Political comic book heroes/villains.

Okay...

From my understanding, DC ran their Lex Luthor for President campaign concurrently to the 2000 US Election, so there was never any intended parallel. Of course, you'll note that DC is wholly owned by Warner Bros, who were a big contributor to the GOP (and likely to the Dems as well, US politics being what they are). However, as things progressed, some writers clearly relished the (frequently transparent) metaphoric potential of having a megalomanic richboy in the White House. There was talk that Luthor was breaking an embargo by doing trade with the despotic Darkseid, and I think there was even a time where Luthor tried to blame an alien invasion on Saddam Hussein. And in Superman/Batman, the Dark Knight Detective mused on how to take down the president without toppling the pillars of American democracy.

I find it really hard to keep up with Superman comics, so I'm sure I'm leaving a lot out.

from http://www.supermanhomepage.com/comics/who/who-intro.php?topic=luthor-lex

The desire to be more the center of attention than Superman ever was entered Luthor's mind soon after when he began to realize how much of America's attention was dedicated to the Man of Steel. After reading an article in the local paper about Superman's dedication to the most powerful office in America and the man that held that post, he felt there was only one thing to do... run for President.

To everyone's immense surprise, not only did Luthor pick former Senator Pete Ross to be his running mate, but he actually pulled off winning the entire election! While the ballots were being counted in Florida, the one Luthor conceded that Bush and Gore could fight amongst themselves for, Luthor ran away with the election. He was quick to make improvements in security after a pre-announcement visit by Batman, who demanded the Kryptonite ring back from Luthor for his own safekeeping. Luthor defied the caped crusader and threatened to use all of his newfound clout to hunt down and exterminate the 'Gotham Vigilante' if he persisted in this pursuit. (Batman confided in Superman that they would have to be ever watchful of Luthor and when the moment came, the would remove him from office.) Through his election Luthor has plans to share his good fortune with every American citizen through vast economic restructuring and major healthcare reform. He's promised that no child will go hungry and neither an innocent suffer under the watchful eye of his administration. He actually plans to bring more involvement into the government by earths many meta-humans, and has encouraged young people across the country to embrace their examples.

Privately, Luthor was overjoyed at the fact that he had outdone the 'alien' (as he refers to Superman). He made improvements in other areas concerning security too as he had the White House repainted... with lead paint. He felt that with the United States under his direct control the country would rise to heights not seen in the 211 years there have been Presidents in office.

After several seasons of waging a shadow war against Superman, Lex Luthor's true nature was exposed to the world. In a dramatic battle over Metropolis, Luthor was defeated by Superman, and his presidency was impeached. Using his vast fortune and presidential authority, Luthor attempted to finally destroy the Man of Steel in front of the world. A titanic meteor of kryptonite was imperiling the planet. Rather than use the metahumans to destroy it, Luthor concocted an elaborate scheme to blame Superman for the impending disaster.

As President of the United States of America, Luthor ordered Captain Atom to gather a group of super agents, and arrest Superman. With Batman's help, Superman avoided detention. He also managed to gain more incriminating evidence on President Luthor. A series of major events led to Superman finally confronting Lex Luthor in the sky over Metropolis. Injecting himself with a combination of the physical enhancer called venom, and kryptonite, Lex Luthor adorned a battlesuit and personally engaged Superman in combat.

While fighting the Action Ace, Luthor revealed to Superman his affiliation with the New God Darkseid. His delusional behavior was revealed to all. A final blow by Superman sent Luthor into LexCorp Towers, where Batman awaited. Noticing the building was empty and abandoned, the Dark Knight informed Luthor that Talia Head (who operated as interim C.E.O. of LexCorp) sold off the corporation's assets, and depleted Luthor of his personal fortune. A short battle followed, and led to Lex Luthor's escape. In dramatic symbolism, Luthor's own escaped led to the destruction of his own LexCorps Towers. With his presidential regime toppled in disgrace, and his personal wealth apparently gone, Luthor is now a penniless man. He's also wanted by international authorities.

Despite his seemingly desparate position, Lex Luthor is a super genius. He is one of the world's smartest men, and therefore remains as one of the world's deadliest supercriminals. Now, his war against Superman has turned the page to start a new chapter. No longer can Lex Luthor hide behind the law and his authority. Now, he must utilize his wits and technological knowledge, in order to match Superman's might.

(The fall of Lex Luthor was chronicled in Superman/Batman #1-6)

This vendetta against WW escalates to the point that some of the Pantheon-related folk not fond of WW use this tiff to their advantage, which gets Medusa (sic) involved in the story, which leads to WW & Medusa fighting in Yankee Stadium, which leads to WW blinding herself (using Medusa's blood!) to defeat Medusa. Said blinding, since it was caused by something godly (Medusa's blood) can't be wished away by godfolk, & is, for the time being, there to stay.

Medusa's blood didn't give WW Medusa's stone-turning curse - her eyes were being examined by human & godfolk w/out any consequences. She just can't see anymore.

It's Yankee stadium, they'll make a televised event out of anything. Your summary's pretty spot-on, so I don't have anything to add, except that I'm getting the feeling (after having not read a comic in 6 weeks (not really true, but none of my usual titles)) that BKV has a subtler and more interesting handle on the politix than Rucka. I've decided this mostly on the basis of Rucka ALWAYS cutting to new scenes with dialogue in medias res, and it annoys.

On the other hand, Rucka might be great at an Ex Machina type book because he actually manages to make intra-bureaucracy scrabbling exciting!

I was actually complaining that he constantly segues mid-dialogue into new scenes (particularly the talky scenes). It's a technique that I think he's overused.

This vendetta against WW escalates to the point that some of the Pantheon-related folk not fond of WW use this tiff to their advantage, which gets Medusa (sic) involved in the story, which leads to WW & Medusa fighting in Yankee Stadium, which leads to WW blinding herself (using Medusa's blood!) to defeat Medusa. Said blinding, since it was caused by something godly (Medusa's blood) can't be wished away by godfolk, & is, for the time being, there to stay.

Sorry if I'm confused, but I can't see what all this has to do with real-life politics... As Lee points out, I wouldn't say a comic book is dealing with "real" politics, if the point of those politics is just to bring a certain superhero down - superheroes don't exist in the real world.

In some ways, it's a reversal of the trend Leeee points out re: the superhero as mostly passive / powerless observer of grave injustice / activism in action - here, the hero is active, actually setting the agenda that fuels a part of the story.

There was a moment earlier in the comic where the warden of the prison where they hold all the Flash's enemies says he wishes they would lift the ban on executing Meta-Humans, so it wasn't completely out of the blue, and I think it sort of ties in with the post-Identity Crisis divide among the DC heroes that's building. Because Superman and Batman are both anti-Death Penalty, because they're orphans.

I have been reading quite a lot of Marvel's New Universe line lately and - not that they're usually very good comics or anything, but because it's a universe nominally 'without' superheroes its approach to politics has to be a little more grounded. The issues after The Pitt made for very interesting reading in the guesses the writers make as to how people might respond to a major (apparent) terrorist attack on US soil.

Trying to think of other characters who've had definite political stands on things. But I can't think of any Green Lantern villains whose personal obsession was progressive tax policy etc.