DC Comics is wading into politics with a new mini-series called “DCU Decisions,” to be released every other week in September and October of this year. DC’s Executive Editor, Dan Didio, explained why:
…For the first time, we’ll be having our characters make true political stands in regards to their leanings, as well as what motivates them to be heroes, and what they believe is necessary for their world and their country to move in the direction they believe to be the right one…
I want people to take away an understanding of the depth of commitment of our heroes, not just that they’re vigilantes, but that they believe in the system that they participate in. I want people to take away that fact that our heroes are motivated by different reasons and have different views, but yet all of them are able to work together doing what’s right for the people they protect, for the country, and for the world. And I want people to take away the idea that all of our heroes aren’t of a single mind or of one motivation. Each one is driven and driven in different ways to do different things in order to achieve the greater good.
This should be interesting. Comic books have delved into politics before, but iconic heroes like Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman have never declared support for a particular candidate (and by extension, the candidate’s political party). Hell, it’s rare for a comic book superhero to do more than dance along the fringes of a vaguely-defined political issue. Off hand, only Wonder Woman, as written by Phil Jimenez, and Green Arrow come to mind as heroes actually engaged in political activism.
How will heroes with differing political views interact with each other once those views become public knowledge and political leverage? How will it affect team dynamics? How will the general public feel about the heroes once those heroes’ political leanings or affiliations are revealed?
If only DC hadn’t picked a fauxgressive bastard like Judd Winick to pen this story… He’s not one of DC’s better writers.
