Comics and History: The 1960s and 1970s

The Marvel Comics Universe of the 1960s was set in the real-world as opposed to fictional, not only in their locales but within their narratives as well. Iron Man fought in Vietnam, for instance, while Black Widow helped the Young Warriors establish a free breakfast program for kids. Over at DC Comics, meanwhile, Green Arrow and Green Lantern embarked on a cross-country journey to explore an America that had been rocked by unrest. By remixing the factual with the fictional, these narratives offer a unique and insightful overview of the times.

The Marvel Age of Comics

The Marvel comic books of the 1960s often reflected real-world events, from the Cold War to the Civil Rights Movement, creating a fictional history that complimented the factual Sixties.

Spider-Man and Project Mercury

The amazing Spider-Man helps a crippled space capsule return safely to Earth while the real-world Mercury Seven astronauts wait for the opportunity to travel into the vast unknown.

The Might Thor Joins the Peace Corps

Thor alter-ego Donald Blake travels to the war-torn nation of San Diablo as a volunteer doctor to help the sick, similar to the tens-of-thousands of young Americans who joined the Peace Corps.

Captain America: Home of the Brave

In 2019, March co-author Andrew Aydin sent Captain America to the Deep South of 1964, where the superhero witnessed the violent racism of the times and found himself powerless to stop it.

Star Trek: Threads of Destiny

Actress Nichelle Nichols met civil rights icon Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1967 while her Star Trek character Lieutenant Nyota Uhura had a similar encounter in a February 2026 comic book.

Superman’s Mission for President Kennedy

In a storyline created before the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Superman is called to the Oval Office to lend a hand in promoting physical fitness to the youth of the United States.

Robin: Case of the Kidnapped Crusader

Tom Carson, a consumer advocate within the DC Comics Universe similar to Ralph Nader in the real world, visits Hudson State University and is rescued from a kidnapping attempt by Robin.

The Incredible Hulk and the University of Wisconsin

The Hulk became enraged at protesters at Desert State University in 1970 while real-world students protested napalm manufacturer Dow Chemical at the University of Wisconsin in 1967.

Green Arrow: The Native American Movement

Green Arrow and his superhero counterpart Green Lantern assist a tribe of Native Americans involved in a lumber dispute in the Pacific Northwest that mirrored actual events in the region.

Wyatt Wingfoot: The Fish-In Protests

Wyatt Wingfoot invites the Fantastic Four to his Oklahoma reservation for help against the Miracle Man while Native Americans fought for fishing rights in the real world state of Washington.

Red Wolf and the Occupation of Alcatraz

The mythical Red Wolf seeks revenge on the death of Willaim Talltrees’ parents while Richard Oakes hatches a plan to occupy Alcatraz Island after its notorious prison was abandoned in 1963.

Hard Travelin’ Heroes

During the early 1970s, Green Arrow and Green Lantern embarked on a cross-country road trip while combating villains representative of the many social issues facing America at the time.

The Transformation of a Kennedy and a Queen

In 1969, the DC Comics superhero Green Arrow began his transformation from Batman rip-off to social justice advocate, a conversion that mirrored that of the real world’s Robert F. Kennedy.

Black Panther: Making a Stand in South Africa

Members of the Fantastic Four travel to the segregated African nation of Rudyarda to assist the Black Panther, a journey similar to one made by Robert F. Kennedy to South Africa in 1966.

Green Arrow: Journey to Appalachia

Two years after Senator Robert F. Kennedy embarked on a “poverty tour” of Kentucky, Green Arrow and Green Lantern made a similar journey to a small mining town called Desolation.

Iron Man: Behind Enemy Lines

Iron Man and New York Times journalist Harrison Salisbury both traveled to North Vietnam in the late 1960s, encountering different views of the U.S. bombing effort during the Vietnam War.

Spider-Man: The My Lai Massacre

The tragic massacre during the Vietnam War is explored alongside Flash Thompson’s failed attempt keep a sacred temple from being bombed when he was drafted and sent to Vietnam.

Green Arrow: Conscientious Objectors

In a two-issue storyline from 1992, writer Mike Grell explores the military draft through the eyes of young conscientious objector whose father had been an antiwar activist during the 1960s.

The Fantastic Four and Apollo 11

The Fantastic Four foil a plot by the alien Kree to keep Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin from landing on the Moon while millions across planet Earth are enraptured by the lunar mission.

Captain America and Altamont Speedway

Captain America confronts members of Satan’s Angels disrupting a music festival shortly after the Hells Angels stabbed a fan at the infamous Rolling Stones concert at Altamont Speedway.

Spider-Man and Attica State

Four months before the takeover of the Attica Correctional Facility in September 1971, Spider-Man ended a similar prison riot, then spoke out on behalf of the prisoners on The Tonight Show.