For almost as long as there have been superheroes, there have been superheroes who were intended to be patriotic figures representing American values by offering up inspirational speeches, standing up for the little guy and socking Hitler in the jaw whenever possible. Considering the popularity of the medium during the Second World War, it's easy to see why Real American Heroes became so prevalent, even if they've failed to find so easy a purpose ever since (Although trying to do so has produced such great stories - and such sly commentary as Captain America's 1970s villains, the Committee to Regain America's Principles... or CRAP, for short). But this isn't a day to think about troubled times... so let's salute the brave, bold and... others... of America's Fictional Finest.

The Classics
Captain America
Still the best of all of America's superheroes - or, at least, the only one who's really weathered the years and stayed in print the longest. Sure, there was that whole period he disappeared after the War, but that's because he was frozen in a block of ice. Who would've wanted to have read that month after month?

Uncle Sam
Who could be more patriotic than Captain America? Well, how about Uncle Sam himself? Oh, alright; this character, created by The Spirit's Will Eisner, wasn't the Uncle Sam, but instead the resurrected spirit of a Revolutionary War-era soldier who mystically returns in America's various hours of need, but still. Look at that beard and wonder just who could argue?

The Shield
Created more than a year before Captain America, Archie Comics' super soldier patriot may not have the name recognition of Marvel's counterpart, but DC Comics is doubtlessly hoping that J. Michael Straczynski's upcoming revival of the superpowered military man will change all of that.

The Fighting Yank
A character so wonderfully named, he's been revived not once but twice in recent years, and by no less than Alan Moore (in a 2001 issue of his America's Best Comics series Tom Strong) and Alex Ross (in his ongoing Project Superpowers series). But who could resist the lure of a man haunted by the ghost of his War of Independence-era ancestor who fights for his country's honor?

Liberty Belle
What are the odds that a woman could have a spiritual connection with the Liberty Bell so strong that it gives her superpowers and the ability to fight Nazis? if you're a comic book character from the 1940s, apparently they'd be good enough for that character's daughter to take on the same costumed identity and fight crime with the Justice Society today.

The Forgotten Heroes
Mr. America/Americommando
Reason #1 to love this 1941 superhero: His secret identity is a Texan oilman out for revenge against the Nazis. Reason #2: His sidekick's name was "Fatman." Reason #3: His Nazi-fighting technique? Dying his hair black and whipping his enemies until they surrender. Why is this character not getting multiple movies and fan worship as we speak?

Miss America
Sadly unrelated to the above, Miss America gained her powers from a dream where the Statue of Liberty came to life and gave them to her, and thankfully kept up that level of weirdness all the way through her career, whether it was faking her own aging process in order to live a quiet life or making a new body for herself from space debris and renaming herself Miss Cosmos. There's something admirable about that kind of ingenuity, wouldn't you agree?

USAgent
A much more recent patriotic hero than most, John Walker hails from the 1980s and an unsuccessful stint as a replacement for Captain America that accidentally led to his parents' death. His success as a character is perhaps best defined by the fact that he - an American-themed hero with a very American name - was transplanted to Canada by Marvel in a desperate attempt to make him a success. It failed.

American Eagle
Marvel Comics' 1981 attempt at inclusiveness resulted in this Native American hero, Jason Strongbow, whose generic origin story (Gained powers in accident caused by supervillain, seeking revenge for a dead brother) and lazy stereotypical costume didn't hint at the potential that's slowly being unlocked by more recent creators in series like Thunderbolts and War Machine.

Star-Spangled Kid
DC Comics keep trying with this name, even if the characters keep getting popular enough to outgrow it; the first SSK became Infinity Inc.'s Skyman in the 1980s, and the second became the Justice Society of America's Stargirl. Luckily, we now apparently have a third in the Teen Titans franchise, even if she does happen to be martian. Does an alien really count as star-spangled?

