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‘I began at this point to feel that politics was not something “out there” but something “in here” and of the essence of my condition’ When We Dead Awaken: Writing as Re-Vision (1972), Adrienne Rich   In 1974, just before Lynda Benglis and her dildo made the ad pages of Artforum, Robert Morris used his own shining torso to promote another exhibition The poster depicted the artist naked to the waist, his hands manacled to a heavy chain, a spiked collar around his neck Black aviators covered his eyes and a Nazi helmet rested on his head At the time, he said it was ‘the only image that still had the power to shock’   A year later, Susan Sontag refers to Morris and his poster in the essay ‘Fascinating Fascism’ The coupling of S&M and Nazi symbolism didn’t surprise her Sontag writes: ‘never before was the relation of masters and slaves so consciously aestheticised’ Here were a set of costumes, characters, roles and rituals; the components for a master scenario were now available to everyone This is role-play plus politics, sex games with the freedom of the world at stake: ‘The colour is black, the material is leather, the seduction is beauty, the justification is honesty, the aim is ecstasy, the fantasy is death’   In the wake of recent mutations, fascism’s past continues to fascinate Not that Operation Paperclip aims for ecstasy; it invokes and then inhabits a Nazi history – one that hovers between the imaginary and untold – for a more problematic, but no less tortured satisfaction It enacts a sort of détournement, first by hijacking the past and second by hijacking a form Here the teen coming of age narrative – a comic book staple – is flipped on its head There are no mutant spider bites or lab experiments gone wrong; the hero of Operation Paperclip has genes that harbour a different secret Our Superman isn’t an alien child; he’s the clone of Hitler   Much like China Miéville’s Dial H – a reboot of the classic DC comic series Dial H for Hero – Patrick’s protagonist is a confused everyman caught