President America: Avengers Character Takes Oath of Office

Flag waving politicians run the risk of pushing patriotism a mite too hard.

That isn’t a concern for Marvel Comics superstar Captain America. The erstwhile Steve Rogers wears his red, white and blue on his sleeve – sans apology.

Now, ol’ Cap is taking on his toughest assignment – the presidency.

One of Marvel Entertainment’s best-known heroes since he socked Adolf Hitler in the jaw in 1941, the sentinel of liberty will trade his New York City apartment for the White House in the pages of Marvel Comics’ “The Ultimates,” a series set in the Ultimate Comics universe where the U.S. has been torn apart by factionalism, out-of-control anti-mutant hysteria and outright secession.

A career soldier for whom duty trumps political parties, Steve Rogers is seen as the last hope for the country and wins election as a write-in candidate in issue No. 15, due out Wednesday, said Sam Humphries, who is writing the story line.

Captain America has become a lightning rod for the political divide in recent years. The director behind last year’s successful “Captain America: The First Avenger” seemed skittish about playing up the hero’s patriotism. Marvel Comics angered those on the Right by casting a Tea Party-style group in a negative light.

Marvel Comics assures fans President Captain America won’t belong to either party, but he’ll be under the ideological microscope all the same.