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Here's the good news: Stephen Colbert is running for president in the Marvel Universe. And, according to Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada, the unhinged television superstar is gaining serious momentum.

Here's the bad news: He's not doing the same in the real world. Mark Waid, The Amazing Spider-Man writer who assimilated the faux newscaster/White House wannabe into issue No. 573 of the comic book, thinks we could use a Colbert presidency more than we could use a Palin vice presidency.

"Despite what a frightening number of red-staters seem to think," Waid said, "as impressive as it is, being able to field-dress a moose is not a superpower."

Truthiness, on the other hand, might be. Wired.com caught up with the two comics rascals, long before they had their morning coffee, to talk Colbert, Spidey, the 2008 election and why Quesada won't work blue. The Colbert issue of Amazing Spider-Man

hits streets Oct. 15.

Wired.com: What is it about Colbert that makes him worthy of safeguarding Captain America's shield or becoming president of the Marvel Universe?

Mark Waid: Colbert's worthy because he loves and respects our heroes. And in a world with J. Jonah Jameson in it, that's an important qualification.

Joe Quesada: Colbert is a true American hero. He's said so on TV, which means it must be true!

Wired.com: Do you wish he'd run for president in our more boring universe?

__Waid: __Dear God, yes, if only because it would rock to have Jon Stewart as the veep.

Quesada:

Stephen tried to run for president in our boring universe, but unfortunately his campaign was stymied by the powers that be. Not so in the Marvel Universe, where his campaign is in full swing and gaining momentum, once again proving that we would all rather be living in the Marvel Universe than the real one.

Wired.com: Why Spidey? Is it because he's got the best sense of humor in the Marvel Universe?

Quesada: Spidey has his Spider-Sense. Colbert has truthiness. It just seemed like a natural fit.

Waid: Clearly, you have not yet read our mega-epic, "Three Men and a Thanos." Spidey makes sense because he's had a long tradition of teaming up with everyone inside and outside the Marvel Universe. Not a bad side gig for a guy who thinks he's a loner.

Wired.com: Are there any plans to have Spidey show up on The Colbert Report? Better yet, any plans for Colbert to show up in the forthcoming Spidey movies? That would be insane in the membrane.

Waid: I yield the floor to my good friend, Joe Quesada.

__Quesada: __While it's hard to predict where Spidey may show up from time to time, you just never know.

__Wired.com: __Can Colbert save us from ourselves?

Quesada: Forget about saving us from ourselves, I have Skrulls nipping at my ass!

__Waid: __Joe, I think you just wrote this year's Christmas song.

Quesada: I don't work blue.

Wired.com: Any thoughts on the real election that you would like to share?

Waid: Just that, despite what a frightening number of red-staters seem to think, as impressive as it is, being able to field-dress a moose is not a superpower.

Wired.com: Colbert has become a pop-culture phenomenon like few others. Why do you think he resonates so strongly with the public?

Waid: I just woke up and have no funny answer, damn it.

Quesada: I think it's simply because he speaks the truth that he feels in his gut. It's got nothing to do with ridiculous things like "facts" or "reason." And that feels right to me.

Wired.com: Any thoughts on giving him an alter ego, along the lines of Venom? Kind of like Formidable Opponent, with a comics twist?

Waid: You mean "archenemy," right? Trust me, readers of the story will see that – thanks to a suggestion by assistant editor Tom Brennan – we've added to Stephen Colbert's Rogues' Gallery in the most unexpected and yet obvious way possible. Longtime Spidey fans will recognize who Colbert is up against! (Editor's note: The New York Times reports that Colbert will square off against The Grizzly in the comic.)

Quesada:

As for alter ego, yes, we worked very hard to design one for him. When he's not being Stephen Colbert, he's a mild-mannered comedic actor, husband and father of three living in New Jersey named Stephen Colbert.

Image courtesy Marvel Comics

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