Abstract
The earliest comic-book superheroes became metonyms of the American nation-state at war; as a result, until recently superhero comics remained unpopular in German-speaking Europe, where their quasi-nationalist aspects and violent methods were reminiscent of fascism. The global success of superhero films, however, has promoted the acceptance of superhero comics and the introduction of homegrown equivalents in Germany and Austria. In the latter, superheroes have become proxies in the conflict between competing visions of national sovereignty. Both the far-right Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs (FPÖ) and the Sozialdemokratische Partei have campaigned using superhero comic books; so too has the non-partisan Österreichische Integrationsfonds. And now a commercial comic, Austrian Superheroes, portrays its heroes as outsiders in the service of a European Union depicted as a guarantor of order, rebuking the FPÖ’s right-wing nativism.
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