The thing about the WH40K Space Marines is they gave late-20th century British teenage military otaku a force of elite badass soldiers to identify with that wasn’t the Nazis
Counterpoint:
While the late 20th century in America may have been typified by the military (from the elites on down) losing its shine post-Vietnam, Britain didn’t really have that problem, it was busy falling apart internally in other ways.
As superhumans go, though - well, the Space Marines got away quite handily with constantly burbling on about the purity of their genetic stock and festooning themselves with iron crosses, didn’t they? It’s an alarming contrast to America’s own Superman, who in pure melting-pot mode manages to be a nice Jewish boy and a humble Methodist farmboy at the same time.
WH40K debuted in 1987, same year as Blood & Honor. I submit that “identifying with the Nazis as badasses” kind of was an issue in Britain at the time
