Although Decisions was co-written by a liberal writer (Judd Winick) and a conservative one (Fables' Bill Willingham), one side definitely comes off better in the admittedly-dopey story of political assassinations and analog politicians (Instead of Barack and John, we get Kate McLellan, Davis Brewster and other Presidential hopefuls - because, of course, tying your characters to actual political figures is much worse than tying them to actual political parties): the Republicans.

Oh sure; the Democrats may get Batman in their corner - well, Bats undercover as Bruce Wayne, as he comes out in favor of "Martin Suarez" - but he makes a point of telling the audience that he doesn't really mean it:

Bruce Wayne integrated himself into the Suarez campaign so that I could have better tactical access.

Meanwhile, the Republicans get Lois Lane ("I'm proudly for a strong military, small government, low taxes, and maximum individual freedom," she explains in just one of the many moments where the conservatives get the ideological banner out in the series) and Wonder Woman, who gets swayed by her candidate's stump speech:

We aren't a nation of warriors, first and foremost — and never by choice. We're farmers and shop owners and designers and truck drivers and everything else. But we step up when we're called to duty. Always. No matter how soft we may seem at times. That's the America you should know and love like I do, hesitant to go to war, but a terrible adversity and steadfast ally once we do. And then always compassionate to those we defeat... And if we've lost that path recently, help us find our way back to it. That's what I stand for, Wonder Woman, and why I'm in the race.

She swoons, of course.

Not all of the big-name superheroes come out with a preference (The Hal Jordan Green Lantern and Wally West Flash keep their political cards close to their chest, in addition to Superman - although Hal has classically been portrayed as a small-c conservative, if not all-out Republican), but the breakdown of the character's choices from the four issue series is as follows:

Democrats:
Batman (Maybe; or maybe it's just a tactical advantage thing)
Blue Beetle
Changeling
Dr. Light
Firestorm
Green Arrow
Thunder

Republicans:
The Flash, Jay Garrick
Green Lantern Guy Gardner
Hawkman
Huntress
Lady Blackhawk
Lois Lane
Plastic Man
Power Girl
Vixen
Wildcat
Wonder Woman

Worth noting; only three of those heroes have caucasian backgrounds, against the nearly all-white - Vixen is the only non-white - Republican supporters. Also, more women broke for the Republicans than the Democrats. Intentional commentary on voting demographics, or weird coincidence? We may never know. All that is sure about this unusual four-issue series is that it is very unlikely to ever be referred to again - or, at least, until it's time for another attempt at superhero topicality, four years from now.

All four issues of DC Universe: Decisions are available now.

Even though I thought I was joking when I said that the tease "Superman Red or Superman Blue" was about Clark Kent's political affiliation, it turns out that I was 100% right, according to DC's Executive Editor, Dan DiDio:

We're entering a very interesting election year this year, and what I think is important about it is that it's that there's this excitement - a sense of "building"...there's change in the air in regards to the whole political process that's at play in the United States. What we want to do is tap into that emotion, and tell a story that plays in the DC Universe with our characters, while using the political backdrop we're seeing now to help to define our characters better... For the first time, we'll be having our characters make true political stands in regards to their leanings, as well as what motivates them to be heroes, and what they believe is necessary for their world and their country to move in the direction they believe to be the right one.

This is not about the actual candidates. Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton and John McCain do not appear in this comic [laughs]. These are candidates that represent particular political beliefs, and it's more about why the heroes are motivated or respond to particular candidates themselves, or the platforms of particular candidates.

The biweekly series launches in September.

Dan DiDio on DCU: Decisions