The Crazy Ones
The Comedian
Sure, there may be nothing particularly American about his name - or even his outfit, most of the time - but there's no doubting that Alan Moore's Watchmen character served his country - or more accurately, his country's government - better than most superheroes. Not enough to stop himself getting thrown out a window, sure, but them's the breaks.

Nuke
Frank Miller's intentionally-failed attempt to repeat the Captain America experiment may have seemed slightly out of place in the classic "Born Again" Daredevil storyline, but there's no denying that his drug-fueled, crazed Vietnam-flashback rantings made him a memorable indictment of mindless patriotism in Reagan's America.

Superpatriot
An old-school superhero captured, made into a cyborg and going insane and murderous in the process? Erik Larsen's quasi-parody may have a history that's as ridiculous as it is eventful - and that's before you've gotten to the kids he didn't remember having and his half-martian grandchild - but we're choosing to look at him as a man who's just made a few mistakes, is all.

Major Victory
Leader of conservative supergroup the Force of July - Get it? - this DC Comics character was everything some would want in a true American hero: Charismatic, attractive, arrogant and racist as all get out. Never given to complex characterization, the character's descent into political parody continued when he joined a new corporate superteam called the Captains of Industry - Get it? - before, thankfully, dying.

Captain America
Yeah, I know; Steve Rogers isn't crazy, right? But his retconned 1950s replacement most definitely was. After all, how else would you describe a man whose take on American values was deemed acceptable by Nazi supervillain the Red Skull on more than one occasion? Yes, he may think he was a patriot - and, thanks to cosmetic surgery, he even looks exactly identical to the original Cap - but this guy is not the kind of hero you want in your corner.

WTF?
Yank & Doodle
Yes, it's a crime-fighting duo called Yank and Doodle. Even during their heyday of the 1940s, there's no way that kids didn't find these two America-loving teenagers more than a little dumb. Surprisingly, they've just been revived in Dynamite's Project Superpowers series... Here's hoping that new names are forthcoming.

Yankee Poodle
Well, what else would you call the world's most patriotic crime-fighting dog? Part of DC Comics' Zoo Crew, Poodle isn't even the most America-centric of the team... That'd be American Eagle. Who, you guessed it, is an actual Eagle. Stunningly, thanks to Final Crisis, these characters are officially part of DC's main continuity these days.

American Maid
Armed with a boomerang tiara and her quick wits, The Tick's occasional partner in crimefighting stands out as being probably the most capable of all the characters in the comic/show - Dressed like Lady Liberty and working for the US government more often than not, evil will never get away with it as long as she's around.

The First American and US Angel
Alan Moore's turn of the millennium take on the idea of patriotic comic characters was this unusual duo - An overweight, incompetent superhero (The latest in a long line of First Americans) and the former stripper who dreams of taking his place. Social satire, or serious commentary on the impotence of American masculinity in the face of an increasingly revelatory society obsessed with surface glamor above all? You be the judge. But it's not the latter.

US 1
If a trucker who can pick up CB transmissions thanks to the metal plate in his head, and then gets kidnapped by aliens before opening an intergalactic diner in space doesn't sound like the very personification of the American Dream to you, then there's only one explanation: You're not an American in the first place. But even that doesn't stop us from wishing you a happy Independence Day... even if it was independence from you that's being celebrated in the first place.

Barry Allen, the Flash of the Silver Age of comic books and generally considered the most iconic version of the character, gave his life in 1985's Crisis on Infinite Earths. His return in last year's Final Crisis was just the latest and biggest in a recent spate of resurrections from both DC and Marvel that have restored long dead characters like Captain America's sidekick Bucky Barnes and the second Robin, Jason Todd. (Really makes a mockery of the old saying, "Nobody stays dead in comics except Bucky, Jason Todd, and Uncle Ben." Well, at least Uncle Ben is still dead. Unless you count that alternate reality version from a few years ago. Which I won't.)

