Popular Culture Review Vol. 18, No. 1, Winter 2007 | Page 103

‘V m a Crook’ 99 commented in a 2000 interview about President Luthor that, “he’s the best guy we could have for president, almost, because this guy is driven to succeed, and he’s going to put America on top. Lex doesn’t want to fail as president. This is such an ego trip with him. . . ” (Yarbrough). According to this understanding of American society, vision, decency, and morals mattered little in the 2000 presidential election; what was important was success. In 1960 the President could not have been portrayed as a villain because readers would not have accepted it as possible, but in the year 2000 the office of the President was fully compatible with villainy because a President’s moral understanding of the world would not necessarily have impacted his job performance. In postWatergate/post-Reagan America the President was no longer seen as the nation’s spiritual leader but rather as its CEO. The image of the American President in comic books has changed much in the decades since the medium was founded. The President has been transformed from a shadowy symbolic leader, to likeable character, to teen idol, to morally ambiguous technocrat, to villain. As the world has changed, so has the comic book version of the President, and these changes often reflect the society in which we live. Although no one can predict the future, it is reasonable to assume that comic book depictions of the President of the United States will continue to closely follow public opinion about the office and its occupant. In this way the United States will not only get the President it deserves but also the one it chooses. Michigan State University Jeffrey Johnson Works Cited Action Comics U309. New York: DC Comics, November 1963. Fleisher, Michael. The Great Superman Book. New York: Warner Books, 1978. Caiman, Neil. “Golden Boy” Sandman U53. New York: DC Comics, Oct. 1993. Hembeck, Fred. 22 November 2004. Words About Pictures. 13 March 2006 John F. Kennedy. 12 March 2006. Captain Comics. 12 March 2006 Miller, Frank. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. New York: DC Comics, February 1986. Simon, Joe. Prez Comics. New York: DC Comics, 1972. Superman: President Lex. New York: DC Comics, 2003. Vertigo Visions: Smells Like Prez. New York: DC Comics, 1995. “Vote Lex 2000” 26 July 2006. DC Comics. 26 July 2006 Waters, T. Wayne. “Joe Palooka Goes to American Histoiy 37.5 (2002): 48-53. Yarbrough, Beau. 8 November 2000. The Comic Wire. 8 August 2006. .