Comics and History: The 1980s and 1990s

It was a time when President Ronald Reagan proclaimed the United States “a shining city upon a hill,” patriotism became synonymous with nationalism, and “greed is good” emerged as a mantra. Many Americans were left out of that “shining city,” however, and there were still those who believed that questioning your country was also a form of patriotism. The nation may have tilted to the right during the 1980s and 1990s but the left still made its presence known – even in the worlds of DC and Marvel comics.

Green Arrow and the 1980s

Although regulated to the back pages of Detective Comics, the DC superhero Green Arrow continued to fight for the underdog during a decade known for the phrase “greed is good.”

Green Arrow vs. Machiavelli

Writer Joey Cavalieri pitted Niccolò Machiavelli against DC superhero Green Arrow in 1982, contrasting their differing philosophies during an attempted takeover of Star City by criminals.

Captain America and Patriotism: Rambo vs. Springsteen

During the 1980s, competing forms of patriotism were advocated by John Rambo and Bruce Springsteen, while a similar debate took place within the pages of Captain America comic books.

Green Arrow: Fighting for Tenant Rights

During the 1980s, Oliver Queen and his superhero persona Green Arrow fought for tenant rights in the fictional Star City, similar to movements in big cities across the United States at that time.

She-Hulk and the Thing: Disaster at Diablo Reactor

The Thing and She-Hulk prevent a nuclear disaster from erupting at Diablo Canyon in 1982, the site of a real-world nuclear power plant that thousands protested against for close to a decade.

Green Arrow: The Death of John Lennon

A 1984 Green Arrow comic book narrative contained a flashback sequence similar to the murder of the former Beatle, while the DC superhero attempts to stem the flow of guns in the present.

Green Arrow: Salvadoran Sanctuary

During the early 1980s, Oliver Queen becomes part of the real-world Sanctuary Movement when political refugees from El Salvador are threatened with deportation by the U.S. government.

Green Arrow: The Irish Republican Army

Six years after the attempted assassination of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Oliver Queen prevents the assassination of Prince Charles and Princess Diana by the Irish Republican Army,

Heroes Against Hunger

In 1986, DC Comics published a special benefit comic featuring Batman and Superman fighting famine in Africa that was part of a world-wide effort to raise funds for the real-world Ethiopia.

Captain America Attends Farm Aid

In Captain America #327, Steve Rogers heads to Madison, Wisconsin, ostensibly to visit his former girlfriend Bernadette “Bernie” Rosenthal but also to track down...

Lois Lane Investigates Missing Children

A special two-part comic book miniseries in 1986 featured the famed reporter for the Daily Planet investigating missing children, similar to efforts in the real world during the decade.

Starfire: Apartheid No More

The DC Comics superhero Starfire traveled to South Africa in 1986 and witnessed the atrocious treatment of blacks firsthand just as the anti-apartheid movement in U.S. was hitting its stride.

The Incredible Hulk: In the Shadow of AIDS

AIDS-inflicted Jim Wilson is rescued by the Hulk during a protest against a student with AIDS from returning to school, similar to protests against the real-world Ryan White during the 1980s.

Green Arrow and the Post-Reagan Era

Artist/writer Mike Grell crafted an eighty issue Green Arrow comic book series in the late 1980s, early 1990s that explored the Post-Reagan Era through the eyes of the Seattle-based superhero.

Green Arrow: The Homeless of Seattle

Green Arrow interacted with many of Seattle’s homeless during writer Mike Grell’s classic comic book series, and acts as a fictional counterpart to the actual homeless situation in the city.

Green Arrow: The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

On March 24, 1989, the supertanker Exxon Valdez was making its way through Prince William Sound after having been fully loaded with crude oil...

Green Arrow: Peruvian Tomb Raiders

Green Arrow teams up with Catwoman to retrieve artifacts illegally smuggled out of Peru in a narrative that parallels the looting of a Peruvian archeological site in Sipán during the late 1980s.

Green Arrow: The Hunt for African Poachers

In a 1990 comic book by writer Mike Grell, Oliver Queen joins a group of mercenaries to track down poachers in Africa, similar to the clandestine Operation Lock from the same time period.

Batman: The Rodney King Tape

One year after four Los Angeles police officers were found “not guilty” in the videotaped beating of Rodney King, the murder of an African American by Gotham City police is also videotaped.

Nomad: The 1992 Los Angeles Riots

Marvel superhero Jack Monroe traveled across the country as Nomad in the early 1990s and found himself in Los Angeles on the night that real-world riots erupted in the City of Angels.