Comics Spider-Man and patriotism

Bruce Logan

Civilian
Joined
Oct 13, 2005
Messages
74
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Ok, on another board somebody posted a link to a british review of Spidey 3 where the reviewer kind of snides at the American flag scene which you see in the trailer, similar to the ending of the first movie. Another poster says that the reviewer doesn't understand the history of the comics, that Spider-Man comics have always had a "patriotic vibe" to them.

I just don't see that as being true. I'm not saying he's anti-american, he's an american hero who has the ideals we strive for; I just don't think there was ever a conscious effort by writers and artists to have some patriotic undercurrent to the Spider-Man comics, or that he was written as doing heroic things because it was the american thing to do.

Maybe I'm wrong, I mean most of the Spidey stuff I've read has been from when I started reading comics in the mid 90s to today. I was hoping somebody with a better understanding could tell me if I'm wrong or show me some examples.

How often has Spiderman been drawn with an american flag by him in the comics? Another claim this poster makes is that spidey's colors, red, blue, and white are meant to represent the american flag. I could have sworn Steve Ditko meant for the blue parts of the costume to be black originally and that it changed overtime.

Any help would be appreciated, maybe this will lead to an interesting discussion.
 
Here's the only thing I could find on Google:

spider-man-unlimited22.jpg
 
Generally, I don't like JMS, but I think the best, most honest moment of his run was at the end of #536 when Spidey interrupts a news-program to come out against the patriot-- uh, I mean the registration act, because it goes against the ideals this country was founded on. It was one of the best speeches Spidey gave and it was very patriotic in a love-of-country way (not love-of-government).
 
Ok, on another board somebody posted a link to a british review of Spidey 3 where the reviewer kind of snides at the American flag scene which you see in the trailer, similar to the ending of the first movie. Another poster says that the reviewer doesn't understand the history of the comics, that Spider-Man comics have always had a "patriotic vibe" to them.

I just don't see that as being true. I'm not saying he's anti-american, he's an american hero who has the ideals we strive for; I just don't think there was ever a conscious effort by writers and artists to have some patriotic undercurrent to the Spider-Man comics, or that he was written as doing heroic things because it was the american thing to do.

Maybe I'm wrong, I mean most of the Spidey stuff I've read has been from when I started reading comics in the mid 90s to today. I was hoping somebody with a better understanding could tell me if I'm wrong or show me some examples.

How often has Spiderman been drawn with an american flag by him in the comics? Another claim this poster makes is that spidey's colors, red, blue, and white are meant to represent the american flag. I could have sworn Steve Ditko meant for the blue parts of the costume to be black originally and that it changed overtime.

Any help would be appreciated, maybe this will lead to an interesting discussion.

Aloha,
http://www.donaldspidermanthomas.com/html/comics/1_amazingsp/page13_32500000.jpg

The movies try and play up things that will be appealing to the audience. On Television,Superman stood for Truth, Justice and the American Way. While that was being said, an American flag was in the background.In the second Superman movie, at the end,he places the American flag on top of the White House. Raimi, sees Spidey as the New Superman.Also, flag poles are a very common object in Spider-Man comics that Spidey swings from,grabs to save himself,webs criminals to(along with light poles). So the use of the American flag POLES is a very common device within the history of Spider-Man.
Spidey rules from sea to shining sea
 


Aloha,
http://www.donaldspidermanthomas.com/html/comics/1_amazingsp/page13_32500000.jpg

The movies try and play up things that will be appealing to the audience. On Television,Superman stood for Truth, Justice and the American Way. While that was being said, an American flag was in the background.In the second Superman movie, at the end,he places the American flag on top of the White House. Raimi, sees Spidey as the New Superman.Also, flag poles are a very common object in Spider-Man comics that Spidey swings from,grabs to save himself,webs criminals to(along with light poles). So the use of the American flag POLES is a very common device within the history of Spider-Man.
Spidey rules from sea to shining sea
That's true...

I know he admired Flash for being a veteran too.
 
Generally, I don't like JMS, but I think the best, most honest moment of his run was at the end of #536 when Spidey interrupts a news-program to come out against the patriot-- uh, I mean the registration act, because it goes against the ideals this country was founded on. It was one of the best speeches Spidey gave and it was very patriotic in a love-of-country way (not love-of-government).
Funny... It was these thinly-veiled attempts to comment on current politics like that that made the "civil war" an eye-rolling irritation to me. :rolleyes: Biased, distorted and convoluted political statements... and they dragged Spidey into it. For shame. :mad:
 
Well, I guess it depends where you stand on the analogy of Civil War being about our current political climate. I, for one, can't stand Bush or his administration (and thinks he goes against alot of what makes America great in the first place), so I thought it was an excellent moment for Spidey. Comics need to be political sometimes. I mean the 70's gave us great stories like Captain America's "Nomad" arcs and it feels like in recent years they've lost that rebellious edge. Obviously that won't please everyone though.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top
monitoring_string = "afb8e5d7348ab9e99f73cba908f10802"