http://blogs.lubbockonline.com/slemmons/

Conservatism seems to be a difficult topic for comics to deal with,
especially for traditional superhero comics. Part of that could stem
from the medium's early liberalism (While Superman is considered a
conservative character nowadays, his early adventures usually had him
taking on wealthy corporate crooks and greedheads), but in general,
most comics writers just seem to have trouble tying characters to
political views. Even characters whose conservatism is considered
well-established often have fairly vague political beliefs -- how do we
know, for example, that Hawkman is a conservative? Is it because he's
in favor of lower taxes or opposes gay marriage? No, it's because he
always gets into big arguments with Green Arrow, who is a liberal.

But sometimes, a creator comes up with a compelling character
whose conservative political philosophy is not just specifically
stated, but is an intrinsic part of the character's personality. For
instance: Steve Ditko's Mr. A.

Ditko, of course, is the co-creator of Spider-Man, Dr. Strange,
the Creeper, Captain Atom, and dozens of other characters. But he's had
a bit of a snarky relationship with comics -- he hasn't given
interviews or made personal appearances since the '60s, and his general
dissatisfaction with the current state of the comics industry is pretty
well-known. Ditko is also a follower of author Ayn Rand's conservative
philosophy of Objectivism, and in 1967, he decided to create a hero embodying Objectivist principles.

The result, in the third issue of "witzend" magazine, was Mr. A.
Named for the Randian "A is A" philosophy of the "Law of Identity," Mr.
A was really reporter Rex Graine. He never really had an origin -- he
just went out in his all-white suit and fedora and his solid steel mask
and gloves, and fought crime. He leaves business cards that are half
white and half black to signify his belief that there is only good and
evil, with no moral gray space in the middle.

The typical Mr. A story focused on a character who convinces
himself that he can do a small number of illegal acts without
compromising his own inherent good nature. But those small crimes
eventually snowball into larger and more serious crimes. They often try
to justify their actions by blaming other people, the environment, or
society for their own actions. People who commit only small crimes may
only be delivered by Mr. A to the police for trial, but murderers are
often left in a position where they must rely on Mr. A to save them,
and he never lifts a finger to save the guilty, because they never
lifted a finger to save the innocent.

Of course, Mr. A is indeed impossibly merciless, but that's been
done plenty often before. Mr. A wasn't really written in order to be
realistic or to be a thrilling adventure tale -- its primary purpose is
to promote Objectivism. Does it do that job well? On the one hand,
there's not much way to doubt that Mr. A is as close as you're going to
get to an Ultimate Objectivist -- he never compromises or bends his
principles; he absolutely does not believe that evil is subjective;
he's a moral, intellectual and physical super-specimen, especially
compared to most other people; and he's a really, really preachy guy.

The big problem for Mr. A as a piece of Objectivist propaganda
is that the only people who think Mr. A is an appealing role model are
people who are already Objectivists. You wouldn't want to hang out with
a guy like Mr. A, getting all scowly and condemnatory if your favorite
football team got too many penalties. You wouldn't even want him to be
a cop, 'cause he's the type of guy who'd haul you off to jail for
jaywalking. You wouldn't want to hang out with Mr. A, and there
probably aren't too many folks who'd want to be him, either.

But "Mr. A" is still a series and a character that I feel a lot
of respect for. He's a well-realized character with conservative
beliefs that don't derive from whatever the latest shouting points are
on right-wing thug radio, or devolve into cartoonish parody. And
besides that, Ditko's artwork is fun to look at, too.

And of course, Mr. A is closely related to another Ditko
character, the Question, who got his start very close to the same time
as Mr. A. Originally a Charlton Comics character, the Question was
another vengeful Objectivist, though it's been a few decades since the
Question was portrayed that way. And Mr. A also has ties to Rorschach,
the uncompromisingly conservative vigilante who co-starred in Alan
Moore's "Watchmen" series in the mid-1980s.

(For more on Ditko and Mr. A, be sure to read Dial B for Blog's Mr. A series.)