As anyone with a serious grasp of history understands, patriots are most often ciphers for those who end up, well, writing history. Even if they're superheroes.

Take the following comic book characters, who've alternately served as straight-up supersoldiers, jingoistic nationalists, unrepentant terrorists and even clueless dunces, depending on the writer. But above all else, no matter their masters, these superheroes served, which is what patriots and ciphers do.

Whether they executed that service for their countries, consciences, crackpot plots or uncontrollable desire to dance, they fulfilled their duties with honor, horror and often hilarity — and sometimes even a single-finger salute to the status quo. Ironic anachronisms assemble!

Above:

Patriot:Captain America, created in 1941 by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, is the alter ego of one-time sickly scrub Steve Rogers. (Rogers' sidekick, Bucky Barnes, later stepped into Captain America's boots.)

Publisher: Marvel Comics.

Powers: Thanks to an experimental serum — that strangely couldn't be re-created to produce more than one supersoldier — Captain America boasts enhanced strength, speed and agility. He also wields an indestructible shield.

Postmodern wrinkle: Immobilized in ice once his popularity cratered after World War II, Captain America was resuscitated as the leader of The Avengers during comics' Silver Age. He was controversially assassinated as an enemy of the United States in Mark Millar's Civil War, but landed a full presidential pardon and will soon storm movie screens fighting neutered Nazis.