Captain Patriotic: Difference between revisions

[[File:Cap.jpg|link=Captain America (comics)|frame| Courage, Honor, Loyalty, Sacrifice, the American Way!]]

 

 

This [[Superhero]] is motivated by one thing above all: love of country. He loves everything it symbolizes, all its values, and is damn proud of its history.

 

 

No matter how near the cynical end of [[Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism]] the major premise is, he will be idealistic. In the [[Five-Man Band]] he is [[The Hero]], on a [[Super Team]] or any other kind of [[The Squad|super group]] he will be [[The Captain]]. He can be very harsh and strict - [[The Cowl]] may not get along with him. The [[Anti-Hero]] should not expect to see him among his fans. If you are a [[Nineties Anti-Hero]], better stay the hell away from him if you don't want to get your butt kicked. On the other hand, he is respectful of true patriots, no matter what country they serve - he will quickly recognize that their patriotism is akin to his own. The same goes with dissenters with his government's policies and/or his nation's current public sentiments, if their ultimate principles are in keeping with the larger ideals he values. For instance, if a historical 1960s American '''Captain Patriotic''' heard growls accusing [[Martin Luther King Jr]] of being a traitor, he'd be first to answer, "No, he is a true American patriot!"

Plenty of them, but not all, are [[Captain Geographic]]s. Just because they [[Wearing a Flag on Your Head|wear their country on their sleeves]] doesn't mean they're good guys. [[Daredevil]]'s enemy Nuke, for instance, who has the flag tattooed on his head, is just a psycho who believes he's [[Captain Geographic]] and of course is no match for the real Captain America.

 

 

Compare [[Patriotic Fervor]], [[The Paragon]], [[Captain Superhero]], [[All-American Face]].

 

Note: Many of the [[The Golden Age of Comic Books|Golden Age]] superheroes mentioned here, who have entered the public domain, have been repackaged in ''[[Tom Strong]]'' and ''[[Project Superpowers]]'' comics.

 

* Played straight, parodied, played for laughs, lampshaded, ''and'' justified with America in ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia]]''. As he is the (admittedly stereotypical) personification of the US, he is deeply loyal to it. He hates Communists and Nazis, and claims, [[Catch Phrase|"I'm the Hero!"]] However, he is completely clueless (giving him the nickname AKY in the Japanese fandom, short for Aete Kuuki Yomenai, which roughly means "Doesn't read the atmosphere") and orders his allies to be his backup.<ref>Although, perhaps his ego is a little justified considering he was swinging ''a full-grown bison'' over his head. ''As a baby.''</ref>

 

== [[Comic Books]] ==

*** Prior to becoming a hero, he plays a hokey parody of this concept while touring with the USO.

** [[Ultimate Universe]] Cap seemed to be an subversion of this in [[The Ultimates]], where he is more a [[Jerkass]] than anything else, but [[Warren Ellis]] managed to make him a little better, as evidenced here:

** Another Marvel example is Captain Britain, who stands for all values of England, and all his alternate counterparts do the same - the only [[Evil Twin]]s he has are from worlds where England is an evil empire. Such as Captain Airstrip-One, the ultimate government tool with nothing resembling a will of his own. He fights for the glory of [[Nineteen Eighty-Four|Ingsoc]].

** And we cannot forget about Falcon, the biggest Captain Patriotic not dressed in the flag.

** And other people who were carrying the name of Captain America, like Patriot's grandfather, 1950s Cap or Bucky (who, in an inversion of [[Captain Geographic]], wore a costume that looked more like the flag of Puerto Rico).

*** That was a case of [[Did Not Do the Research]] on the part of the costume's designer.

* In ''[[Watchmen]]'', the government tries to portray The Comedian as one of these, but he's [[Deconstruction|very obviously not]] [[Villain Protagonist|a hero]] of this type.

* The Flag from Ace Publications, who was informed he was America's [[Chosen One]] by [[George Washington]] and [[Abraham Lincoln]].

* Minuteman from ''[[Freedom Force]]''.

* In ''[[Rising Stars]]'', corporate superhero [[Captain Geographic|Flagg]] (who later changes his name to Patriot), is working on his reputation as one. However, the real Captain Patriotic in this universe is officer Matthew Bright. Bright wanted to serve America and its people so much he joined the police force. He has to hide his powers, because Specials cannot be members of any force. And when the government found out and was trying to kick him out, his fellow police officers protested so much, they had to give up and try to use a [[Legal Loophole]] to forbid him from wearing a police uniform and badge, thus making it impossible for him to work. They underestimated his friends from the Police Department, who just brought an uniform and badge designed only for him.

** Which actually helps balance him somewhat. Unlike Ciem, who is always worrying about her family and her sexual problems, Gray is already mature and nearly beyond having such concerns. It also gives him a compass to control his emotions, so he doesn't degenerate into the [[Emotion Eater]], [[Reality Warper]], [[Ax Crazy]], [[Sliding Scale of Anti-Heroes|Type IV]] [[Anti-Hero]] [[Noble Demon]] that Extirpon is.

* ''[[PS238]]'' had several examples. They have a Captain America clone, Freedom Fighter, hanging around, but he's not immortal, and is nearing retirement. Both the Republicans and the Democrats are grooming their own 'Replacement' flag-waver: US Patriot Act and American Eagle. Their constant attempts at out-patriot each other are obnoxious, the constant quarreling prevents them from accomplishing much of anything, and instead they cause trouble for anyone hanging around. [[Sarcasm Mode|Political commentary? Where?]]

*** Done deadly serious in [[Kim Newman]]'s "Ubermensch!".

** And then there's ''[[Superman: Red Son]]'', an [[Elseworld]] where Superman's adopted country is the USSR.

* [[wikipedia:Superdupont|Superdupont]], by Jacques Lob and [[Gotlib|Marcel Gotlib]], is a French parody of the concept.

* Ritter Germania from the ''[[Block 109]]'' series, a [[In-Universe]] [[Propaganda Machine|nazi propaganda]] hero, with [[In-Universe]] movies and comics to boot.

 

== [[Professional Wrestling]] ==

 

== [[Video Games]] ==

** "I don't know what will come from all of this, but I must use these new powers to help my country fight her enemies - within and without. Those reds might have killed Frank Stiles, but they're about to meet... The Minuteman!"

* Guile of [[Street Fighter]], so much so that as part of the [[Memetic Mutation|Guile Theme Goes With Everything]] a significant portion of the comments will relate the action in the video to [[Memetic Mutation|FOR AMERICA!]] (or [[Memetic Mutation|being a family man]]).

 

== [[Web Original]] ==

 

== [[Western Animation]] ==

* Major Glory from ''[[Dexter's Laboratory]]'' is a spoof of this. He even hawks a snack named "[[Delicious Fruit Pies|Justice Fruit Pies]]," and periodically recites lyrics or lines from famous American works (such as the national anthem, the Constitution, and the Pledge of Allegiance). However, the jabs are entirely [[Affectionate Parody|affectionate]].

* In the ''Mr. Incredible and Pals'' spoof on the ''[[The Incredibles]]'' DVD, Mr. Incredible is portrayed as one of these.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Romanticism Versus Enlightenment]]

[[Category:Superhero Tropes]]

[[Category:All the Tropes Superhero Team]]

[[Category:Loyalty Tropes]]