"With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility": Cold War Culture

"The so-called 'silver age' of comic books began in the late 1950s when National Comics...revived a number of its original superheroes from the late 1930s. In particular, National Comics found success with a series called The Justice League of America, which united several popular figures such as Batman and Superman from the 'golden age' of comics...Inspired by National's idea, rival publisher Martin Goodman of Timely Comics ushered in the self-proclaimed 'Marvel Age of Comics' when he asked his editor Stan Lee to design a superhero ream to outdo The Justice League. Collaborating with artist Jack Kirby, Lee published the first issue of The Fantastic Four in 1961, a series depicting the transformation of four ordinary individuals through exposure to cosmic rays into superheroes...The result was a revolution in the comic book industry that transformed the mildly successful Timely Comics into the popular franchise known as Marvel Comics." (Journal of Popular Culture) This essay describes the origin and evolution of Marvel Comics and examines the impact of America's Cold War culture on the comic book industry.