DC Presidents/Elections/Politics

[Desaad]

There was a bit of a moratorium on using real presidents after they were unable to recall a Superman issue guest starring JFK in time just after his assassination. I think Reagan was the first real president to appear after that. Bush Sr. did to, and the Clintons were at Supermans funeral. They elected Luthor while W. was president though, and since then it's been 1 special election after another as Pete Ross took over from Luthor until a special election gave us a guy who was replaced by a robot who was replaced...well, you get the idea. I have no idea who the DCNu president is or if they've been shown yet.

There was "Decisions", the series written by winick and Willingham specifically about election stuff. Quite awful, that, and the president it elected was anything but consistent thereafter.

As I said originally, Obama is the president as of the last issue of Johns' GL in the Nu52 but I wouldn't be surprised if that was contradicted elsewhere.

[Desaad]

Whichever way DC goes, there should be a consistent policy regarding presidents. IOW, there shouldn't be a generic president in one comic and a real-world one in another.

Which one do I like? I prefer a generic one.

Lex Luthor? Egad!

I honestly don't know how to make it work, but if I had my complete druthers it would be Prez.

There is something so wonderfully, whackily beautiful about that concept, and one that I really feel fits in with the DCU.

[NexusTenebrare]

Earth 2 has a female president.

[Robotman4]

i kinda like seeing the real presidents show up. in no other entertainment medium than comics can you see the actual president involved in fictional crisis. i believe there were some controversy when they used actual images of Clinton in the movie Contact. it was interesting to see Reagan show up in the 80s Suicide Squad book and butt heads with Amanda Waller. conversely i couldnt care less when fictional president Suarez showed up in the pre-Flashpoint DCU. it had zero emotional impact.

but i did love Luthor as President. many super villains try to conquer the world but Lex actually became the leader of the free world. and he did it legally. though im sure there were some very underhanded tactics used, but thats politics.

[Whip Whirlwind]

Yeah, I like the idea of a real life president reacting to crazy crises. Even if its a president I don't like, I can get behind a sensationalist take on them involving superheroes.

Like I love the idea of any president being like "Get me the justice league!" or whatever.

[greatmetropolitan]

You know, even after a post about a perfect boy who was a perfect president and cowed to no power by the light of his own spirit...

I still found the Lex Luthor thing to be just a titch too unrealistic for me.

I might have been fine with it had it been an older school Lex Luthor, the President Lex of Red Son who could do all the president stuff with great aplomb while at the same time building mad science projects for fun, but business man Lex as president just limited his effect, and in my mind becoming President was actually a demotion.

Demotion is exactly the word for Lex and the presidency. I always imagined a scene where someone like Dr Sivana or Professor Ivo mocked Luthor for not having a doctorate or professional title he goes by. Luthor would just shrug and say that "Luthor" is a title so far above any of them he didn't feel the need to add an extra.

The Justice League animated series got it right when their Lex said "I ran for President just to tick Superman off." He doesn't want the power, but it irks the alien.

I think if we went with the sitting President for the comics it could be interesting, the writers trying to apply that president's style, foreign and defence policy etc to their fictional counterpart to see kinda how it might work.

[The Darknight Detective]

There was a bit of a moratorium on using real presidents after they were unable to recall a Superman issue guest starring JFK in time just after his assassination. I think Reagan was the first real president to appear after that. Bush Sr. did to, and the Clintons were at Supermans funeral. They elected Luthor while W. was president though, and since then it's been 1 special election after another as Pete Ross took over from Luthor until a special election gave us a guy who was replaced by a robot who was replaced...well, you get the idea. I have no idea who the DCNu president is or if they've been shown yet.

I have an issue of Super-Team Family from '76 that has Ford as president - even has Henry Kissinger fighting along with the Challengers of the Unknown. Fun, but very bizarre story.

[Jon Clark]

For me it's kind of a mixed bag. A fake president works when you need things done that you don't want to have politicized. A real president makes the story feel more authentic (even if it dates it once more time passes in reality than in the comics).

Putting aside the real world concerns of getting Reagan's image on film at the time- is there anyone who'd want to see the real POTUS surrendering to Zod in Superman II? While it might bring a smile to the guy's politcal detractors, it does smack a bit of propaganda to have the current holder of the office seem heroic or villainous based on plot needs. There's a certain irony to the implication Nixon was the Big Bad in that Captain America saga, but imagine the same story and implication if the president had been JFK, Reagan, or Obama.

On the other hand if the guy in the White House in 2012 is fictional- how far does it extend? Do we just replace Obama (in this case) or do we also replace George W Bush if there is a flashback to 2007? Do we replace FDR if there is an arc set in 1940's? Is Obama retroactively inserted post-2016 for scenes set in the then past period of 2012?

[ascended]

I think using the real president can create problems. Now, if its just a "Call the Justice League!" sort of thing; a few panels to showcase how dire the threat is, then sure. Use the real POTUS. Its sensationalist and in a few years that comic will feel and look dated anyway, and having Obama's face (or whoever) on the page isnt going to affect that. My old JLA comics feel dated, even without Clinton's face on the page. And any further use of a real president can end up looking like propaganda. And I dont need that in my comics, I get enough of that from the news.

And using fictional presidents can be so much fun. I mean, Lex Luthor as President? That concept right there is ripe for story possibilities that could last decades. Shame that Loeb ended it when and how he did. And I always wanted to see Sgt. Rock as president. I mean, if the JSA could be alive and active decades after WWII (previous continuity of course) then why not Rock? He would have made a badass president. Using an established character like that works, adds a level of authenticity and stability to the fictional universe, and you can delve into politics without *really* delving into politics.

But when they just use a random cipher? Hate it. I'd rather have the real POTUS any day. Prefer a fully formed, fictional character, like Lex or Rock or Allan Scott or Ambush Bug, but will take the real deal over a cipher.

[The Darknight Detective]

For me it's kind of a mixed bag. A fake president works when you need things done that you don't want to have politicized. A real president makes the story feel more authentic (even if it dates it once more time passes in reality than in the comics).

Putting aside the real world concerns of getting Reagan's image on film at the time- is there anyone who'd want to see the real POTUS surrendering to Zod in Superman II? While it might bring a smile to the guy's politcal detractors, it does smack a bit of propaganda to have the current holder of the office seem heroic or villainous based on plot needs. There's a certain irony to the implication Nixon was the Big Bad in that Captain America saga, but imagine the same story and implication if the president had been JFK, Reagan, or Obama.

On the other hand if the guy in the White House in 2012 is fictional- how far does it extend? Do we just replace Obama (in this case) or do we also replace George W Bush if there is a flashback to 2007? Do we replace FDR if there is an arc set in 1940's? Is Obama retroactively inserted post-2016 for scenes set in the then past period of 2012?

The political angle is the problem I have using real presidents, because it can be used as a propaganda tool pro or con. Yet, as you point out, it's hard to think of anybody manning the Oval Office during WWII than FDR or Bush during 9-11. Very problematic.