First of all, I really should mention the four most notable dead comic book characters: Captain America, the Wasp, the Martian Manhunter, and Aquaman. (And no, I'm not forgetting Batman. If I understood anything that happened in Final Crisis – and that's a pretty big if – it's that Batman isn't really dead.) It's a fair bet that all four of these characters will be revived eventually, despite Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada's claims that death is now a more permanent thing on Earth-616. Oh, and there's always Jean Grey, but considering she's already on her fourteenth death, it's probably a reasonable conclusion that she'll be back soon enough. But none of these characters have been gone more than five years – what about some heroes and villains who have been gone long enough for us to miss, maybe even to forget? Let's consider only those who died in that most ancient time known only as…the twentieth century.

Since writer Geoff Johns has already promised all four Flashes will figure prominently in The Flash: Rebirth, perhaps he could find time to bring back Johnny Quick as well, who merged with the Speed Force way back in 1996. One of the three Golden Age speedsters (along with the original Flash and Max Mercury, who met a similar fate in 2002), Johnny got his powers from reciting the mathematical formula "3X2(9YZ)4A." Since his death, his daughter Jesse has kept up the family business as Liberty Belle, but if there's one thing we all could use more of, it's geriatric speedsters.

Speaking of which, there's a bunch of Justice Society old-timers who deserve a comeback. To be sure, some of them, such as original Starman Ted Knight and original Sandman Wesley Dodds, lived full lives that were brought to fitting conclusions, and are in no need of resurrections. Specifically, the heroes lost in 1994's ill-fated Zero Hour event – the original Atom, Dr. Mid-Nite, and Hourman – deserve a reprieve, if only because they surely deserve a more better end than Zero Hour. Hourman has actually already been saved following a switcheroo with an android duplicate from the 853rd century (long story), but that still leaves Al Pratt and Charles McNider. To be honest, there probably isn't much use for a second Dr. Mid-Nite, but the original Atom would fill a much-needed niche – namely, the short dude who works out a lot, doesn't take crap from anybody, and packs a little something called an "atomic-punch", which is like a regular punch except it's radioactive. Frankly, I'm not sure how the DC Universe has managed without him.

It's kind of strange to think that Betty Ross has been the romantic lead in not one but two failed Hulk movies, and yet she's been dead since 1998, when the Abomination poisoned her with gamma radiation. Of course, if either Ang Lee's Hulk or last year's The Incredible Hulk had been a smash hit, there's a pretty decent chance Betty would already be back among the living. The Hulk's story has always been defined by personal tragedy, so it makes sense the deaths of his loved ones tend to be more permanent than most, but isn't it about time something finally goes Bruce Banner's way?

I doubt anyone other than me is clamoring for the return of B'wana Beast, who died in a 1992 issue of Animal Man. Technically speaking, his companion, the gorilla Djuba, is also in need of resurrecting (the fact that his sidekick is a gorilla is a key reason why I think he needs bringing back to life). Although his identity as a white superhero representing Africa is admittedly troublesome – something Grant Morrison acknowledged when he used the character in Animal Man – that shouldn't necessarily take away from the awesomeness of his powers, which include the ability to combine two different animals into a chimera that he can then control. And I'll admit it – my love of B'wana Beast may have something to do with this episode of Justice League Unlimited.

When you're an X-Man, death isn't so much a risk as it is a rite of passage. At this point, it would probably be quicker to name the X-Men who haven't miraculously come back to life at one point or another. Which makes it all the more surprising that neither Cypher, who took a bullet for his beloved Wolfsbane in 1988, and Synch, who died saving children from a bomb in 2000, have yet to return from the great mutant beyond. To be fair, the cybernetic alien Warlock does retain all of Cypher's memories and has even shown traces of his personality on occasion, but I'm pretty sure the original Cypher would argue that's not quite the same thing as being, well, alive. And for a character whose power was copying the abilities of other mutants, you'd really think Synch would have been able to pick up from his fellow heroes what Magneto has called a "survive anything" power.

