‘V m a Crook’
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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
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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.
.