Election Time: Who Should Be The Next Mayor of Metropolis?

[daBronzeBomma]

Metropolis is one of the most famous cities in all of fiction. The City of Tomorrow is a weird blend of New York City, Cleveland, Toronto and Tokyo. It's a fascinating place where "impossible" is just another word for Tuesday.

So why is the person officially running the joint always such a non-entity?

I have no idea who is currently the Mayor of Metropolis, but it seems to me that the position needs to be re-filled on a permanent / indefinite basis.

It also seems to me that this would be a great opportunity to uplift a deserving member of Superman's often neglected supporting cast.

So let's vote!


Some ground rules:

1) No actual poll format for this thread (I've found they discourage conversation in favor of looking at graphics)

2) Has to be an existing DCU character with a definite link, past or present, to the Superverse (i.e. no Selina Kyle or Amanda Waller)

3) Not to be racist ... scratch that, not to be"species-ist", but this Mayor should be human. No non-humans (i.e. no Superman, Supergirls, Superboys, Power Girl, Mon-El, Krypto, Brainiac, Darkseid, Parasite, Metallo, etc)

4) Should be definitely old enough to run for public office. So at least consistently over 25 years old, preferably 30s (i.e. no Jimmy Olsen, no Natasha Irons, no Ron Troupe, no Lucy Lane)

5) Keep in mind, this would be intended to be a "permanent" upgrade for your selected Superverse character. Not just for a storyline, not just for a year-long run, but this is their new position going forward, for the indefinite future, as the status quo. That means they are permanently leaving their old job / main role behind.

6) Ballots! Let's do a maximum 3-candidate ballot. 1st choice = 15 points, 2nd choice = 10 points, 3rd choice = 5 points. If you list only 1 choice, that person gets 15 points, If you list 2 choices, 1st gets 15 pts, 2nd gets 10 pts. If you list 4 or more choices, then 4th or more choice is ignored. and no ties.

7) Tally! If there is any interest, I'll keep a running tally of the votes.



OK, let's check out some potential mayoral candidates (and my take on their chances):



Mayor Lois Lane - this would be the biggest possible move to make. Except, Lois is really defined by her job as a journalist, and I feel like it's best if the mayor isn't that central to Superman's life.

Mayor Perry White - this is the one that makes the most logical sense to me. Right age, right experience level, hometown hero. "Mayor" is far more relevant than "editor-in-chief". Puts him more in the orbit of being the Superverse's version of Jim Gordon.

Mayor Lana Lang - if you can't get Lois, why not the next best thing to Lois in Lana? Mayor Lana Lang would be interesting, but I kinda want to keep her in Smallville (mainly b/c I think Smallville should remain an active part of the Superverse, not a memory like Krypton).

Mayor Pete Ross - I feel like he already went into politics before and I didn't care for then and I wouldn't care for it now, even on a more local level.

Mayor John Henry Irons - He'd have to give up any pretense of being a superhero for this to work. Are we ready to say good-bye to Steel? (remembers that Natasha Irons can take up the mantle). Yeah, I am ... for Mayor Irons.

Mayor Maggie Sawyer - She came from the Superverse, went to the Batverse, and now may be returning to Superverse post-Rebirth. This would be the (for lack of a better word) "sexy" pick. No more direct way to show that Metropolis is the city of Tomorrow than Mayor Maggie Sawyer.

Mayor Steve Lombard - Why not throw in some comedy into politics? Seriously, can you imagine Mayor Steve Lombard's administration? I feel like he would inadvertently cause more chaos than order, and that would be great to watch.

Mayor Cat Grant - Speaking of comedy, after watching SUPERGIRL on CBS (season 2 please?), Mayor Catherine Grant would essentially be VEEP with super-powers. And I'd be all over that.

Mayor Morgan Edge - If you want a truly morally grey character as the official leader of Metropolis, this is your guy. Mayor Morgan Edge would play both sides of any conflict better than anyone, being neither heroic nor villainous. In other words, a typical politician.

