Many people online have felt it appropriate to compare President Donald Trump to a classic supervillain since he’s taken office. A new Twitter account “Pres. Supervillain” does just that, splicing Trump quotes into Marvel comics panels featuring the Nazi supervillain Red Skull. And it works a little too well.
The Pres. Supervillain Twitter account (@PresVillain) tweeted for the first time on February 13, using a Trump tweet from 2009 where he quoted himself: “‘When the achiever achieves, it’s not a plateau, it’s a beginning.’ —Donald J. Trump.” The text was then overlaid an old school Red Skull comic with Red Skull getting ready to trigger some sort of bomb.
The account is run by D.M. Higgins, a comics writer and editor, who tweeted about the reasoning behind choosing Red Skull as the perfect Trump outlet on February 15. The thread says that Red Skull is “visually perfect for the role. There is no mistaking his ugly, evil face, the ridiculous Silver Age jumpsuit.” Secondly, and more importantly, “Red Skull is morally irredeemable.” Higgins tweeted that Red Skull “has no code of honor like Dr. Doom, no humanity like Luthor, no mirth like Joker.”
Trump’s style — unapologetic and loud — pretty much sums up Red Skull, who’s the arch nemesis of Captain America and an outright Nazi during World War II.
The Trump quotes used for the various edits mostly come from Trump’s personal Twitter account, where he’s known to use incendiary language and attack various, often-perceived threats. But a couple come from transcripts of interviews or speeches where Trump has discussed waterboarding (“I like it a lot. I don’t think it’s tough enough”) or defended his attacking the press while talking up himself simultaneously.
The reaction from Twitter at large has been, overall, positive. People seem to find the idea hilarious or “too real,” as some say the portrayal is accurate. And while Pres. Supervillain only has about 8,000 followers on Twitter — far from a “viral” following — there’s a chance Trump himself could take notice. He has, after all, proven himself incapable of sitting quietly while he’s satirized.
Be on the lookout for more Pres. Supervillain tweets as Trump continues to sound like a comic book character.
