Comics and History: Reflections of the Past

Although the first comic book superhero – Superman – made his debut in 1938, many of the narratives published in the decades afterwards have connections that go further back in time. Leonardo da Vinci, for instance, appeared within the pages of Batman, while Iron Man has visited King Arthur’s Court and the Scarlett Witch became caught up in the Salem Witch Trials of the early 1690s. Comic books don’t merely reflect the present but the past as well, offering insights on events from before the characters were ever created.

A Captain America History of the United States

In 1976, comic book legend Jack Kirby sent Captain America traveling through time in a brief history of the United States that reads like a cross between Howard Zinn and Jill Lepore.

A Green Arrow History of Seattle

In the DC Rebirth comic book series by writer Benjamin Percy, the bow-and-arrow wielding superhero resides in a Seattle whose history is both different and similar to the actual Seattle.

Batman: The Theft of the Mona Lisa

The famed painting was not only stolen from the Louvre in 1911 but in a DC Comics storyline featuring Batman in the present and Leonardo da Vinci’s inspiration being kidnapped in the past.

Superman and the San Diego Rainmaker

Charles Hartfield was hired by San Diego as a rainmaker in 1916, resulting in devastating consequences, while Superman had to later stop another rainmaker from likewise causing havoc.

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