Making Batgirl Great Again
So, what can Batgirl do? She wants to be proficient at fighting crime— that’s what drives her—but she faces these restrictions on her abilities. Well, let’s change that. If we allow Barbara to get some training on how to be a better hacker, or provide her with access to Wayne technology’s “Batman division”, we might just see that the curve that had been so limiting is no longer keeping Batgirl down. This is where those wonderful gadgets come in, and why heroes have them and invest so much in creating new and better versions. Like any skilled worker, they want to be better at their jobs. For the non-powered hero, they can do this by augmenting their skill set, researching their area of expertise to keep up with the latest in the field, practicing their techniques, and investing in new gadgets—also known as capital. In the context of the PPC we are relaxing the assumptions that you are stuck with your initial resource allocation. When you start using new tools, this shifts the production possibilities curve outward, allowing those previously unattainable points to become attainable, as shown in Figure 8.2. If her tech gets better, this moves the curve out from the starting points. She can hack more and bust more than she could originally, making a point like eleven hacks and twelve busts, that was initially beyond the PPC, a realistic and efficient possibility. Whereas before to get twelve busts she could only complete six hacks, she now has the option to hack nearly twice as much without giving up patrolling. In fact, with the new tech there are all sorts of options that are now achievable that weren’t before. Those wonderful toys the heroes have to play with are major components of successful crime-fighting, turning extraordinary people into extra-extraordinary people who can fight evil on multiple fronts in ways that make the criminal element tremble.
Figure 8.2. Production Possibilities Curve with New Technology.
And the Answer Is …
There are two points that bear noting as we wrap up this chapter. The first is that, of course, some of the bad guys are pretty smart too. The villains don’t sit around with resignation and wait for the heroes to increase their productivity. They can play that game, too. Lex Luthor’s clone of Superman shows that he has the tech skills to go toe to toe with the smartest heroes.8 Other mad scientists develop poisons, weapons, and other means of destruction that strike fear into the hearts of people everywhere. Dr Doom has a legion of robots, a form of capital, that he uses to try and take over the world. Joker’s Venom literally causes you to die laughing. Brainiac’s tech can shrink cities and put them in bottles.9 Shocker’s gauntlets throw vibrational punches at buildings and people to blast them apart.10 Basically, he can bring down structures with a punch, utilizing some tech he developed in the garage.
The second point is more economic in nature. Enhancing technology and human capital are some of the ways in which economic growth takes place. By pushing the production possibilities curve outward, more can be produced, and that is the definition of economic growth. Generally, more growth in a nation results in higher standards of living. There are some incredibly valuable technologies that heroes, and villains for that matter, implement in comic stories. If the technological innovations found in superhero comics could be applied to the world of today, the standard of living would be higher for everyone. Luthor has said he could cure cancer. Unfortunately, he’s too busy trying to mess with Superman. The Wakandian communications tech puts Apple watches, and all other forms of communication, to shame. In Astrocity, transportation is taken care of by teleport doorways, reducing transportation costs and pollution by magnitudes. Such innovations are a bit of science fiction but they are used as ways to make people more productive, and in so doing they shift the PPC. For the non-powered hero, the adoption of capital makes them more capable crime-fighters, thereby allowing them to contribute to the battle against evil on a level with those who are gifted with powers. Without these tools they would be shunted to the background of stories or, like so many others, relegated to the dustbin of comic history.
Endnotes
1. There are actually two geographic locations where vibranium is found: Wakanda and Antarctica. Wakandan vibranium behaves differently than Antarctic vibranium. While the former absorbs vibrating energy that is nearby, the latter breaks the atomic and molecular bonds of metals that are in proximity (Marvel, n.d.).
2. This is one of Green Arrow’s most used trick arrows. As far as I can tell, it first appeared in Action Comics #436 (Maggin and Dillin, 1974).
3. Mr Terrific can become invisible to electronic detection with a technology he developed, making himself a sort of one-man stealth fighter. He also utilizes T spheres, which are floating mechanized balls that project holograms, block surveillance cameras, and connect to data networks. All really fine techy stuff but nothing Batman doesn’t have or can’t have made for him.
4. The first appearance of Mr Terrific was Terry Sloane who appeared in Sensation Comics #1 (Reizenstein and Hibbard, 1942), whereas Batman first graced a page in Detective Comics #27 (Finger and Kane, 1939).
5. Technically it does not matter where we place each activity. The shape of the production possibilities curve is what is important. Conveniently, it will take the same shape regardless of which activity is on which axis.
6. The Guardians of the Universe from the planet of Oa are the remnant of an ancient race of scientists and thinkers who try to keep the universe orderly and free of evil. They are responsible for the creation of the Green Lantern Corp and other events in the DC Universe.
7. This is determined by taking the two hacks she gives up and dividing by the six busts she is now able to accomplish. 2 ÷ 6 = 0.33. The ratio of hacks to busts is therefore 0.33 hacks for 1 bust.
8. Luthor has created a few clones of Superman, including Bizarro (Byrne, 1986 and Fisch and Johnson, 2013 as a few examples), and Conner Kent—who is a clone of Superman and Lex Luthor (Kessel and Grummett, 1994).