Mayor Lex Luthor - On the other hand, if you believe politicians are inherently bad, Mayor Lex Luthor would be the perfect combination of two evils: big business meets big government. President Lex was cut short, Mayor Lex could run indefinitely.


Now, these obviously aren't the only Superverse characters who meet the requirements. If you can name others you'd cast your vote for, then please do.


OK, so my ballot ...

3. Mayor Perry White (+5)
2. Mayor Lex Luthor (+10)
1. Mayor Cat Grant (+15)

What can I say? I like a woman in charge. And I'm a fan of both SUPERGIRL and VEEP.

Your turn!

[superduperman]

Y'know, they say that Lex Luthor is a nice young man.

[manofsteel1979]

I would love a Perry White vs. Lex Luthor mayoral race.

Perry for my vote.

[TheDarkKnightReturns]

Talia al Ghul should be the mayor. Just to see Superman priceless reaction.

[Agniwolf]

1. lee lambert - she was a good idea that ended being underused in the mess that was truth
2. cat grant - why not/
3. if she is alive mayor wraith keeps her job, now that would be a plot twist, a villain that was proven villain and still keeps her place (but after the mess and treason from savage, she would be a dark-grey character)

[vasir12]

Sawyer
John Henry
Cat

[adrikito]

Lex Luthor the "true" protector of Metropolis..

The world believes that now is a hero .. this is the time for it ..

[Dispenser Of Truth]

John Henry Irons is the obvious choice for me; why wouldn't the Mayor of Metropolis also have battle armor? They should have that anyway. Ron Troupe would also I think be solid choice from what little I've seen of him over the years. Lobard comes in a respectable third, because that would be amazing.

[SuperCrab]

Mayor seems like a step down for Luthor, even Mayor of Metropolis. The last version of him was President of the United States at one point.

I want to keep the Daily Planet intact, *but* if editorial is going to permanently move the focus away from that, it'd be a good way to keep a character like Perry White doing *something* relevant in the comics. But I'd rather they keep the Daily Planet a key part of the titles.

What if Clark Kent were Mayor of Metropolis? If he's not going to be a journalist, he has to do something, right? Maybe people like his articles on the plight of the poor, and the way the rich take advantage of them, and he does a big televised interview with Morgan Edge or something and winds up telling him off the way he once did in the Daily Planet offices, and it makes him nationally famous, and suddenly people want him to run for all these offices, but Edge runs for Mayor of Metropolis, and Clark jumps in the race. I know that violates the rules of the poll, so I can't make that my "vote", but it'd be my vote if I could.

Pete Ross seems like an okay pick.

I guess my "vote" is for Pete.

I don't think we necessarily need a Mayor of Metropolis character, though. Honestly, it's an office that would sort of seem odd for Superman and his villains to be dealing with on a regular basis. I mean, when you're Superman, do you really answer to anyone other than the President or the Congress or the United Nations? A city mayor just seems like small potatoes. It worked in the Wrath arc, kind of, though.

[MajorHoy]

Write-in vote:

Bibbo!

[Flash Gordon]

Shadow monster!

[Powertool]

Me gusta, me gusta, me gusta!!

3. Mayor Steve Lombard - The outsider you'd have never seen coming!
2. Mayor Perry White - It'd be like having a good-guy William Randolph Hearst in the Superman titles!
1. Mayor Cat Grant - I'm also all over that. Ms.Grant deserved more exposure.

[OBrianTallent]

Cat Grant or Perry White.

[DieHard200904]

1) Lee Lambert
2)Perry White
3)Cat Grant

[Jon Clark]

There was a Rush Limbaugh pastiche named (I think) Dirk Armstrong in the supporting cast back in the mid 90's. He seems tailor made to be a candidate, maybe even altered a bit to give him some Trump traits.

Perry is another contender but I'd hate to lose him at the Planet. I'd rather go with Inspector Henderson assuming the role (maybe with Lee Lambert given a deputy mayor role)

My vote though has to be for Mayor James B Olsen whose win comes from left field after Lois exposes the front-runner's Intergang ties and Luthor undermines the opposition candidate after the man runs on a "I will prosecute criminal businessmen" campaign using lex as an example.