Editing Captain America (section)

===Creation and development===
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 |quote  = "It was a time of deep passion. Hitler was grabbing all of Europe, we had Nazis in America, Nazis holding [[1939 Nazi rally at Madison Square Garden|mass meetings in Madison Square Garden]]. [...] Captain America was created in that atmosphere, he was a natural outgrowth of the passionate mood of the country."
 |author = – [[Jack Kirby]]<ref name="KirbyInterview"/>
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In 1940, [[Timely Comics]] publisher [[Martin Goodman (publisher)|Martin Goodman]] responded to the growing popularity of [[superhero comics]] – particularly [[Superman]] at rival publisher [[National Comics Publications]], the corporate predecessor to [[DC Comics]] – by hiring freelancer [[Joe Simon]] to create a new superhero for the company.{{sfn|Dutter|1990|pp=10–11}} Simon began to develop the character by determining who their nemesis could be, noting that the most successful superheroes were defined by their relationship with a compelling villain, and eventually settled on [[Adolf Hitler]].{{sfn|Morse|2007|p=32}}{{sfn|Dutter|1990|p=11}} He rationalized that Hitler was the "best villain of them all" as he was "hated by everyone in the free world",{{sfn|Dutter|1990|p=11}} and that it would be a unique approach for a superhero to face a real-life adversary rather than a fictional one.{{sfn|Morse|2007|p=32}}{{efn|According to Simon, Goodman initially opposed using Hitler as a villain owing to the possibility of Hitler being killed prior to the release of the first issue.{{sfn|Dutter|1990|p=11}}}}

This approach was also intentionally political. Simon was stridently opposed to the actions of [[Nazi Germany]] and supported U.S. intervention in [[World War II]], and intended the hero to be a response to the American [[United States non-interventionism#Non-interventionism before entering World War II|non-interventionism movement]].{{sfn|Wright|2001|p=36}} Simon initially considered "Super American" for the hero's name, but felt there were already multiple comic book characters with "super" in their names.{{sfn|Simon|Simon|2003|pp=50–51}} He worked out the details of the character, who was eventually named "Captain America", after he completed sketches in consultation with Goodman.{{sfn|Dutter|1990|pp=10–11}} The hero's civilian name "Steve Rogers" was derived from the telegraphy term "[[Roger (radio communications)|roger]]", meaning "message received".{{sfn|Dutter|1990|pp=10–11}}

Goodman elected to launch Captain America with his own self-titled comic book, making him the first Timely character to debut with his own [[ongoing series]] without having first appeared in an [[Comics anthology|anthology]].{{sfn|Dutter|1990|p=11}} Simon sought to have [[Jack Kirby]] be the primary artist on the series: the two developed a working relationship and friendship in the late 1930s after working together at [[Fox Feature Syndicate]], and had previously developed characters for Timely together.<ref name="GraphicNYC"/>{{sfn|Harvey|1996|p=31}} Kirby also shared Simon's pro-intervention views, and was particularly drawn to the character in this regard.{{sfn|Dutter|1990|p=11}} Goodman, conversely, wanted a team of artists on the series. It was ultimately determined that Kirby would serve as [[penciller]], with [[Al Avison]] and [[Al Gabriele]] assisting as [[inker]]s;{{sfn|Dutter|1990|p=11}} Simon additionally negotiated for himself and Kirby to receive 25 percent of the profits from the comic.{{sfn|Ro|2004|p=25}} Simon regards Kirby as a co-creator of Captain America, stating that "if Kirby hadn't drawn it, it might not have been much of anything."{{sfn|Dutter|1990|p=11}}