9. Brainiac is a supremely intelligent villain who often confronts Superman. In addition to having an intellect that far surpasses most beings, Brainiac can work through human or robotic surrogates. One of his favorite moves is to shrink a city down and put it in a bottle. This gives him the perfect vantage point for studying the goings on in that city and storing any knowledge the people of that city possess.
10. Shocker’s alias, Herman Schultz, was another in a long line of brilliant, but misunderstood, characters who use their abilities for evil. Shocker is often found battling Spider-Man.
References
Batman. (1989). [Film]. Buckinghamshire, England: Tim Burton.
Byrne, J. (1986). Man of Steel, #5. DC Comics.
Davidson, J. (2015). These are the five richest superheroes. [Online] Money. Available at: http://time.com/money/3950362/richest-superheroes-comic-con/ [Accessed April 4, 2018].
Finger, B. and Kane, B. (1939). Detective Comics, #27. DC Comics.
Fisch, S. and Johnson, J. (2013). Superman, #23.1. DC Comics.
Ford, H. and Crowther, S. (1922). My Life and Work. New York: Garden City Publishing Company.
Kessel, K. and Grummett, T. (1994). Superboy, #0. DC Comics.
Maberry, J. and Eaton, S. (2010). Doomwar, #1. Marvel Comics.
Maggin, E. and Dillin, D. (1974). Action Comics, #436. DC Comics.
Marvel Database. (n.d.). Vibranium. [Online]. Available at: http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Vibranium. [Accessed August 20, 2018].
Reizenstein, C. and Hibbard, E. (1942). Who is Mr Terrific? In: M. Gaines (Ed.), Sensation Comics, #1. DC Comics.
9
Why Don’t Superheroes Take Over the World?
The Watchmen are a band of superheroes, none of whom have powers except the nuclear reactor on legs, Dr Manhattan. The rest of the group are vigilantes, attempting to make the world a safer place. Their tactics are usually above board but a few of them, in their zeal to protect the innocent, utilize some questionable methods. As they try to help the government contain rising social problems, graffiti artists start spray-painting walls with the quest
ion “Who Watches the Watchmen?” (Moore and Gibbons, [1986–7] 2014, p. 60). In the case of the Watchmen, this is a real concern because the members of the group are morally suspect. The Comedian is off his rocker, in part due to a traumatic stint in Vietnam. Ozymandias is a narcissist and Nite Owl is essentially a coward. Rorschach is probably a paranoid schizophrenic, but at the end of the day he holds most true to the call of eradicating the source of society’s ills. This graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (2014) strikes at the heart of civilian’s discontent with superheroes. There is a lingering threat that those with powers may wield them and subjugate the population. Lord Acton said that “power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely” (Acton, 1887, p. 9). If this applies to humanity, would it not more so to super-humanity?
To limit the corrupting nature of power, society adopts rules. These rules set limits on what is and what is not acceptable behavior, and how to adjudicate any violations of norms. Rules may be burdensome at times, and we probably won’t agree with all of them (consider how many people try to cheat on their taxes), but they are important for any number of reasons. Economically, countries don’t really start to develop until acceptable practices are adopted that promote prosperity for all. Perpetually poor countries are typically war-torn or governed by dictators who keep the military well-paid and fed, but no one else. In a world of superheroes, economic prosperity still requires a clear set of rules that apply to all, even the super-powered. Following the rules is essential because if supers try to supplant the limits placed on everyone else, it will be difficult to stop, let alone contain them, and that leaves society no better than those under a non-powered tyrant.
But which rules are we talking about? Research into economic growth demonstrates that there are certain conventions that tend to lay the foundation for persistent increases in standards of living. Many of those underpinnings are political in nature. Other rules are social, forming the framework for how we interact with each other. Still other rules are economic and provide guidance for how people acceptably satisfy our unlimited wants with limited resources.
Rules are frequently referred to as institutions. Without institutions, there would be chaos, and while many villains thrive in a world where anarchy reigns, heroes generally prefer order. By turning our attention to institutions, we can better understand the behavior of heroes that has come up in earlier chapters. For example, heroes who are beholden to following an institution that preserves the rule of law—innocent until proven guilty, guaranteeing a jury trial and the right to face your accuser—won’t indiscriminately kill villains they find objectionable.
Heroes could step over the line in the name of justice. In fact, they could eviscerate the line and they might at first be congratulated for doing so because the mob wants blood. This ersatz justice might result in fewer casualties and property damage than allowing villains to commit crimes, go to and break-out of prison, and repeat ad infinitum. It also would be more economical. Costs of running a trial, incarceration, and recapturing villains would be minimized, not to mention that externalities imposed and the potential harm to civilians in the future could be avoided. But heroes are supposed to be immune to mob mentality. How long would it be until some other calamity arose requiring a vicious response to maintain order? And what degree of force would that response demand to forestall similar future behavior? Where does the hero stop acting as an executioner and become a despot? Even if such behavior would end multiple threats from Jokers, Dr Dooms, Purple Men,1 Kingpins, and Mantas, does it really make the world safer? Would we be better off if superheroes kicked the squabbling political powers that be to the curb and took over the world? To answer that question, we turn to the most super of superheroes—Kal-El, son of Krypton.
