Barack Obama Joins Forces With Spider-Man

When SFUniverse counted down our Top 10 Black Superheroes, a couple of folks (only half-jokingly) suggested Barack Obama should make the list. Well, the newly elected commander-in-chief is well on his way as he appears in the pages of a special issue of The Amazing Spider-Man.

USA Today tells us that Marvel Comics Editor In Chief Joe Quesada came up with the idea after hearing that Obama collected Spider-Man comics as a kid. In an Entertainment Weekly pop culture survey, Obama picked Spidey and Batman as his favorite heroes because of their inner turmoil. Presidential runner-up John McCain picked Batman.

In the story, the wall-crawler stops the shapeshifting supervillain The Chameleon from ruining Inauguration Day. There’s a five-page team up with the president and the superhero culminating in a “superheroic fist bump.” Collectors are apparently already trying to track down copies of the book that sells for $3.99, but the special Obama cover is expected to push the price much higher. Can we price gouge to take advantage of Obama’s popularity? Yes, we can.

Asked if McCain would have gotten the same treatment had he won, Quesada said sure – if McCain were a Spider-Man fan.