Councilman and comic book nerd wears Captain America shield at swearing-in

A California councilman wants his city to yield to the shield.

Lan Diep, 32, is an adult lawyer by day and comic book collector by night. Diep brought a replica of Captain America's shield to his swearing-in ceremony as San Jose's City Councilman on Tuesday, and the display has since gone viral.

A self-proclaimed comic nerd, Diep says he has been an avid collector of comic books since elementary school.

He also owns a working Ghostbusters trap and has a piece of kryptonite stowed away under glass -- just in case.

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"I don't want people to assume I assigned more forethought and meaning to this than I did," he told The Washington Post. "The political landscape as of late has been gloomy. I just wanted to bring a moment of levity to the proceedings."

Made of actual aluminum, Diep says the shield is the closest you can get to the shield actor Chris Evans carried in his role as Captain America in the blockbuster films.

"It's not just something you can get at Toys R Us," he said.

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So far, people are applauding Diep's act, but some have also mocked the councilman.

"I take the job seriously, of course," Diep said. "I take myself less seriously. I'm not above entertaining people in hopes that they will wade through the policy discussions."

"Whatever gets more people to pay attention to local government," Diep tweeted Tuesday.