美国国家公共电台 NPR Can A Canadian Prime Minister Be An Action Hero? Marvel Comics Thinks So（在线收听）

Can A Canadian Prime Minister Be An Action Hero? Marvel Comics Thinks So  

play pause stop mute unmute max volume 00:0003:29repeat repeat off Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your Flash plugin. RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST: 

Justin Trudeau already had a diverse resume when he became prime minister of Canada. He's been a schoolteacher and a snowboard instructor. Now he can add action hero to his resume. A new issue of Marvel Comics released today has Trudeau facing evildoers in the halls of parliament and in the boxing ring, too. NPR's Jackie Northam reports.

JACKIE NORTHAM, BYLINE: It is quite the image of Canada's prime minister. The front cover of the latest Marvel Comics shows Justin Trudeau sitting in the corner of a boxing ring, elbows resting on the ropes. He's wearing boxing shorts, a tank top that's emblazoned with a large maple leaf and a smile that's a bit difficult to read.

RAMON PEREZ: I was going for a little bit of attitude, a little bit of smugness. You don't know if he's already been boxing for a little bit and he's going back in or he's just starting out and he's kind of gearing himself up.

NORTHAM: That's Ramon Perez, the cartoonist behind the depictions of Trudeau in this latest issue of Marvel Comics. The Toronto-based Perez says his original drafts showed Trudeau bare-chested.

PEREZ: And Marvel was - well, I don't know. That might be a little bit too risque, a little bit too much. And then, about two weeks or three weeks ago, we have, like, Justin's popping up in media topless here and there, camping with his family and stuff like that. And I'm like, there you go. We could have had him topless.

NORTHAM: The image of the 44-year-old Trudeau is one of two covers Marvel Comics is using for its latest edition, which features a Canadian superhero squad called Alpha Flight. Marvel approached Chip Zdarsky, also based in Toronto, to write the action story. It was Zdarsky who came up with the idea to feature Trudeau, who he thinks is a bit of an action man in real life.

CHIP ZDARSKY: It kind of just made sense, like, this opportunity to have a Canadian-driven story at a time when Trudeau just keeps making headlines as Canada's cool prime minister.

NORTHAM: Zdarsky says he wouldn't have been able to do the same thing with Trudeau's predecessor, Stephen Harper, who was seen as more businesslike.

ZDARSKY: That would have been a little bit trickier. His only superpower, as far as I know, is awkwardly playing Beatles medleys on piano.

NORTHAM: Zdarsky approached Trudeau's office to get the OK. It came back saying it can't approve using Trudeau in the comic, but it wouldn't stand in the way either. While Marvel Comics rarely features world leaders, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Justin's father, did make an appearance back in 1979, and President Obama in 2009. Marvel Comics' editor, Will Moss, says he's sure this edition with the younger Trudeau will do well.

WILL MOSS: I think he's somebody that a lot of Americans are aware of and fans of. I know several women here in our office are big fans of Justin Trudeau.

NORTHAM: Moss says the story focuses on a character named Ulysses, who can see into the future and crimes before they happen. The Alpha Team is divided whether to use that information to arrest people for crimes they haven't yet committed. Moss says they turned to Trudeau for guidance.

MOSS: It's natural that they'd want to seek counsel from the leader of their country.

NORTHAM: Except that he's in a boxing ring wearing boxing shorts (laughter).

MOSS: Yeah, yeah, that's right. There's a little bit of both. They seek his council, and then - and then he blows off some steam with Iron Man in a boxing ring.

NORTHAM: The creators won't give away any more of the storyline. They just hope Trudeau gets a chance to pick up the latest Marvel comic. Jackie Northam, NPR News.