"I Am Inevitable"

I wanted to steer clear of politics this season, even with the impeachment proceedings and the current articles of impeachment, only the fourth time in our history.  This, however, is an intersection of politics and comic book media that I can't ignore.

House Democrats can push their sham impeachment all they want.

President Trump's re-election is 𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲. pic.twitter.com/O7o02S26nS

— Trump War Room (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@TrumpWarRoom) December 10, 2019

There are so, so many things to discuss about this.  So many things wrong with this picture.

First, to be clear, this is the official Trump campaign twitter.  Using a doctored video where they have pasted in Trump over Thanos in Avengers: Endgame snapping his fingers to wipe away the Democrats.

I can understand the campaign's impulse.  Endgame was the highest grossing motion picture ever (not adjusted for inflation).  And the "I am inevitable" line works with their idea that Trump 2020 is a foregone conclusion.

They may have wanted to watch the actual movie, though, before committing to the spot.

Thanos was the bad guy.  The ultimate villain.  Who committed genocide and wiped out half of the universe's population with the snap of his fingers.  Those people who were dusted were the heroes.

Maybe not the comparison you want to be making to your candidate.

Then again, there are those who are already drawing those parallels.

To me, it's really striking that the emotional apex of the film is Thanos and his forces staring down a lone figure draped in the flag, who refuses to give up the fight.

Shoot, even they would have read the comics, they may have discovered Thanos is a complex villain obsessed with Death and usually defeated by his own ego.  Again, not the comparison that Trump's team may want, but perhaps the most fitting comparison.

I'll close with the thoughts of Jim Starlin, the creator of Thanos for Marvel in old issues of Iron Man.

"After my initial feeling of being violated, seeing that pompous fool using my creation to stroke his infantile ego, it finally struck me that the leader of my country and the free world actually enjoys comparing himself to a mass murder," Starlin said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.  "How sick is that? These are sad and strange times we are going through.  Fortunately all things, even national nightmares, eventually come to an end."

It's not the first time Trump has praised or compared himself to a dictator.  It likely will not be the last.  But it definitely makes for sad and strange times, indeed.