Editing Captain America (section)

===Political shifts (1970s)===
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 |quote  = "This was the '70s – prime [[Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War|anti-war years]] – and here was a guy with a flag on his chest who was supposed to represent what most people distrusted. No one knew what to do with him."
 |author = – [[Steve Englehart]]<ref name="Englehart"/>
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In contrast to the character's enthusiastic participation in World War II, comics featuring Captain America rarely broached the topic of the [[Vietnam War]],{{sfn|Hayton|Albright|2009|p=18}} though the subject of Captain America's potential participation was frequently debated by readers in the letters to the editor section in ''Captain America''.{{sfn|Wright|2001|p=244}} Marvel maintained a position of neutrality on Vietnam; in 1971, Stan Lee wrote in an editorial that a poll indicated that a majority of readers did not want Captain America to be involved in Vietnam, adding that he believed the character "simply doesn't lend himself to the [[John Wayne]]-type character he once was" and that he could not "see any of our characters taking on a role of super-patriotism in the world as it is today".{{sfn|Wright|2001|p=244}}

Captain America stories in the 1970s began to increasingly focus on domestic American political issues, such as poverty, racism, pollution, and political corruption.{{sfn|Wright|2001|p=245}}{{efn|This shift was enabled by a change to the [[Comics Code Authority]] in 1971; the code had previously prohibited "respected institutions" from being "presented in such a way as to create disrespect for established authority", but was revised to permit depictions of illegal acts by these institutions so long as the individual responsible was made to "pay the legal price" and the act itself was "declared as an exceptional case".{{Sfn|Johnson|2018|p=83}}}} ''Captain America'' #117 (September 1969) introduced [[Falcon (comics)|The Falcon]] as the first African-American superhero in mainstream comic books{{sfn|Dowsett|2008|p=137}} and who would become Captain America's partner; the series was cover titled as ''Captain America and the Falcon'' beginning February 1971, which it would maintain for the next seven and a half years.{{sfn|Dalton|2011|p=137}} These political shifts were significantly shaped by comics created by writer [[Steve Englehart]] and artist [[Sal Buscema]], who joined the series in 1972.{{Sfn|Johnson|2018|pp=85, 90}}<ref name="Englehart"/> In [[Secret Empire (1974 comic)|a 1974 storyline]] written by Englehart directly inspired by the [[Watergate scandal]], Captain America is framed for murder by the fascistic [[Secret Empire (organization)|Secret Empire]], whose leader is ultimately revealed to be the president of the United States.{{sfn|Dowsett|2008|pp=164–168}} The incident causes a disillusioned Steve Rogers to briefly drop the moniker of Captain America to become "[[Nomad (comics)|Nomad]], the man without a country", though he later vowed to "reclaim the ideals of America, which its leaders have trampled upon" and again assumed the role of Captain America.{{sfn|Wright|2001|p=245}} Englehart and Buscema's run was highly acclaimed, bringing ''Captain America'' from one of Marvel's lowest-selling titles to its top-selling comic,{{Sfn|Johnson|2018|pp=85, 90}}<ref name="Englehart"/> and the conflict between America [[American Dream|as it idealizes itself to be]] and America in reality would recur frequently as a theme in ''Captain America'' comics in the subsequent decades.<ref name="SyfySI"/>

In 1975, [[Roy Thomas]] created the comic book series ''[[Invaders (comics)|The Invaders]]''. Set during World War II, the comic focuses on a superhero team composed of Timely's wartime-era superheroes, with Captain America as its leader; Thomas, a fan of stories from the [[Golden Age of Comic Books]], drew inspiration for the series from Timely's All-Winners Squad.{{sfn|Dowsett|2008|p=170}} Jack Kirby wrote and illustrated run on ''Captain America and the Falcon'' from 1975 to 1977.{{sfn|Morse|2007|p=36}} This was followed by issues authored by a number of writers and artists, including Roy Thomas, [[Donald F. Glut]], [[Roger McKenzie (comics)|Roger McKenzie]], and Sal Buscema; the series was also re-titled ''Captain America'' beginning with issue 223 in 1978.{{sfn|DiFruscio|2010|pp=38–39}}