Thunderbolts #128

I was going to talk about the new issue of Marvel's Thunderbolts as a work of comic book fiction - you know, that combination of words and pictures that we fans devour for entertainment sustenance? Alas, the best laid plans of mice and men...

Thunderbolts #128 has been on the stands less than a week now, and I have been bombarded by friends, associates, and others with more opinions on this book than on any single comic in recent memory. And around what subject, pray tell, do you imagine the comments are centered ? Could it be the current state of the Marvel Universe? The advent of Norman Osborn's Dark Reign? Whether or not the Thunderbolts hold any relevance in this brave new world where any villain can be given legitimacy just because Normie says so? While any of those might have been interesting topics for conversation (and indeed, I have had discussions with a number of folks about each and every one of those questions), most of the questions directed toward me over the last week have involved an element of this month's issue of which I had barely taken note: the appearance of President Barack Obama.

Don't get me wrong, I had noticed his appearance. I had even noticed that this appearance, unlike his much-publicized appearance in Spider-Man, was actually relevant to the story. His meeting with Norman Osborn aboard Air Force One, and the verbal sparring the two had over the recent consolidation of power in Osborn's hands, came off as an inherently natural and necessary element of the story. However, no one who contacted me had any interest in Obama's cameo as a story element. Rather, they all took issue with the fact that the new President did not immediately see through Norman's facade and order his dismissal. In the words of one reader,

"Marvel painted the leader of the Free World as naive and overly-trusting. Barack Obama is far too wise to fall for Norman's tricks!"

And that reader was not alone. I was amazed at the sheer volume of people who were offended by Marvel's depiction of a fictional version of the President of the United States of the Marvel Universe. Did anyone get that last part? Any president who appears in the Marvel Universe is a fictional representation of an American leader. It is not a biography. It is not an advertisement for the real entity. It is a work of fictional characterization.

Then again, what is so negative about the Obama who was portrayed in this comic? What exactly did the fictional president say or do that the real President's ardent admirer's find so insulting? In my opinion, having read the issue several times in an attempt to understand this supposed slight, there is absolutely nothing positive or negative about the portrayal of the President in Thunderbolts #128. He has a meeting with Norman Osborn. So what? During last fall's presidential campaign, Barack Obama repeatedly vowed to meet with anyone, anywhere - even those who have been avowed foes of the United States for decades. If the real Obama is willing to meet with this nation's longstanding adversaries, is it not perfectly reasonable to assume that
even the real President Obama would meet with an official who answers only to the highest office in the land? Of course he would.

Alas, as perfectly as this cameo of the new President was executed, I do hope that Marvel refrains from excessive appearances by Mr. Obama in the pages of their comics. It's not that they are poorly done (like the Spider-Man cameo), or that they are well done (like this one). It is just that I don't think I can stand four years of the new President's supporters parsing every fictional word and gesture that Marvel's writers and artists attribute to the fictional President. Those supporters, thus far, have proven far too sensitive.