Is Batman a state actor?
In Batman’s case, Commissioner Gordon is certainly a person for whom the State is responsible, and Batman often acts together with Gordon and obtains significant aid from Gordon in the form of information and evidence. Batman’s conduct is also otherwise chargeable to the State because the Gotham Police Department has worked with Batman on numerous occasions (and thus knows his methods) and operates the Bat Signal, expressly invoking Batman’s assistance in a traditionally public function. This suggests state action under the public function theory: “when private individuals or groups are endowed by the State with powers or functions governmental in nature, they become agencies or instrumentalities of the State and subject to its constitutional limitations.” Evans v. Newton, 382 U.S. 296, 299 (1966).
But what about Superman? And who’s going to enforce the law against him?
[Update a couple minutes later]
Related: the brain-kill forensics of zombies.
I thought the Keene Act did away with all that.
Hmm. Well, given that Batman keeps some kryptonite in a shielded compartment on his utility belt Just In Case a certain alien goes rogue, perhaps he is a state actor. Interesting.
No-one needs to enforce the law against superman.. he’s always said he’ll submit to the will of the courts.
Superman cannot allow himself to be a state actor. With nearly unlimited powers, Superman could easily enforce his desires on the whole world. Since he puts a premium on Truth and Justice, it must be very tempting to do so. In fact, people must want him too. But ultimately, he is a champion of The American Way, which is human liberty. That is the self-imposed, moral check that prevents him from being a strategic player. Like Washington in 1783, he has the power to rule, but the wisdom to see that expressing that power defeats the purpose of his mission. Tragic in a way. Superman could destroy evil, but would become evil in doing so. So he is forced to be a tactical player, saving people from bank robberies and train wrecks, but deliberately not toppling totalitarian regimes that kill and enslave by the millions because that way lies an even more repressive regime: His own.
That would depend on which version of Batman you mean. He has at various times been portrayed as a vigilante, an urban legend whose very existence is disputed by the police, a wanted fugitive, a duly deputized officer of the law, and, most recently, a trademarked crimefighter of Batman, Inc.
FWIW, there are currently two Batmen in Gotham City — Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson — and there will soon be regional Batman franchises around the world. (Personally, I think this a bit silly, but less so than many other gimmicks DC Comics has tried in recent years.)
I’ve always found this helpful when considering superheroes:
http://aidontheedge.info/2010/12/01/superman-in-a-complex-world/
Superman cannot allow himself to be a state actor.
Superman did become an agent of the US government in “The Dark Knight Returns.” In parallel universes, he was head of the Soviet government (“Red Son”) or a global overlord (episodes of “Superman the Animated Series” and “Justice League,” and at least one comic-book story).
Of course, those stories don’t count because they weren’t the “real” Superman. 🙂
“Superman could easily enforce his desires on the whole world.”
But Batman could just as well. Super genius intellect and swimming pools full of money give him the ability to topple governments politically and economically if he so chooses. In fact, The Owl, his evil antithesis in a the good Lex Luther multiverse, actually shows how Batman could potentially destroy the Universe if he so chooses. =-P
Minor details like the exact legal classification become irrelevant if one happens to be a walking embodiment of a violation of one (or all!) of the Laws of Thermo.
As any true fan of Superman knows, the Man of Steel (and his cousin Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl) is de jure a “citizen of the world”. He was made an honorary citizen of every member nation of the United Nations back during the Kennedy administration, and was given a unique “golden certificate” by that body attesting to this fact. This certificate gives him extraordinary police powers in all UN member states and permits him to travel anywhere in the world without passport or other documentation. In effect, Superman qua Superman is himself a sovereign power, answerable to no Earthly government. However, since he (as Clark Kent) is also a loyal American citizen, Superman cooperates with the United States federal government and its state and local jurisdictions as a matter of patriotism and good citizenship.
It also bears mentioning that Superman (as Kal-El) may be de facto a sovereign as well. As the last son of Krypton, a case could be made that Kal-El is the legal inheritor of the sovereign power of that planet’s government, as well as its wealth, real property, etc. In a very real sense, Superman/Kal-El is Krypton.
(The preceding applies to what might be called “classic Superman”, i.e. the character as portrayed in the various Superman comic books c. 1936-1986. I’m not sure if it applies to Superman as portrayed in more recent comic books, films, etc.)
More interesting to me than Superman’s legal status is his status as a moral actor. From observation’s of Superman’s character, inner life, etc. as portrayed in the comics of the classic era, it can be argued that he is not simply a person (?) that acts good, but that he is good; i.e that he does not have a fallen nature as men of Earth due. Assuming Superman is a human being, albeit one of extraterrestrial origin, his seeming innocence becomes problematic: from what I’ve read, Superman is not simply a being who chooses not to do evil, but who is by nature incapable of committing acts contrary to the laws of God.
(We know Superman is a theist, by the way; he has been depicted on many occasions speaking with reverence of the Kryptonian deity Ra, a being more or less identified with the Judeo-Christian God.)
Is Superman fundamentally good? It would make sense; surely only a being with an unfallen nature could ever truly be trusted with the almost godlike power possessed by the Man of Steel. However, in theological terms it is in no way clear how an “unfallen man” could exist. (And would a super-innocent have free will?)
If on the other hand Superman is a man, homo sapiens kryptonii, one with all the concupiscence of any other man, what accounts for his incredible resistance to temptation. Does Superman have super self-control along with his other powers?
