Tip O'Neill, one of the longest-serving speakers of the US House of Representatives, was famous for saying that "all politics is local".
Fast-forward 30 years to 2017 in Donald Trump's America and politics aren't just local - they're everything. The culture war looms behind every possible conversation. Small talk about the weather can turn into a screaming match about global warming and asking about last night's football score can turn into a fight about the national anthem protests.
Comic book superheroes are not immune either.
Box office receipts over the last 20 years are testament to America's love affair with its heroes, even in movies that are critically panned like the early films in DC's new cinematic universe such as Suicide Squad and Batman v Superman, which are among the most profitable movies recently made.
The comic books which birthed these characters are in the midst of a civil war, to paraphrase a recent Marvel Studios film and Marvel Comics storyline. Traditional fans feel that the companies have abandoned their characters and storylines for political correctness. Ranged against them are editors, writers and artists who believe the uproar is the whining of bigots, racists and misogynists.
Marvel Comics, which is owned by Disney along with Marvel's movie studio, has become the battleground between angry fans and the writers and artists who create the books.
Fans were upset when Amadeus Cho, a Korean-American, took over from Bruce Banner as the Hulk in 2015. But outrage hit a peak when in a touted 2016 storyline it was revealed that Captain America had been a secret member of the Nazi organisation Hydra - the same Hydra Captain America fought for 50 years.
For Marvel and its new collection of progressive heroes to suddenly reveal the white, blonde-haired American hero as a Nazi was a bridge too far for fans, who not only saw a political statement but a stunt storyline, ruining a hero for shock value.
The diversity issue for Marvel and the financial issue, in truth, seem to be separate. An article in The Atlantic by Asher Elbein gives a rundown of the number of series relaunches and other comic events the company has used, watering down its audience. Some series have been relaunched up to seven times under the same name, without any connection to the previous incarnations. Elbein also faults Marvel's decades-old system of direct ordering for not giving books a chance when some are cancelled before fans get their hands on the first issue.
Elbein also places some blame on the cantankerous relationship between comic book creators and their fans. Many creators are sensitive to any criticism, with much of their ire aimed at the YouTube and Twitter account Diversity & Comics, run by a former military veteran who films videos giving frame-by-frame breakdowns of recent comics, usually with negative reviews of the art and story.
He has also cited the lack of life experience among current comic book writers as a problem, causing some writers to erupt. His mere presence at a comic convention in New York became the top talking point, with longtime writer and award-winner Mark Waid saying that if the person behind Diversity & Comics was spotted, he didn't care if he was in the middle of a discussion panel or an autograph signing, he wanted to be notified immediately.
Marvel's diversity problem
Marvel's comics line has always been diverse for the time period, but the current rate of character changes has fed much of the vitriol due to the sheer volume of top characters being changed, for what many critics say are reasons more political than plot-driven.
If there was a start to the current trend it began over 10 years ago, when Miles Morales replaced a deceased Peter Parker in the series of Marvel's Ultimate titles. Morales gained a huge following and when Sony and Marvel began re-packaging Spider-Man for a third movie reboot this year, fans started a petition to have Morales put in place of Parker. That didn't happen, but Morales has already had hints of his existence dropped as Easter eggs for fans due to his popularity.
The current backlash seems to be a mix of politics and exasperation at Marvel's attempts to surprise, shock and stun readers into buying its comics.
Sam Wilson, also known as Captain America sidekick the Falcon, was given the captain's mantle after African-American actor Anthony Mackie's star-making turn as the Falcon character in the movie Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Mackie's performance was charismatic, likable from the first scene and was the most eye-opening since Robert Downey jnr debuted in the original Iron Man film. So giving the Falcon a chance at being Captain America made sense.
Jane Foster, who was played by Natalie Portman in the Marvel films and a character who has been a featured part of the series since the 60s, replaced Thor. The change seemed well received and sold well at first, but quickly became a topic of distaste among fans for the feminist ideals spread through the storylines.
Iron Man Tony Stark was also replaced by teenager Riri Williams, a young African-American girl with Stark-esque smarts who made it to MIT before she had a driver's licence.
ComicBookInvest.com wrote last year that plans for the Williams character included taking over as the War Machine superhero, now played by Don Cheadle in the films. But Marvel changed plans, and moved her into the featured role as a teenage genius under the name Ironheart.
Many fans cheered the move, but others were left asking why Marvel isn't creative enough to have minority characters establish their own superhero identities instead of usurping roles that have been in place for half a century.
That's a good question - Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Joe Simon and many others created dozens upon dozens of memorable heroes in a few short years at Marvel, yet new superheroes are running short. If Marvel wanted to be diverse, couldn't it find ways to give these characters their own identities?
Two attempts are Squirrel Girl, a favourite among the cantankerous Marvel creative teams, and Miss America, whose real name is America Chavez, Marvel's first Latina LGBTQ character. Chavez was part of several series before getting her own title, but creators didn't do her any favours by having her go back in time and punch out Hitler before Captain America had the chance.
The idea that an overly diverse Marvel is new is as fictional as one of its books. The X-Men series, which began in the 1960s and was written by Stan Lee, was an allegory on minority discrimination and the civil rights struggles of the time. Villains and heroes had different nationalities and races. As the X-Men series continued into the 1970s, the member list included stronger female characters from longtime writer Chris Claremont, who helmed the X-Men franchise from the mid-'70s to the early '90s.
Books like Luke Cage, the various Spider-Man titles and Daredevil dug into the rough side of town. The heroes and villains were both complicated and nuanced.
Today, nuance is lacking from both sides, and much of that comes from the political climate established after last year's election. Social media certainly doesn't help the cause, since the loudest and nastiest voices are always the most heard, but the change since the election has been palpable, whether discussing football, weather or other small talk.
These issues have played out for years on social media, and were fermenting before then. There was the GamerGate fiasco, where activists, gamers and game journalists went to war, but Trump's presence and rhetoric has spread the rancour exponentially.
The President's success has often stemmed from his divisive culture warrior politics, a tool he's still using. At times he wins, but all of the time his country loses.
