marycatelli (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
marycatelli) wrote2023-06-11 11:26 pm
marycatelli) wrote2023-06-11 11:26 pm
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super vigilantes
In discussions of superheroes and the law, one thing that always comes up is that vigilantism is really, seriously illegal.
And even if you deliver them to the cops, the odds they can be convicted are slim.
The big question is, however, whether your ordinary cops can possibly deal with the supervillains. Because if not, obviously some kind of accommodation is needed. Superheroes need not hold all the cards, depending on the world building, but they can, and they certainly will hold most of them. They are unusual, so the government can't just go out and hire someone else. They are powerful, so the government can't coerce them, any more than they can coerce the villains, and hostage-taking has inherent problems. (I was in a discussion once of the Sokovia Accords, and someone sagely observed that the question was whether you wanted 10,000 Magnetos, because this was how you got 10,0000 Magnetos. And worse, the Magnetos will have a point: the Accords violated an astounding number of civil rights. And that's not even the worst a government could do: hostages would make them all the angrier.)
You want secret identities? If the heroes want them, they can insist, and you have to agree.
Even if the government does work with the superheroes so there is no vigilantism, there may be the threat -- or history -- behind some decisions. (Wearing the Cape doesn't have much, but one historical vigilante resulted in an effective deal between organized crime and heroes: no attacks on their personal lives, for no vigilantes.)
Does not work with all thematic issues, of course. Vigilantism can be a minor factor, or even not present, in many worlds. Some themes benefit from not having it on stage, or even alluded to.
And even if you deliver them to the cops, the odds they can be convicted are slim.
The big question is, however, whether your ordinary cops can possibly deal with the supervillains. Because if not, obviously some kind of accommodation is needed. Superheroes need not hold all the cards, depending on the world building, but they can, and they certainly will hold most of them. They are unusual, so the government can't just go out and hire someone else. They are powerful, so the government can't coerce them, any more than they can coerce the villains, and hostage-taking has inherent problems. (I was in a discussion once of the Sokovia Accords, and someone sagely observed that the question was whether you wanted 10,000 Magnetos, because this was how you got 10,0000 Magnetos. And worse, the Magnetos will have a point: the Accords violated an astounding number of civil rights. And that's not even the worst a government could do: hostages would make them all the angrier.)
You want secret identities? If the heroes want them, they can insist, and you have to agree.
Even if the government does work with the superheroes so there is no vigilantism, there may be the threat -- or history -- behind some decisions. (Wearing the Cape doesn't have much, but one historical vigilante resulted in an effective deal between organized crime and heroes: no attacks on their personal lives, for no vigilantes.)
Does not work with all thematic issues, of course. Vigilantism can be a minor factor, or even not present, in many worlds. Some themes benefit from not having it on stage, or even alluded to.
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And unusable in some situations. If the government manufactured supers and treats them like atomic bombs with no more rights than a bomb, many will not consent. Not to mention incompatible with some themes.
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