Captain America? fine, I'll make my own!"...likewise USagent/Superpatriot are likewise probably too close to Captain America to get thier own entries

Ialso agree ErikLarsen's Superpatriot (and his kids Liberty & Justice) should be included

And as a fan of Aaron Williams "PS238" I have to include American Eagle and US Patriot Act

As for the Spirit of 76...fun fact; at the time in March 1977 both Marvel and DC were putting out a WWII comic, "Invaders" and "Freedom Fighters" during one month each comic had an "evil" version of each sides heroes called "The Crusaders" (a la the "Squadron Supreme/Assemblers")

The Invader version which fought the Freedom Fighters was Americommando (Captain America), Rusty (Bucky), Fireball (human Torch), Sparky (Toro), And Barracudda (Sub-Mariner)
the Freedom Fighter version who fought the Invaders was Spirit of'76 (Uncle Sam), Dyna-Mite (Doll Man) Ghost Girl (Phantom Lady) Tommy Lightning (The Ray), Thunderfist (Human Bomb), and Captain Wings (Black Condor)....both Crusaders were supposed to be "one-off" characters with the versions losing their powers after the story ended and never seen again, the only exceptions were Dyna Mite (who became the Destroyer) and Spirit of 76 who was rescued from obscurity to become the "new" Captain America in an issue of "What IF"

side note...while the idea was agreed upon by both Marvel & DC editors, neither knew until the comics saw print that coincidentally, both companies chose to call their teams "The Crusaders"

[Iron Maiden]

Actually, Miss America Chavez first appearance was the in the pages of a 2011 Marvel mini-series called Vengeance by Joe Casey and Nick Dragotta. It is ok, story wise it is all over the place, some great moments, some that you might say WTF and a bunch of callbacks to his more recent modern Marvel work. As far as Miss America herself, she isn't the main character but among the 'good guys' heavily featured she steals the entire series, the basis for her personality is there and her costume isn't nearly as well done as the one that debuted in Young Avengers but she is still given some badass scenes that make it worth a quick read if you are a big fan of the character and want to see where she originally started or just like Casey's weirder Marvel stuff like his Uncanny X-Men run.

Seeing as she's from another dimension she has very little to do with the American Fourth of July celebration other than her choice of costume. I read her debut in Vengeance but I don't think it was touched as to why she choose her costume. She just doesn't seem to be wrapped up in American Patriotism as her raison d'etre.

[ouroboros]

I would count Martha Washington of GIVE ME LIBERTY, given that she's been given the name of the nation's first First Lady-- which, even in a futuristic context, has got to be at least as iconic as being named after the Liberty Bell.

Nedor's Fighting Yank is notable at least as one of the few colonially dressed heroes (tricorn hat and all) to enjoy a pretty good Golden Age run.

[B-Rax]

Seeing as how Loki is currently running for president of the United States in comics, I'd say he's pretty patriotic right now lol.

[Mike Norris]

DC's Miss America is Joan Dale. I've no idea who Diane Dale is.

The other guys using the Captain America code name should have been mentioned in the Captain America entry.

[Shawn Hopkins]

Who wrote this list, a Commie? No patriotic hero list is complete without the true 'Merican hero, Jack Flag. He fights crime with a boombox!

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[TheIronDuck]

Who wrote this list, a Commie? No patriotic hero list is complete without the true 'Merican hero, Jack Flag. He fights crime with a boombox!

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May he rest in peace. while his killer is #1 on the list.

[Shawn Hopkins]

Another overlooked American hero, American Eagle.

[TheIronDuck]

My personal favorites are

The Fighting Yank


and

The American Spirit

[codystarbuck]

Good question about The Fighting American.

Did The Spirit of '76 ever hold a title of his own (or a feature in an anthology), or was he created solely for his appearance in The Invaders? I know he was integrated into 616 continuity after a What If... story, but all those listed in the article at least had a feature somewhere (however brief the run). Of course, buy that standard, Crazy '50s Cap AKA The Grand Director could have an entry as well.

On a related note, what about USAgent, AKA Captain America AKA Super-Patriot AKA John Walker. He did star in Captain America's title for a while, and he was created as a US patriotic character (however cynical).

Spirit of '76 was created for the Invaders, though he also factored into the What If? story, which sort of became canon, about how he and the Patriot substituted for Cap, after he disappeared. The character himself was a pastiche of a hero who was, sadly, omitted from the list: The Fighting Yank, from Nedor. He was a purely patriotic hero, though his only decent stories were those from Mort Meskin and Jerry Robinson. Also missing is Fawcett's Minute Man, Archie's Captain Flag (who was not quite in the Shield's league), The American Eagle, The Liberator, Miss Liberty (a Revolutionary War hero, at DC), The American (at Dark Horse, a cynical take on the concept), US Jones, Super American, and Yank & Doodle. I'm forgetting others from the Golden Age. The Shield entry also fails to note the revised Shield, Lancelot Strong, who appeared in two excellent issues of The Double Life of Prvt Strong, from Simon & Kirby. He, too, was known as the Shield.

[The Gorn Identity]

They forgot someone very important. Hint: He fights for truth, justice, and the American way.

[Hypestyle]

... well, kudos.

When was the last time that a mini series was done by Marvel or DC that was a team-up with the "patriotic"-themed characters? This is something that should be done again.

[DrNewGod]

They forgot someone very important. Hint: He fights for truth, justice, and the American way.

Yeah, but he wasn't created to represent a patriotic image. If anything, Superman was initially a very anti-establishment character.

[The Gorn Identity]

Yeah, but he wasn't created to represent a patriotic image. If anything, Superman was initially a very anti-establishment character.

Thats very true, but ever since the 50's he became an American patriotic icon. Most prominently from the 1950's - 1980's.

[DrNewGod]

Thats very true, but ever since the 50's he became an American patriotic icon. Most prominently from the 1950's - 1980's.

Don't dispute it. I only meant that all the other entrants in the list were characters that had a patriotic element bound up in their image from the get go. Thus, Supes doesn't really qualify for the club.