San Jose 'Captain America' Councilman Takes Oath While Holding Shield

SAN JOSE (KPIX 5) -- A San Jose city councilman turned a routine swearing-in ceremony into a memorable moment fit for the big screen.

When Mayor Sam Liccardo called Lan Diep to come up and get sworn in on Tuesday, he began fumbling with something under his desk.

It soon became obvious that it would not be a typical, boring ceremony. Diep donned an authentic - and very expensive - exact movie replica of Captain America's metallic red, white and blue shield.

The image of the 32 year-old Diep holding the shield during his oath of office has gone national, covered by the Daily Mail, comicbook.com, and the Washington Post, which featured the headline "A Comic Book Nerd Won A City Council Seat."

Diep has been a lifelong comic book fan, and since Tuesday's swearing-in ceremony was actually his third one, he figured, why not make it memorable?

"I wanted to get people thinking, talking obviously, but also (get them) curious about what else happens inside San Jose City Hall," said Diep.

A week ago, Diep was sworn-in during a more a formal ceremony, where he promised to carry out the duties of his office with dignity.

When asked when he thought the Captain America stunt was dignified, "I don't think it was undignified," he laughed,

"I mean, this is a Captain America shield. It stands for something. It stands for democracy, for equal justice, for fair play," said Diep. "It's not like I wore a Batman mask into chambers and I degraded the proceedings somehow."

Mayor Liccardo said bringing a little levity in long, tedious council meetings is welcome.

"If they make me wear a cape, then I'll be very concerned about the dignity of the office, but for now, I think we'll be fine," said Liccardo.

Councilmember Diep says only 1,000 of those Captain America replica shields were made. We found them selling online for about $1,600 each.