Daughter of CAPTAIN AMERICA Creator Says Character Use Okay for Protests And Rallies on Either Side

The daughter of Captain America creator Joe Simon says there's nothing wrong with using Captain America to express your political opinion one way or another. Melissa Groben spoke with THR regarding the recent use of the character at rallies and protests on both sides of the political spectrum and she said,

"Captain America has been around for a long time, so anytime there is any turmoil or unrest or disagreement, he pops up...We all find whatever we need in a particular character, whatever that may be. So, I can't say that the way anyone is using the character is wrong. If that's what they see in the character, then that's what works for them...What Captain America represents to my neighbor might be different than what he means to someone from three towns over."

As some of you may know, Groben points out that Captain America was created solely as a symbol of protest prior to the Americans entering WWII,

"Captain America was created while the Jews were being killed off in Europe, and my father, being Jewish, and Jack (Kirby), being Jewish, were enraged that America was not over there with our military strength...They created Captain America to go after Hitler because our country wouldn't go after Hitler. My father was very, very, very pro-America, pro-Jewish, he was very traditional, and it was a different world back then." 

For me personally, I had always assumed Captain America was created alongside the war effort as a means of propaganda. To learn that he was more or less a protest showing "this is what America should do" paints the character in a different light for me!

I guess the main takeaway here is Captain America isn't left or right...he's a symbol of the American spirit and open to interpretation. So use him for what you will and feel justified in whatever way you want!