The first major death of an active superhero was probably the Kree warrior Mar-Vell, known for copyright-protecting reasons as Captain Marvel, who died of cancer way back in 1982. At one point, it looked as though he had been given a semi-reprieve, plucked from a point in the time stream before he became ill and brought forward to the modern day. Unfortunately, this Captain Marvel turned out to be a Skrull sleeper agent, but that does leave the path clear for a proper return by the real Mar-Vell at a later date. Of all the heroes who died in the eighties, he is by far the biggest name that hasn't yet returned.

Thought not nearly as famous, it sure would be nice to bring back Sylvester Pemberton, The Star-Spangled Kid (or Skyman, depending on which you prefer). Killed in 1988, Pemberton is notable if only because no one ever has anything bad to say about him. He's one of the most universally missed superheroes, and if both Jay Garrick and Alan Scott say he didn't deserve to die, that's more than enough for me to say he should return.

A rather more controversial case is Vigilante, specifically the Adrian Chase version of the character. Essentially DC's answer to the Punisher, this New York district attorney turned amoral crimefighter took his own life in 1988 when he could no longer handle the guilt he felt for his actions. Adrian Chase went so far over the edge that he occasionally made Rorschach look sane by comparison, going so far as killing innocent cops who just happened to be in his way. There aren't too many people in the DC Universe who miss Chase – the current claimant to the mantle recently dismissed him as a "fool" – but if there was ever a good man who was warped by a series of increasingly bad decisions and tragic twists of fate, then this is it. He's at least as deserving of a second chance as Jason Todd.

Although he briefly had to step in for Thor during one of Loki's mindbending pranks, Eric Masterson carved out his own identity as Thunderstrike before his death in 1995. Betrayed by his lover and slowly poisoned by the curse of the Bloodaxe, Masterson was forced to go on a murderous rampage before he ultimately sacrificed himself, leaving behind his young son Kevin. I'm having a hard time imagining a set of circumstances more tragically deserving of a return.

Many Green Lanterns have died in the line of duty, as is only to be expected in an intergalactic police force. Some of the most notable include Katma Tui, Tomar-Re, and Ch'p (who I'm including because he was a talking chipmunk with a power ring, which still might be the most awesome thing in the history of comics), who have since been more or less replaced by Soranik Natu, Tomar-Tu, and B'dg. We also shouldn't forget Abin Sur, whose death was what began the entire Green Lantern mythos in the first place (well, other than the Alan Scott part). Still, I wouldn't expect to see any of these dead Lanterns again anytime soon. It's not as though there are any huge upcoming events where the dead will rise and fight the living in an epic battle that will span galaxies. Wait a second…

But maybe you're the type who likes resurrections to be impossibly controversial. Well, try these last two on for size…

If one of the big reasons behind both Green Lantern: Rebirth and The Flash: Rebirth was to restore the most iconic versions of beloved superheroes to their proper place in the DC Universe, then it's high time we had The Sandman: Rebirth. It's been a good twelve years since the Dream of the Endless that we all know and love was killed, leading to his replacement by Daniel Hall. Sure, it would serve no clear dramatic purpose and almost certainly destroy everything Neil Gaiman was trying to do with his Sandman series, and, sure, the whole concept doesn't really make sense, considering Dream is meant to be endless, so it was only one aspect of Dream that was killed, but still…I bet the fight scenes would be pretty cool. And isn't that really the most important thing?

The last couple years of Spider-Man comics have been spent desperately trying to reset Peter Parker to his most iconic version, including erasing his marriage to Mary Jane and the public's knowledge of his secret identity as well as reverting his powers back to their traditional levels. After a lot of upheaval and one very notorious deal with the devil, Peter Parker is back where everyone remembers him being…so isn't it about time we resurrect his clone Ben Reilly, the Scarlet Spider? What better way to say Spider-Man is back and firing on all cylinders than to revisit the Clone Saga? Aren't there so many questions from that storyline that still desperately need answering?

OK, I'll admit it – even I have my limits when it comes to comic book resurrection. But how about it? What long dead characters would you most like to see return from the grave?