A billionaire with no political experience wants to become leader of the free world?
Sounds like comic book fiction? It was.
We’re updating our look at comics villains of comics who won a major political office including The White House.
Let’s start this countdown with a hail to the chief:
President Lex Luthor?
Superman’s greatest enemy became the most politically powerful person in the DC Universe once upon a time.
How did it happen?
When a massive earthquake ruined Gotham City Luthor lead the rebuilding of the city, made huge profits in government contracts and portraying himself as a benevolent leader who could fix the country’s problems since he fixed one of its greatest cities.
You would think winning this office would change him but President Luthor’s crimes included framing Bruce Wayne for murder, secretly allowing an alien invasion so he could save the day and look like Earth’s hero, made weapons deals with Darkseid, ordered a billion dollar bounty on Superman and injected himself with illegal drugs to grant him super powers. Ultimately, the Man of Steel and Dark Knight teamed up to take down President Luthor.
Senator Robert Kelly
Fear and hate fueled Kelly’s political career. The Senator’s anti-mutant platform introduced the mutant registration act and secretly funding Project Wideawake. In an alternate timeline, Kelly’s assassination led to the future seen in Days of Future Past where mutants are hunted and exterminated. The X-Men save Kelly’s life to protect their future but he still didn’t soften his stance.
Ironically, Kelly’s strongest financial supporter is Sebastian Shaw of the Hellfire Club. Kelly helped Shaw secure the government’s secret contracts to build mutant hunting Sentinels. Shaw is actually a mutant. Kelly still pushed for the Sentinel program even though the X-Men saved him from assassination.
Graydon Creed
Presidential candidate Creed’s career was founded on anti-mutant hate. Creed is the human son of X-Men villains: Sabretooth and Mystique. A childhood of abandonment, a lifetime of resentment shaped his growing hate and led him to found the Friends of Humanity. This anti-mutant rights group committed secrets acts of terrorism on mutants and their supporters. Creed used the Friends of Humanity resources and Operation Zero Tolerance, a government sponsored mutant task force, to launch a failed bid for the White House. On election eve, Creed was killed by a future version of his own mother. Even in death, Creed’s quest for vengeance resurfaced when he was resurrected by the mutant hunting Purifiers.
Mayor J. Jonah Jameson
The Daily Bugle’s Editor-In-Chief in Spider-Man comics and movies became the biggest player in the big apple….until it went sour. After smearing Spidey sell newspapers, Jameson was elected Mayor of New York City then formed an Anti-Spider-Man Squad to hunt the beloved hero. This huge waste of taxpayer money and Spidey’s heroics made the public turn on Jameson and he was eventually out.
Four Term President Richard Nixon
In Watchmen Alan Moore created a world where super heroes reshaped history. Doctor Manhattan was America’s ultimate weapon from against the Soviet Union. President Nixon sent Doctor Manhattan to win the Vietnam War and led to Nixon’s landslide 1972 election win. The Comedian covered up the Watergate scandal. Nixon changed the Constitution and become the nation’s first four term president. When Doctor Manhattan left Earth, Nixon lost his ultimate weapon and this alternate reality America and Soviet Union ticked closer to global nuclear war as another Watchman orchestrated a world changing disaster.
God Doom
From dictator of small country to Emperor of his own planet? Fantastic Four villain Victor Von Doom is the monarch of Latveria ruling this tiny European nation with a iron grip…literally.
The ruthless strongman in the iron mask achieved a greater office that President or King. In Secret Wars, Doom took remains of the dead Marvel multiverse to build his own world to rule. Doom was “God” Emperor of Battleworld with Susan Storm Richards at his side and Earth’s heroes as his subjects. Reed Richards and Black Panther led the revolution that brought down Doom’s reign and led to the rebirth of the Marvel Universe was reborn.
By Editor