President-elect Barack Obama is getting some help from a superhero as he prepares to take charge of the United States in a time of crisis, dpa reported.
Obama will appear in a special inauguration issue of the Spider- Man comic book, in which the superhero will save the day when an imposter tries to snatch the reins of power at the swearing-in ceremony of the president.
The special issue will hit news-stands on Wednesday, just six days before Obama's inauguration, and is likely to immediately become a collectors' item.
The plot of the six-page episode involves Spider-Man's alter-ego Peter Parker on assignment to take pictures of the historic Washington event, when he realizes that a sinister imposter is up to no good.
Although he saves the day, Spider-Man is the first to admit that Obama probably didn't need his help. "I can't shake the feeling that if I hadn't shown up he would have handled the chameleon all by himself," the superhero says.
Nevertheless, the real-life Obama would probably be grateful for Spidey's intervention as he revealed last year that he's a huge fan of the character and even used to collect his comic books.
"I think one of the reasons that Obama would be a huge Spider-Man fan, rather than of any of the other superheroes, is because of the mantra by which he lives, which is, 'With great power also comes great responsibility'," said Joe Quesada, editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics.
"As president of the US, I think that's the credo he should live by."