CBR: McCain and Obama in the Marvel Universe?

[CBR News]

Joe Casey shares with CBR his pitch for "Executive Power," a Marvel series you'll
never see that would've starred the winner of the U.S. Presidential election and
depicted his dealings with superheroes.


Full article here.

[Push You Down]

...this would have been awesome.

I bet they could have pulled off a limited series.

[Expletive Deleted]

Hulk Smash Puny Appropriations Bill!

[Brother Justin Crowe]

I would have been all over this like my female friends would be all over Jared Padalecki.

Sadly, neither will ever happen.

[Beast]

Honestly. With as much flack as Decisions is getting over at DC, it's probably a good idea it's shelved.

[BlueThunderArmy]

Having the actual president be the star of the series would have been incredibly difficult logistically, in my thinking—I mean, the approval process for licensed comics can be rigorous. I'd bet getting the likeness rights on this would be brutal. There's also a potential for libel if the president or other recognizable persons didn't like the way they were presented.

That said...

It seems to me a comic about a high-ranking official who regularly meets with the "real" president would be workable. Of course, then you've lost about 99% of the cool factor.

[Global Honored]

I would have liked to have seen Tony Stark take a shot at Palin. Talk about respecting the 2nd Amendment!!!

[RolandJP]

Casey pitch a Godland FF crossover instead. Puhleaseeeeeeeeee

[Tom A.]

It really would have been a great idea.
At first, I was thinking the same as Beast as I was thinking about something along the lines of Decisions which is really shitty.
But as I was reading the article, I was getting really sad that it didn't come to happen. It's really a shame. It could have been really original and great and it would have made Casey and Marvel shine some more. Even as an ongoing it could have worked, I'm sure.

Well... I suppose that now we'll never see it. A real shame.

[Kid Monster]

I would have bought this. It's just a damn good idea. Plus, it would have been a neat way to establish the MU as the (very slightly) more "Real" of the two major super-verses.

As for the "Likeness" issue, and possible slander, libel, etc. ... I don't think it would have been a problem at all. The President is a public figure, so his ability to defend is reputation is the one single area in which he is less powerful than most of the rest of us. I mean, during the Clinton years, Rush Limbaugh called the president's teen daughter a "Dog" on the air, and Christopher Hitchens wrote stuff where he all but point-blank accused Clinton of being a woman-hating rapist. George W. Bush has perhaps been more savagely lampooned in satire -during his term- than any other president in history: W., That's My Bush, etc. If the president being graphically beaten to death on the cover to the first issue of (the excellent) BLACK SUMMER didn't cause problems, I can't imagine anything in this project doing so.

[BlueThunderArmy]

As for the "Likeness" issue, and possible slander, libel, etc. ... I don't think it would have been a problem at all. The President is a public figure, so his ability to defend is reputation is the one single area in which he is less powerful than most of the rest of us. I mean, during the Clinton years, Rush Limbaugh called the president's teen daughter a "Dog" on the air, and Christopher Hitchens wrote stuff where he all but point-blank accused Clinton of being a woman-hating rapist. George W. Bush has perhaps been more savagely lampooned in satire -during his term- than any other president in history: W., That's My Bush, etc. If the president being graphically beaten to death on the cover to the first issue of (the excellent) BLACK SUMMER didn't cause problems, I can't imagine anything in this project doing so.

There is a difference, though, between parody/editorial comment and something that strives to be a realistic depiction. Granted, there are superheroes involved, which would work in Marvel's defense. But let's say that there is a real-world event mentioned in passing in this comic, and the president reacts to this real world event. If a reasonable person could believe that this reaction is the "real" president's view, and if the president had a problem with that depiction, there is a possibility for trouble.

Of course, in cases like this, it's never the actual public figure you have to worry about, it's the people around them. If there is, for example, a blonde staffer in the book who is shown to be an idiot, and President Obama/McCain has a blonde staffer with roughly the same responsibilities who is a bit sensitive about her clumsiness, she could potentially sue—even if the creators were not aware of the real-life staffer's existence. Doesn't mean she'd win, but the legal hassle is something Marvel would probably not welcome.

[J.R. LeMar]

I can see who the various issues surrounding likenesses would've made this tricky but, man, I can't lie that the pitch, & Casey's descriptions of it in the interview, sound really interesting. I would've definitely checked this out. And, I agree, this could only work in an established universe, like Marvel or DC. Doing it as a creator-owned book, with brand new superheroes, wouldn't seem as cool. Same as if they did a book like this with a fictional president. Although I do think something like this could've worked in the DC when Lex Luthor was president.

[StoneGold]

And what about the actual Marvel president, Stephen Colbert?

[Patrick Hultquist]

Roll it into Frontline, and I could see a really cool book about politics and political journalism all in one. Kind of a Law & Order meets West Wing and... any cool show about newspapers?

It would be a really good book, I think. Go back to the drawing board, Joe Casey! Fight for this project again!

[Patrick Hultquist]

Stoopid double post.