13 superheroes that rock red, white, and blue costumes

Nuke (Image via Marvel)

9. Nuke

While many American-themed characters are ultimately meant to be fun, Nuke is on the other end of the spectrum. On one side, you’ve got goofy heroes like Yankee Poodle and American Barbarian (more on that gentleman later, I promise). On the other side, you’ve got the unhinged and unnerving character of Nuke.

Nuke was created by writer Frank Miller and artist David Mazzucchelli. Given Miller’s grimdark track record with 300, Sin City and The Dark Knight Returns, you may sense a big hint regarding the tone of the character.

Originally named Frank Simpson, Nuke was a test subject in the Weapon Plus super soldier program. Earlier, the same program had produced Captain America and would later create famed mutant fighter Wolverine. Nuke, however, was the unfortunate victim of some growing pains within the program.

The process leaves him with serious mental health issues. In fact, much of his story recalls the real life trauma suffered by veterans of the Vietnam War. It’s heavy stuff.

This context makes the whole red, white and blue theme a little strange. For example, Nuke usually goes around with an American flag painted on his face. He also takes a series of pills to induce various physical effects. Yes, of course they are also red, white and blue. The red pills increase the levels of adrenaline in his body, while the blue ones bring him back down. The white pills are intended to keep him in a state of equilibrium.

A less obviously patriotic(ish) version of Nuke appeared in the first season of Jessica Jones on Netflix. In this version, Nuke is Will Simpson (Wil Traval), a police sergeant under the command of the mind-controlling Kilgrave.