Voting Rogers in 2012

American leadership is in an odd spot. The 2012 election is coming fast, and the nation appears divided. In a USA Today/Gallup Poll taken Sept. 11-17, 2012, shows the Republican candidate Mitt Romney lagging the incumbent President Barack Obama by a single point, 46%-47%. But in the Marvel Ultimates universe, the Captain is being elected Commander-in-Chief.

The President of the United States has been featured in comics throughout history, as have would-be vice presidents (self-reference FTW!). President Obama specifically has had a good run with Marvel heroes Spider-Man and Captain America, and abolished the Superhero Registration Act. (I’m sure Obama would happily introduce Cap at the Super Soldier National Convention.)

In the Marvel universes (emphasis on the universe-s), we’ve witnessed a heap of heroes take the Oval Office.   Professor Charles Xavier was elected, Norman Osborn bought the title, Victor von Doom schemed his way to the top. Tony Stark also had a run, but under the title “Emperor of the Planet,” and his term was for life.

In Ultimate Comics Ultimates No. 15-16, written by Sam Humphries and due on shelves September 26,  the American people write in Steve Rogers on their ballots, and a man bound by duty and love of country steps up to lead when it’s asked of him.

For those unaware of his history, Captain America’s first comic came out in 1941. Steve Rogers was a bullied kid from Brooklyn, New York, who wanted to do his part and help fight for his country in World War II. He was injected with the Super Soldier serum to make, well, a super soldier to fight Hitler, and thus became “Cap.” (Hell, you’ve probably already seen the film, Captain America: The First Avenger, if you didn’t already know the whole story from the comics.)

So what makes Captain America a good candidate for President of the United States (other than sheer awesomeness)? In Captain America: A Man Out of Time, he said:

My job is to make tomorrow’s world better. Always has been. 

Is there any sort of ideal better-suited for the leader of a nation? And if that didn’t convince you, he said, in Daredevil Vol. 1 #233, “I’m loyal to nothing…except the Dream.” There’s no chance of lobbyists getting in the way of policy to help the American people with a man who feels that way. Want more? How about in the Civil War story line, when he says, “When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree by the river of truth, and tell the whole world ‘No, You Move.'”

Who else has goosebumps?

Plus he’d make superb decisions on his cabinet. He chose Thor, Hawkeye, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Bucky Barnes, Spider-Woman, and Iron Man to serve the Heroic Age Avengers with this fantastic speech: “All right, Avengers… You…you will be the face of a new era. And I will tell you why I picked you… For your nobility and strength. Your cunning and bravery. Power and responsibility. Ruthlessness and selflessness. Symbolism. Savvy. And a clear view of the future.” (from Avengers Vol 4 #1 in 2010.) And that’s a cabinet that no one is going to mess with.

The Ultimate Marvel Universe has described itself as like our world, only amped up. And though the metaphor isn’t exactly subtle, with a country completely divided and no hope in sight, it’s an interesting thought. In 2008, Obama based his campaign around the idea of fulfilling hope, and Captain America exemplifies that. He not only was able to become a soldier more powerful and helpful in the war he wanted to dutifully join, but was also able to lead a team of Avengers to give the people inhabiting Earth a chance to live their dreams.

As a part of the American population frustrated by the nature of politics and losing hope, the metaphor resonates with me. And who knows – maybe I’ll write in Steve Rogers on my ballot in November.