Updated on December 10, 2021
Last week, I looked at how Donald Trump‘s been portrayed in comics and animation. This week, I’ll look at depictions of the main other 2016 presidential election front-runner, Hillary Clinton.
DC Comics
Hillary along with Bill appeared in the DCU during the “Death of Superman” storyline. The Clintons appeared at the Man of Steel’s funeral as the then-current First Lady and President of the United States, giving their feelings about the fallen superhero. Given the nature of DC’s sliding timelines, whether they appeared at his funeral at all (at this point, it’d be President and Michelle Obama) or only as former first lady/president, is debatable.
South Park
A 2007 episode parodying the 2000s TV show “24” featured Hillary Clinton.
Pinky and the Brain
Hillary Clinton put in a few appearances in this series, mostly with her husband Bill. One appearance saw her urging Bill on the importance of education. Another saw her along with Bill as part of the secretive organization “THEY.”
Animaniacs
“Animaniacs” had a song about the presidents of the United States up through the then-current administration. The version available on the (long out-of-print) soundtrack, supposedly using earlier planned lyrics, features:
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Dot: Now in Washington, DC…
Wakko: There’s Democrats and the GOP…
Yakko: But the one in charge is plain to see…
Dot: It’s Clinton, first name Hillary!
For the TV version (and what’s found on the DVDs), the closing line by Dot is: “The Clintons, Bill and Hillary!”
The Critic
Hillary and Bill put in a brief cameo in this series (the episode “Dukerella”), with Hillary criticizing Bill for “hogging the spotlight at the State of the Union address.”
The Simpsons
Clinton’s put in a few appearances over the series’ (excessively) lengthy run, though from what I can find, more out of being mentioned/some joke involving her husband Bill than actually appearing. A Simpsons wiki has a list of her appearances on the series to date, including an “Itchy and Scratchy” short.
Conclusion
What depictions of Hillary Clinton in cartoons I can find seem to use her either just as the First Lady/wife of Bill Clinton or jokes about Hillary badgering Bill, a la the “henpecked husband” jokes in old sitcoms. There’s also a lot of jokes about her “wearing the pants in the family” and being more assertive than her husband. Some of this came from her career-minded nature being frowned on by some as not “First Lady-like.” Others disliked that she tried to take on actual policy issues, most notably an attempt at health care reform that failed. Still, some of the criticism/jokes struck me as mainly out of sexism.
Given the amount of jokes about her husband in the 90s, her own recent duties as Secretary of State during President Obama’s first term, and the possibility of her becoming the first woman president, there’ll probably be plenty of comic and animated material featuring her in the future. Hopefully it won’t rely on dated sitcom-style jokes about her domineering her husband.
(Updated 7/26/16)
