San Jose Councilmember Lan Diep has a story he’d like you to believe, regarding his Captain America shield. Famously, when Captain America was assassinated in the comic books, the shield ended up in unlikely hands: Stephen Colbert’s. Head of Marvel Comics’ Joe Quesada informed him that Cap’s will instructed them to gift the shield to Colbert. The reasoning: Stephen Colbert was the “only one person patriotic enough to wield the solid vibranium shield.”
Here is where the fantasy in Diep’s head begins: “Then Stephen Colbert went off the air then he passed it on to me,” he says.
By now you might’ve seen the incredible image: Diep being sworn into office, holding tight the unmistakable Captain America shield. When you see the photo, you immediately understand why it went viral: it’s goofy, a bit nerdy, and it seem preposterous that such an event occurred.
https://twitter.com/ThatEricAlper/status/825074231490834432
But occurred it did. Though Diep’s shield is the same one that once adorned Stephen Colbert’s wall, it is a replica model of the one Chris Evans carries in the Marvel movies. It weighs around 10 pounds—Diep described it as having “heft”—and currently sits in his office instead of on his wall, so he can grab it and run, if trouble calls, he jokes.
Still, it seems like a silly thing to do for an elected government official. Politics are serious business, especially in times like these, right? But do they have to be?
Let’s rewind and clear some things up. Diep was elected San Jose councilman back in June in a hotly-contested race—winning by a final count of 12 votes. He received his official swearing-in back in December and held another personal one with family and other politicians, including ones that cross party lines. This January when the photo went viral, it was his third time taking the oath, and it was mostly inconsequential and ceremonial. The shield had been sitting in his closet for two years, so he thought, why not?
“Some people have a lapel flag pin, this is the equivalent of an American flag pin to me, just bigger and in the form of a shield,” he says.
It was an effort to make himself relatable to San Jose citizens, and remind them he’s a person as much as a politician. Yes, he likes comic books. He can rattle off storylines from Captain America comics that would go over the heads of more casual comic book moviegoers. He even would label himself a comic book geek (though he says he’d probably lose in a geek-off).
So, yes, like any normal human who find they’ve gone viral, he was shocked. He didn’t expect this to happen. Nor did he expect all the response he received.
“I got a lot of feedback from the internet, good and bad,” Diep says. “There were people who said I’m an embarrassment, who said I’m making a mockery of government. There are people who just laugh and said I have some balls, I’m their hero, I’m so cool.”
But it stands to question: Why Captain America? Why read those comics, buy that shield, and raise it high during oath?
“He’s Captain America, but he doesn’t serve the President,” Diep says. “He doesn’t serve any one administration. He stands for these ideals that are timeless. These ideals embodied in the constitution. He’s a sentinel of liberty.
“He fights for liberty. He fights for fair play, for equal justice, for helping the little guy. And he always tries to do what’s right, according to his own moral compass. Regardless of political consequence. That’s important. Country before party.”
