Superman, General Zod, and Just War Theory

Hello Superheroes!

Up to this point, most trailers of the Superman movie have been pseudo-religious, contemplative  and soul searching.  Which is all well and good, but a movie about Superman finding out all about himself in a touchy feely way has been done (Hello, Man of Steel?  This is Smallville calling.  It wants its teen angst back).

Which is why we were thrilled to see this:

(hmm, we can’t seem to get the…

Vigilante Situation 2: The State has failed to enact certain good laws

This post if part 3 of a series on the ethics of vigilantism as defined by Les Johnson.  You can find parts 1 & 2 here and here, respective.

Between a state enacting good laws and a state enacting bad laws, there exists a point at which the state doesn’t do enough.  Imagine, for example, the fight of the Civil Rights Movement, in which the fight was…

Superman’s a Fascist for Being a Vigilante?

Note: This post reflects only the views of the author, not necessarily the views of the editor of the site nor the views of anyone referenced.

We’re nearly finished with our latest post on the ethics of vigilantism, but we wanted to take a moment to comment on a recent story from a major news outlet.

The Atlantic recently published a post about the latest Superman writer entitled “The Real…

Vigilante Situation 1: The State Has Enacted Good Laws, but Is Failing to Enforce Them

Now that we have a definition of vigilantism, it seems apparent that an individual or group’s actions as a vigilante must take into account the context in which the individual acts.  Any look at the efficacy of a vigilante’s actions must first consider who should defend the values being violated as well as the quality with which they accomplish that task.  First, society has appointed a group of…

Being a Hero, Defying the Law: An Introduction to Vigilantism

No discussion of heroes would be complete without a discussion of the phenomenon of vigilantism.  Even though heroes are found among fire departments, police, and the armed forces, many of our superheroes serve independent of all three.  While this trend is by no means universal, of the top 20 selling comic titles of April 2010, only one, The Walking Dead, does not directly feature a vigilante or group of…

When is Forgiveness Unforgivable?

The basic superhero formula isn’t difficult: you have heroes and villains, villains try to take over the world, heroes fight the villains, and the heroes win.  Its a tale as old as time itself.

That’s simple enough.  But simple is boring and life is complex.  People change, alliances advance, and issues that once divided seem inconsequential in light of new events.  Which means that while we once had X-Men covers…

Invincible Iron Man, Extremis, and Transhumanism- Becoming more than human, but less than heroic?

Welcome back, heroes!

The trailer for Iron Man 3 came out about a month ago, and we are still giddy with anticipation.

OK, so they took the trailer for The Dark Knight Rises and added helicopters shooting missiles.  We don’t care.  Robert Downey Jr. is the best thing to happen to Iron Man since titanium underwear, and after…

“I won’t kill you, but I don’t have to save you”…or do you?

Greetings heroes!

This month’s post is based on the following scene from Batman Begins:

In summary, Batman is on a speeding train with R’as al Ghul, a villain who has just tried to destroy Gotham City.  Batman has Detective Gordan destroy the train track, then beats al Ghul in a fight.  Batman then departs with the line, “I won’t kill you, but I don’t have to save you.”  The train goes…

Election Ethics – Can Superheroes Ethically Support a Candidate?

Here’s a hypothetical.  With Obama and Romney neck and neck in the polls, they need a big story to give them that edge.  With the Hispanic vote set, the Rust Belt tapped out, and women voters undecided, the only vote left to tap is the ever-volatile superhero vote.  So the Romney campaign reaches out to well-known conservative Hawkman, while the Obama campaign tries to renew the coveted endorsement…

The X-Men and Overcoming Power by Following the “Rules”- The Ethics of Foucault

Greetings heroes.

In our last post, we discussed feminism and its encouragement to regard superheroines as equal in their ability to use their powers to make the world a better place.  This has been a long struggle, and as we argued, its not over yet.  But what drives this change?  How did we come from a place where taking Wonder Woman off the front line and making her the…