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“ | No one should be above the rest. We need to put our country first. | „ |
~ Phil Baker to Supergirl |
Philip "Phil" Baker is the former corrupt president of the United States. He is a supporting antagonist in Season 4 of the CW series Supergirl where he secretly worked with Lex Luthor, to not only rid the world of aliens, but to have Russia take over the United States.
He was portrayed by Bruce Boxleitner, who also voiced John Konrad in Spec Ops: The Line.
Personality[]
Initially, Baker appeared to be a thoughtful political leader who would do anything for his country, but as the crisis with the Children of Liberty started to mount, costing him approval ratings in the polls, he revealed himself to be a selfish individual, who would only do anything for his own self-interests, including ordering Supergirl to reveal her secret identity as a U.S. citizen so it would not affect his approval ratings anymore. After Supergirl refused to reveal her civilian identity to the public, since it would endanger her loved ones, he fired her from the D.E.O.. Later on, Baker pardoned Ben Lockwood to improve his poll ratings, once the administration discovered a loophole to release him and later on, appointed Ben as the director of Alien Affairs, after an unpleasant encounter with Supergirl.
Baker is proven to have a degree of paranoia, by ordering the construction of a satellite with a cannon attached to it, that would destroy any alien spacecraft enters the solar system, despite such a project being a break of the protocol even for any president of the United States. Baker's unprecedentedly strange and, immoral actions caused him to lose the complete trust and respect, from Kara Danvers and Alex Danvers respectively, and later caused Lauren Haley to ponder on whether the president's strange decisions regarding Ben Lockwood and the satellite had ulterior reasons beyond the polls.
Baker is proven to be a corrupt and power-hungry individual (as has been working with Lex Luthor; prior to him becoming the vice president, later the president of the United States) when the White House was attacked by Red Daughter (under the persona of Supergirl) he knew that it wasn't the real Supergirl, as it was an imposter, but still publicly declared the superheroine as public enemy number 1 and after Lex betrayed the Kaznian army (which was part of his plan was in order make himself look like a hero to his country) he blamed the Kaznian invasion on Supergirl, as well as those pardoning Lex of his crimes, just to simply stay in power and to further improve his approval ratings.
These negative traits of Baker's, are what eventually led to his deserved/justified incarceration.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Baker was originally a senator of the United States before he met Lex Luthor. Lex somehow elevated his position to the vice president under Olivia Marsdin by taking out her running mate.
Rise to the Presidency[]
In late 2018, the Children of Liberty with the assist of Lex's henchmen, Mercy and Otis Graves, exposed Olivia Marsdin as an alien and caused her to resign from office and Baker to be subsequently sworn in as the new president. Prior to his inauguration, Baker was visited by Supergirl, whom he thanked for capturing Mercy Graves. After Supergirl affirmed her unconditional support for America, he promised he would do his best to carry on Olivia's legacy.
Conflicts with the D.E.O.[]
With the Children of Liberty's influence rising, he would frequently contact director Alex Danvers of the D.E.O. to ask her what she was doing to stop them as his approval ratings were dropping as the Children of Liberty began getting more support, he also told her to keep a tighter lease on Supergirl as he believed that she was making the situation worse, he was going to threaten her until he had other matters to attend to. Seeing how ineffective the D.E.O. was against the Children of Liberty and since Alex defied a direct order, he sent Colonel Lauren Haley to supervise the place and turn it back to the organization it once was before J'onn ran the place.
Even though Ben Lockwood was now imprisoned for his crimes as Agent Liberty, it didn't stop Baker's approval ratings from dropping and only made it worse since most Americans saw Ben as a hero, seeing how Ben gained more supporters after showing who he really was and what he was fighting for, this gave Baker the idea that he wanted to know who Supergirl really was to gain more supporters of his own and improve his approval ratings. When he tried to convince Supergirl to reveal her identity to put his plan into fruition, even telling her that he had to put his own family into protective custody after becoming president, she still refused as it would put her and all her loved ones in danger. He then unjustly fired Supergirl from the D.E.O., even though she had good reasons to keep her identity a secret.
Working with Ben Lockwood[]
With his approval ratings continuing to dwindle, he was desperate to find a way to raise them, he would watch the news and see that Ben Lockwood is the key to his popularity to bounce back, but he had no way of getting him out since Ben's charges were serious, he told his secretary, Sarah Walker, to find a way around this, after some time of researching, she told him that the law was to protect human civilians, not aliens. With that, Baker gleefully ordered Ben to be pardoned. Because of that, Ben would find himself to become a free man.
Apparent victory[]
When Ben Lockwood started to do everything he can in order to repeal the Alien Amnesty Act, Baker let things proceed with it. On the night, when the decision was to be made, the White House was suddenly attacked by Supergirl (in truth by Red Daughter disguised as her). She killed a number of politicians and fled. Right after, Baker declared Supergirl as public enemy number one. The Alien Amnesty Act was also repealed as a result, and Baker's approval ratings soared.
The entire attack on the White House was engineered by Lex Luthor and Eve Teschmacher, and Baker had been working with Lex for some time before the attack, which meant that he knew all too well, that the attacker was an impostor. Lex had also told him about his scheme to stage a Kaznian invasion of United States, which he will stop on his own, and afterwards, Baker's approval ratings will grow even more, when he recognizes Lex as the hero of America.
However, Kara Danvers came to the White House with proof, that the attack on the White House was made by an impostor by orders from Lex Luthor. Not only that, but also, that the entire ordeal with the Children of Liberty and anti-alien sentiment had also been masterminded by Lex. Baker thanked Kara for all the information, but instead of exposing Lex (as it would expose him as well), he had the Secret Service bag Kara and lock her up, and erase her evidence. What Baker didn't know, was that Kara is Supergirl, and she managed to escape.
Baker talked with Lex just before the Kaznian invasion was about to begin. He had some reservations about Lex's plan, but Lex convinced him to trust him. And just as Lex had planned, he single-handedly stopped the Kaznian invasion, and Baker framed Supergirl even more, when he declared Lex as the hero of America and the Kaznian invasion masterminded by Supergirl, which he could do, when the news showed Lex carrying seemingly dead Red Daughter in his arms. Furthermore, Baker scapegoated the late Otis Graves, publicly claiming that an manifesto found with his body claimed responsibility for all of Lex's crimes.
Exposure and impeachment[]
With Querl Dox's help, Kara Danvers was able to get back the evidence that Baker had taken from her (regarding Lex Luthor's involvement with the Kaznian army and Red Daughter impersonating Supergirl during the attack on the White House) after which, she blogged the evidence on the internet, exposing Lex's crimes to the public. Following the fight at Shelley Island; Baker is subsequently removed from office, impeached and arrested for his involvement with Lex.
Trivia[]
- Phil Baker is the first corrupt politician to be a president in the Arrowverse.
- Baker's villainy was foreshadowed throughout the fourth season of Supergirl where he pardoned Ben Lockwood of his crimes and declared Supergirl an enemy after she was accused of attacking the White House.