In honour of Election Night 2010 , let ’s retrieve the bizarre historical minutiae comic books have taught us about the ol’ U.S. of A. You know , like the prison term Henry Kissinger met Doctor Doom .
10 . ) Batgirl and Robin battle Benedict Arnold and Satan ( Batman Family 1 , 1975 )
At a sure point in her pre - Crisis vocation , Barbara Gordon was a congresswoman down in Washington DC . During one particularly memorable adventure , Dick Grayson ( who was still masquerade as Robin ) visited her at the capital letter , where they battled Benedict Arnold and his ghostly turncoat US Army . Of course , in the DC Universe , nobody bats an eyelash when diachronic figures arrive back from the dead with slaying in their pump .
Was Benedict Arnold an assumed name of Clayface or a hallucination created by the Scarecrow ? Goodness , no — that would make too much sense . No , General Arnold was an agent of Satan . Honestly , Lucifer really phoned in this attempt at planetary supremacy .
Why did n’t he tap Genghis Khan to in darkness make Superman or recruit Lizzie Borden to throw down with Big Barda ? You ’re really lowballing your aspirations when you choose a homo famous for drop out to conquer two teenaged acrobat .
9 . ) Cobra Commander loves America ( G.I. Joe 100 , 1990 )
In the “ Seeds of Empire ” story arc from Marvel ’s old - shoal G.I. Joe series , Cobra Commander becomes the loss leader of the small-scale townsfolk of Millville . He does this by way of a hostile coup , but he write a kick - ass stump speech .
On this occasion , Cobra Commander eschew the pageant for coercion and nous control condition .
However , Cobra Commander does have intercourse a undecomposed marching dance orchestra .
8 . ) Captain America watched Richard Nixon kill himself ( Captain America 180 , 1974 )
Around the time of the Watergate outrage , Captain America writer Steve Englehart channeled public dissatisfaction with the presidency by ( implicitly ) transform Richard Nixon intothe school principal of the nefarious Secret Empire . Nixon ’s suicide induce Captain America to become wearied with the American Dream and to adopt the decidedly non - loyal identity ofNomad , a footloose , allegiance - less superhero who dressed like a dungeon master ( and not of the Gary Gygax variety ) . Of course , this run - in with Nixon is nothing equate to our next ingress …
7 . ) Ronald Reagan twist into a tighty whitey - sporting snake - man ( Captain America 344 , 1988 )
It was the Serpent Society ’s scheme , natch .
They also turned Nancy into a reptiloid .
6 . ) Scalphunter armwrestled Abraham Lincoln ( Weird Western Tales 53 , 1979 )
If you sleep with a copy of Weird Western Tales 53 under your mattress berth - coitus , any tike you consider will be born with a full face fungus .
5 . ) George Washington came back from the dead to spout misogynism ( Wonder Woman 5 , 1943 )
In one of Wonder Woman ’s earliest appearance , the villainous Dr. Psycho expend his psychical powers to impersonate the specter of General George Washington . His scheme ? To convince military authorities to check Wonder Woman or something . I ’m just a civilian , but I ’m pretty certain ghost accrue outside the military chain of command .
4 . ) Nixon ’s White House talk about SHIELD support ( Captain America 144 , 1971 )
In this panel , Richard Nixon , Spiro Agnew , and Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird discuss SHIELD backing after a powwow with Nick Fury . Given that aliens invade the Marvel Universe ’s Earth ever other Tuesday , there ’s something lusciously banal about determine politician talk about SHIELD ’s budget . As you may see , the veep is delight with the prospect of allow your tax dollars towards Femme Force . speak of which …
3 . ) Nixon once severalize Reed Richards to close up ( Fantastic Four 103 , 1970 )
Did Nixon cameo in every Marvel comedian in the Seventies ? That man was likethe gorilla of the Bronze Age of comics . Anyway , this dialog box is amazing because Nixon is one of the few hoi polloi in the Marvel Universe ballsy enough to tell Reed Richards he ’s full of shit dedicate that A. ) Reed Richards never is ; and B. ) the US treasury of the Marvel Universe is funded with leprechaun gold the Fantastic Four buy from the Negative Zone .
2 . ) Adolf Hitler , the root of American racial tempestuousness ( Fantastic Four 21 , 1963 )
After Hitler survives World War II , he adopts the identity of the purple - hooded “ Hate Monger , ” visit Manhattan to host anti - immigrant rallies , runs afoul of the Fantastic Four , and die when his “ Hate Ray ” malfunctions ( his henchmen go unsighted with sulphuric acid and bolt down him ) . The Hate Monger was later retconned to be a ringer of Hitler , but the idea of the Fantastic Four accidentally killing der Führer is so out there that it deserves to be Marvel canyon .
1 . ) Dr. Doom thwarted the Fantastic Four … with the world power of Henry Kissinger ( Super - Villain Team - Up 6 , 1976 )
Presented without comment .
Top image is viaChris Sims ’ Invincible Super Blog , and it ’s deserving checking out his analysis of Lincoln ’s succeeding blackwash . Also , I was go to includePrezon here , but did n’t . Why ? One of these days , I ’m going to compose a 90 - paragraph post imploring DC Comics to renew it .
[ Scans viaEveryday is Like a Wednesday ; Scans Dailyhere , here , andhere;Pretty Fakes ; andGiant Size Marvel . ]
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