Regardless of whether Captain America stands as the embodiment of his country in its aspirations toward material and symbolic grandeur, each of the periods addressed by Stevens provides elements of reflection concerning the other striking feature of the character: his masculinity, envisaged as “a social construct,” and its endangerment (pp. 198–202). In this respect, perhaps one of the only faults of this book is the paucity of aesthetic description of Captain America’s various physical representations—either in comic book form or through the actors who interpreted the role. This dimension is crucial, for if masculinity and the violence embedded in American mythology are to be connected, it can be done only through the vector of the body. As Stevens himself acknowledges, “Though Captain America would confront salient political issues of his day, his actions (if any) are usually constricted to the physicality of the immediate moment” (p. 207). Having demonstrated how the character is a unique and complex example of superheroic masculine patriotism and established that Captain America has become for some “the moral center of the Marvel universe” (p. 281), Stevens poses an interesting question concerning the ability of the comic book reader and film audiences (domestic and foreign) alike to accept how far myths can be stretched. He partly answers his own question by suggesting that it all depends on the point of entry in the career of the character and his many incarnations. The reader/viewer must deal with an open text that provides matter for interpretation (of the character himself, his values) while considering or discarding its context, and may even prompt reassessments of one’s own value system. Although Captain America may have died on paper in 2007, he has proven able to come back to life. Like so many of his peers and fellow comic-book world saviors, he will live on, depending on the level of interest of his fans, the quality of the writing of his adventures, and the fluctuations of the industry he depends on. Captain America’s latest incarnation on cinema screens—with all its strengths and shortcomings—is providing audiences and scholars with more material to delve into, particularly “when American cultural values are under scrutiny” and “the nation is involved in a direct challenge from other nations or world bodies” (p. 289). Stevens combines his comprehensive knowledge of the character of Captain America with impressive expertise about the inner workings of the comic book technique and industry, which makes reading his book easy and informative, not least because he avoids pretentiousness and jargon.

中文翻译：

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法西斯主义之死：路易斯·亚当克的民主斗争。作者：John P. Enyeart，厄巴纳：伊利诺伊大学出版社，2019 年，216 页。布料 99.00 美元，纸张 25.00 美元。

不管美国队长是否代表了他的国家对物质和象征的宏伟抱负，史蒂文斯提到的每个时期都提供了关于这个角色另一个显着特征的反思元素：他的阳刚之气，被设想为“一种社会结构,”及其危害（第 198-202 页）。在这方面，这本书唯一的缺点之一可能是缺乏对美国队长各种身体表现的美学描述——无论是以漫画书的形式还是通过解释角色的演员。这个维度至关重要，因为如果要将男性气质与美国神话中的暴力联系起来，则只能通过身体的向量来完成。正如史蒂文斯本人所承认的，“尽管美国队长会面对他那个时代的突出政治问题，他的行为（如果有的话）通常仅限于当下的身体状况”（第 207 页）。史蒂文斯展示了这个角色是如何成为超级英雄男性爱国主义的独特而复杂的例子，并确定美国队长已成为“漫威宇宙的道德中心”（第 281 页），史蒂文斯提出了一个关于漫画能力的有趣问题书籍读者和电影观众（国内和国外）都接受神话可以延伸到多远。他通过暗示这一切都取决于角色职业生涯的切入点和他的许多化身来部分回答他自己的问题。读者/观众必须处理一个开放的文本，在考虑或放弃其上下文的同时，提供解释（角色本身，他的价值观）的内容，甚至可能促使人们重新评估自己的价值体系。尽管美国队长可能在 2007 年已经死在纸上，但事实证明他能够复活。像他的许多同龄人和漫画世界的救世主一样，他将继续活着，这取决于他的粉丝的兴趣程度、他的冒险经历的写作质量以及他所依赖的行业的波动。美国队长在电影屏幕上的最新化身——其所有的优点和缺点——正在为观众和学者提供更多可供深入研究的材料，特别是“当美国文化价值观受到审查时”和“国家卷入来自其他国家的直接挑战”或世界机构”（第 289 页）。