The son of Captain America’s co-creator says Capitol Hill rioters misrepresented the superhero
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The son of the co-creator of comic book hero Captain America said he was “appalled” and “disgusted” when he saw Capitol Hill rioters wearing t-shirts and shields referencing the superhero.
“Captain America is the absolute antithesis of Donald Trump,” Neal Kirby told CNN’s Jake Tapper in a statement Wednesday.
“Where Captain America is selfless, Trump is self-serving. Where Captain America fights for our country and democracy, Trump fights for personal power and autocracy.”
On Wednesday, January 6, hundreds of President Donald Trump’s supporters forced their way inside the Capitol during the ceremonial counting of the Electoral College vote to confirm President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
While watching videos of the riot, Kirby said he “noticed someone in a Trump/Capt. America t-shirt” and believes he “caught a quick glance of someone with a Captain America shield” — images he said he finds disgusting.
Neal Kirby’s father, the late Jack Kirby, created the superhero with his partner, Joe Simon in early 1940s. The duo created Captain America for Timely Comics, Marvel’s predecessor and the comic was a huge hit during World War II.
“In World War II, patriotic soldier Steve Rogers, recipient of the ‘Super Soldier Serum,’ became the living symbol of freedom, Captain America,” according to Marvel Comics. “Left for dead while frozen in ice, the star-spangled hero with an indestructible shield awoke years later to continue his never-ending battle for liberty.”
Captain America stood up for what was right without backing down, and for the underdog, Kirby said.
“My father, Jack Kirby and Joe Simon, the creators of Captain America and WWII veterans, would be absolutely sickened by these images,” Kirby said. “These images are an insult to both their memories.”