Superman’s original story establishes him as the doer of good deeds, but these actions have an ulterior motive. No, Superman’s creators did not consider this while writing the story. It is impossible to imagine that two kids, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, were subliminally attempting to equate their creation with economic institutions. There is no economic symbolism hidden in the cartoon they drew. Nevertheless, this character who has worldwide recognition upholds the institutions that make successful economies thrive. That’s part of who this character is. Even as comics have evolved over time, and writers have come and gone, Superman’s roots run deep. He could stop defending truth and justice, but that would fundamentally alter his character. He’s a man who works within the system, regardless of what system that is. Before we get to that, let’s consider what it means to work within the system.
Superman and the Economic Way
Even if you’ve never seen the original television broadcast, the lines introducing the Man of Steel during the 1950s television series are familiar:
“Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!
Voices: Look, up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Superman!
Announcer: Yes, it’s Superman, strange visitor from another planet, who came to Earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men. Superman, who can change the course of mighty rivers, bend steel in his bare hands, and who, disguised as Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper, fights a never-ending battle for truth, justice and the American way.”
Interestingly, the “American way” part was not originally included in Superman’s radio show introduction when it premiered in 1940. Until then, Superman was battling for plain old truth and justice. As a way to rally people to the cause, Superman became a patriotic icon in 1942 by not only fighting for truth and justice, but also the American Way (Cronin, 2010). This not-so-subtle reminder of what the boys overseas were fighting for during World War II solidified the image of Superman as the great Boy Scout of the comic world. He’s a company man. A man invested in the system under which he has flourished. Superman stands for the American Way, and paired with truth and justice, it is safe to say that the American Way is part of the institutions that make America work.
In the early comics, right and wrong are clearly defined. You know who the bad guys are and who the good guys are. Unlike many recent storylines where the heroes become evil (Spider-Man becoming Venom, Jean Grey becoming the Dark Phoenix, Hal Jordan killing everyone in Coastal City and assuming the role of Parallax, to name a few), the lines of good and bad are blurred only by mind control, and even then any complications are usually cleared up by the end of the issue. Superman’s job is to bring the bad guys and girls to justice.
In the first Superman comic, Action Comics #1 (Siegel and Shuster, 1938a), a short origin story introduces the main man to the readers. Very quickly thereon, Superman is seen speeding to the house of the governor (presumably of New York) to present evidence that will save the life of a woman condemned to be electrocuted. He then moves on to save a woman being abused by her husband. During his last stop, Superman brings to light the actions of a corrupt politician who is getting a kickback for working on a bill that will embroil the United States in Europe. Creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster depict Superman as a defender of the disenfranchised, a protector of the weak, and the guardian of democracy. Unknowingly though, Siegel and Shuster enshrine in their creation a symbiotic link between Superman and the institutions that define America.
Economist Douglas North (who won a Nobel Prize in economics in 1993) said that “Institutions are the rules of the game in a society, […] the humanly devised constraints that shape human interaction. […] They structure incentives in human exchange, whether political, social or economic” (1990, p. 4). Institutions are more than economic, legal or political in nature. They include all the things that order life, including religious strictures, societal norms, and cultural approbation. Institutions are the things that help a society maintain order and, importantly, are often more powerful than governmental dictates. Banning religious groups in China and Russia, for instance, did not diminish their infl
uence. Similarly, variously banning Catholicism or Protestantism in Europe did not make people any less prone to following the teachings of the Pope or Martin Luther.
The thing about institutions is that they are oftentimes the glue that holds society together. Whether they are codified or not, when perpetrators step outside the accepted bounds of social institutions they are sometimes punished, sometimes shunned, and sometimes banned from reintegrating into society. They must recant to be offered readmittance. Going beyond the confines of what society deems permissible is often grounds for excommunication. As long as everyone knows this, and as long as the rules apply to everyone on an equal footing, society works pretty well.
We know heroes have institutions of their own. They are usually referred to as a code. When new members join a hero team, especially if Nicky New Guy has a checkered past, the old timers’ refrain is consistently “that’s not how we do things!” For example, when Lex Luthor joins the Justice League (Johns and Mahnke, 2014) he is constantly reminded that killing or maiming a villain isn’t good form. Similarly, in Action Comics #775 (Kelly, Mahnke, and Bermejo, 2001), titled “What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice, and the American Way?”, a new group of super-powered humans, called The Elite, show up and begin executing wrong-doers with reckless abandon. Superman is appalled that they callously disregard the system. “You’re murdering people and calling yourself ‘heroes!’ This is not the way the job gets done!” (p. 15). The Elite’s leader, Manchester Black, retaliates “Good pounding the snot out of evil in bright tights. No questions. No ‘grey areas’.…Reality is a mite bloodier than sitcoms or comics. The greys stretch out further” (p. 15).
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