Let’s take a pause for a moment from the heated rhetoric and political grandstanding coming out of the Barack Obama and Mitt Romney camps.
This country has real problems, problems that only a superhero could help solve. And what better place to find a bunch of superheros (or at the least the people who love them) than Emerald City Comicon. The 3-day geek fest kicked off this weekend at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center.
If you’ve never been to Comicon, it’s something to behold. Thousands of geeks — many of them dressed like their favorite comic book characters — parade through the halls and participate in activities like Geek Family Feud. It’s weird, wild and a ton of fun.
I showed up this morning with a burning question for the geeks: Which superhero would you elect as president of the U.S. and why? Here are the answers, some of which may surprise you.
British Hills
“I would choose Batman because he has the dark and the light side thing going. He understands finances and how to budget large corporations. He also understands the responsibilities of being a leader, sometimes having to do things that people may not think is the right thing to do. He has that type of balance you need to be an effective leader. And he’s humble because he doesn’t have super powers.”
GeekWire: What problem would you like to see Batman tackle first if he were elected? “He would clean up Congress…. He’d go through and find all of the people who are kind of getting payoffs, and not doing their job correctly. He’d clean house because he is so detailed with his files. So, he’d go through and say: ‘Senator, so-and-so is on the take with the oil companies, and I am going to end that.’ He’d clean house and make everything good.”
Jill Fugleberg
“I am just going to have to say Batman. I like Batman, first of all. He’s just my favorite. And, I think he’d just do a nice job getting rid of crime. He’s doing pretty good in Gotham right now.”
GeekWire: What problem would you like to see Batman tackle first if he were elected? “Corruption. And the environment. Batman does good ruling with the iron fist of justice, and if we put him in charge of those things, he could take care of them.”
James Harleman
“Oh wow. I know I am really old-fashioned, but it’s really hard to think that anybody but Steve Rogers would really do it justice. So, Captain America all of the way. He contrasts old-school values, yet with a new liberal sensibility that comes together in a totally unique way that’s probably the perfect fit for today. There’s this heartening back to the way things were, but at the same time not falling into the ruts of 1950s America either.”
GeekWire: What problem would you like to see Captain America tackle first if he were elected? “There’s obviously war tensions and there’s potential friction with other nations that I think he’d be excellent at helping to alleviate. But also the poverty problem would be number two. I think the excitement people would get behind a celebrity like Captain America would stimulate the economy and jobs.
Katy Budd
“Cobra, of course. Vote for Cobra Commander. Dictatorship is the only way to go, I got to say. Absolutely. And he’s just so gosh-darned handsome.”
GeekWire: What problem would you like to see Batman tackle first if he were elected? “All of them. All of them.”
Eric Hall
“Probably Superman. I think he is ultimate immigrant, so he understands the background of America. Midwestern values. Very fair. And he can use his super hearing to make sure that enemies aren’t doing things that they shouldn’t.”
GeekWire: What problem would you like to see Batman tackle first if he were elected? “Probably nuclear disarmament. It is still a threat in the world, and with the collapse of the Soviet Union, who knows where nuclear materials are.”
Thomas Mellor
“Oh, wow. That’s a tough one. I’d probably have to go with Batman. He’s seen the dark side of the world, and he’s got the humanity that’s needed to relate with the common man. He also obviously knows his way around the economy.”
GeekWire: What problem would you like to see Batman tackle first if he were elected? “Probably 50-50 between the economy and pollutants.”
Brent Smith
“I think there is really only one choice to elect as president and that’s Superman, right? I mean he’s the one for truth, justice and the American way. I think that is really the only choice. He’s the big Boy Scout, the big blue Boy Scout. He’s not going to steer the country wrong.”
GeekWire: What problem would you like to see Batman tackle first if he were elected? “Probably the unemployment problem.”
Cara Gabelein
“Captain America because he’s all about the well-being of our country, and I think that’s a pretty obvious choice.
GeekWire: What problem would you like to see Captain America tackle first if he were elected? “Health care, big time. I think that would be the big one, and probably ending all of those wars. He could do that single-handedly, though.”
Christy Cloud
“Gosh. You are going to have to give me a minute because there are a lot of superheroes. I’ll say Cable. Cable from the Xmen. He’s save the whole world, and he’s my dad.”
OK. That was pretty fun wasn’t it? Now, it’s your chance to sound off. In this election year, who would you choose as president of the U.S.
Vote in the poll below and share your thoughts on what problems they should solve, and if you don’t see your favorite superhero, feel free to post in the comments below.
Enjoy!!
Previous Comicon coverage on GeekWire: Comedy superhero web series premieres at Seattle Comicon… GeekWire Radio: Nerd rock, comic books and Angry Birds… Emerald City Comicon: Top 5 things we are excited about
Coming up on GeekWire: More photos and wackiness from the Emerald City Comicon show.
