ºCaptain America vs. King Arthur¾

When it comes to historically strong, flaxen-haired national leaders, two figures steal the show: the United States’s Captain America, circa 1941, and his slightly older 1136 British predecessor, King Arthur. As similar as the epic Anglos appear, however, they serve as foils, wielding a couple of differences that speak to their respective countries’ differing political outlooks.

At first glance, captain and king seem to share the same stellar story. From small beginnings rise a pair of improbable stars, lights for their people and harbingers of world change. For his part, Captain America starts out as Steve Rogers, a scrawny fine arts student so weak and sickly he cannot pass the physical standards requisite to join the army in the midst of World War II; Arthur Pendragon embraces the kingship at the experienced age of fifteen (Monmouth 212). Nevertheless, with the help of a pair of smart old mentors bringing superhuman attributes to the table, the rookies quickly soar to greatness. Professor Abraham Erskine, a U.S. scientist, injects Rogers with a “Super-Soldier Serum” intended to enhance the military and propels him to peak mental and physical condition, although the innovator perishes before he can repeat the process with others. Merlin, a supernaturally talented cambion, serves Arthur as adviser, prophet, and magician. More striking than their comparable initiations and helpmates, though, their personal characters present the attributes that set them apart.

Both Captain America and King Arthur embody bastions of morality. Rogers received his top-secret treatment in light of Erskine’s favorable judgment of his remarkably self-effacing qualities. Likewise, the author of The History of the Kings of Britain, the feat containing Arthur’s episodes, notes him as a hero “of outstanding courage and generosity … [possessing an] inborn goodness [that gives] him such grace that he [is] loved by almost all … people” (Monmouth 212). Furthermore, Rogers and Arthur demonstrate an interchangeable tenacity: Rogers’s indomitable catchphrase, commonly quoted in the 2011 Captain America: The First Avenger film—“I could do this all day”—mirrors the indignant anger his counterpart displays whenever an enemy manages to injure him. Noticing that “his leather cuirass and his round shield grow red” in the fight, Arthur “is roused to … fiercer anger” (Monmouth 224) and quickly crushes his opponent. Still, the links connecting the powerful authorities end there.

Ultimately, Captain America and King Arthur play completely opposite roles for their separate states. Captain America’s signature weapon, a shield, symbolizes the part he fills in the American mind. Created as an eponym, a defense against supremacist Nazis and subversive fictional Hydra agents, he protects his people and battles to free the planet from oppression. In contrast, King Arthur sets the scene with his invincible sword, Excalibur. Fittingly, he exchanges the democratic “America” in Cap’s title for the absolute dictation of “King,” and, rather than oppose white supremacy, he enforces it. In fact, knowing “that he [is] dreaded by all encourage[s] him to conceive the idea of conquering the whole of Europe” (Monmouth 222), a task he accomplishes via “cut[ting objectors] to pieces mercilessly” (Monmouth 219) and laying waste to their homes. Unsurprisingly, then, they conclude their tales differently.

Captain America and King Arthur, while fighting, undergo anachronism in pursuit of polarized purposes. Captain America, in the line of duty, gets shot down in the air, falls into the ocean, and enters a state of suspended animation as a consequence of his unique physique. King Arthur, on the other hand, suffers a terrible wound in a conflict partially contrived to exact revenge on his traitorous wife and “[is] carried off to the Isle of Avalon, so that [he] … might be attended to” (261). According to legend, King Arthur will return to restore Britain to its historic greatness at some point; meanwhile, Captain America, after someone discovered him as a popsicle, remains in American imagination as a revived patriotic superhero quashing injustice. He probably will not get along well with King Arthur once he reappears.

Captain America, a champion of democracy and equality, proves eerily like King Arthur, a proponent of absolutism and unquestioned reign. Little guys grown large in the public eye, they trace their success to sage guidance and courageous characteristics, but differ in one essential regard: whether they mean to shield or conquer.  

*Link to Captain America information: http://marvel.com/universe/Captain_America_(Steve_Rogers)