I apologize in advance for pointing out this.
Ah, but there is a solution to the “woman of Kleenex” problem; a change of venue. Superman could simply ask Lois to marry him in the Kryptonian bottle city of Kandor, where a typically Kryptonian environment is maintained. Under the light of its artificial red sun, Kal-El would lack the superpowers enumerated in the Niven essay, and would therefore (all other factors being equal) be capable of safely consummating his marriage with an Earthwoman. Lois could also carry and bear the child in situ, ameliorating the obstetrical difficulties listed in the Niven piece.
Alternatively, Superman could enlist one of his spacefaring allies (e.g. Green Lantern) to transport him and Lois via spacecraft/wormhole etc. to a habitable planet in a red sun star system. Once there, Kal-El would no longer be “super” and could father a child by Lois in the fashion described above.
This is so silly. Batman is obviously a fictitious creation of the police to get around the law. Police have been working with private detectives to get around law forever. Of course he’s a state actor, but the police use him as a loophole.
Yes Superman is wholly good unless under the influence of kryptonite or alcohol. It’s rare, but his isolation does cause him depression from time to time and he’s known to be a mean drunk, flicking peanuts to break bottles line up on a shelf in a bar and when in secret identity claiming the building has an updraft preventing death by jumping. He first demonstrates how he can safely reach the ground touching down lightly then gets some poor sap to jump to his death. Even then, his wholly good nature means the poor sap also happens to be an underworld figure the police can never get enough evidence to arrest. So for different reasons, he is a state actor.
Zombies are what happens to a lefty when he ‘dies.’ The zombie virus was actually a superweapon developed by the nazis but it didn’t work as intended. What nazi scientists were trying to develop was a way for good national socialists to live forever. This also explains the desire to eat human brains since lefties never had a brain to begin with. So yet again, we have a third case of state actors.
I forgot, proof that zombies are lefties is the fact that it is a virus. Killing a zombie and spewing their blood would be enough to transfer the virus. They really don’t have to bite you. Those that survive a zombie attack may not be aware that they are politically conservative or libertarian. For this, we may owe the nazis a debt of gratitude similar to that of Obama being elected to show those not politically astute what it would mean for the country.
I think the world will really be in trouble if Julian Assange got ahold of an Iron Man suit . . .
“However, since he (as Clark Kent) is also a loyal American citizen, Superman cooperates with the United States federal government and its state and local jurisdictions as a matter of patriotism and good citizenship.”
Also, the President of the United States has always been privy to his secret identity (I clearly remember him discussing this with JFK on one occasion).
Unless that detail no longer exists, post-Crisis…
The precedent set by House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) vs Captain Invincible showed that superheroes are not state actors, even when acting for the state. “Captain Invincible” (also known as “Legend in Leotards”, “The Caped Contender”, and “Man of Magnet”) was accused of being a Communist, flaunting Red Propaganda because of his Red Cape, and charges were pending for violating U.S. airspace by flying without a proper license, and wearing underwear in public, when he skipped the country and disappeared.
See the film loosely based on reality at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTy7GGJ4vm8 , which uses extensive historical footage grafted on to a wholly fictional account.
It was during this time that Superman started fighting not for “Truth, Justice, and Freedom” but “Truth, Justice, and the American Way” in order to avoid attention by the HUAC.
Carl Pham Says:
December 10th, 2010 at 10:25 pm
I apologize in advance for pointing out this.
ROTFLMAO. Literally.
But Batman could just as well. Super genius intellect and swimming pools full of money
No, you’re thinking of Scrooge McDuck.
Also, the President of the United States has always been privy to his secret identity (I clearly remember him discussing this with JFK on one occasion).
Unless that detail no longer exists, post-Crisis…
I’m pretty sure he did not disclose his identity to President Luthor.
B. Lewis,
[[[However, since he (as Clark Kent) is also a loyal American citizen However, since he (as Clark Kent) is also a loyal American citizen]]]
Technically Clark Kent is an illegal immigrant since he entered the U.S. without going through immigration, a fact his adoptive parents decided to hide by lying to the court when they adopted him. Since he knows his origin and history he is technically breaking the nation’s immigration laws when ever he claims to be a U.S. citizen on government documents.
I have to admit I do not know enough Superman Lore to know if any government has granted him any status at all. However, he is certainly not breaking immigration laws since immigration laws only apply to humans. A deer crossing a border is not breaking any immigration laws.
Presumably he did have to provide a social security number for employment; however, Perry White does not seem a stickler for such details.
George Reeves is the only superman. I don’t know who those other guys were.
The “state actor” issue is moot. Usually the villian has escaped form jail on a prior conviction so getting evidence is moot so long as the plot is foiled and the villian is captured they canjust toss him in jail for th prior offense. For the first offender even if the evidence is thrown out the victims testimony can get a conviction usually
Ken,
Ken,
[[[However, he is certainly not breaking immigration laws since immigration laws only apply to humans. A deer crossing a border is not breaking any immigration laws.]]]
Well that is at least one thing ET doesn’t have to worry about 🙂
[[[Presumably he did have to provide a social security number for employment; however, Perry White does not seem a stickler for such details.]]]
I suspect its also breaking the law for a non-human to get a SSN.
Hmmm, perhaps then immigration should plan on raiding the daily planet, who knows how many other I-9 violations he has overlooked 🙂
With a name like daily planet you wouldn’t wonder they were immigration scofflaws.