Do You Swear to Tell the Whole Truth, and Nothing But the Truth?

[OzzyKP]

The aspect of the registration act that has so far not been mentioned is if superheros are public figures, one would think that after they bust someone, they'd have to show up in court to testify against him and make sure they get locked up.

No longer can Spidey just leave burglers hanging from a lamp post. He'll have to fill out paper work, and show up in court just like a cop.

Assuming Marvel isn't asking us to suspend our disbelief of course.

 

[supermarvelman]

If they choose to go to trial.

A lot of times if people no they're quilty they will plead quilty or no contest.

 

[The Question]

The aspect of the registration act that has so far not been mentioned is if superheros are public figures, one would think that after they bust someone, they'd have to show up in court to testify against him and make sure they get locked up.



No longer can Spidey just leave burglers hanging from a lamp post. He'll have to fill out paper work, and show up in court just like a cop.



Assuming Marvel isn't asking us to suspend our disbelief of course.

Yeah. Which, legally, would make things work out better. One big problem with vigilante activity (besides the obvious) is that it leads to a lack of evidence that would otherwise be there. If the guy who stopped the criminal in the first place isn't there to testify, then unless there was some major evidence and another eye witness like a victim around, then odds are that the perp's going to get off. Now, I assume that Spidey became aware of this early on and has done his best to compensate (doing a little detective work to find whatever evidence is around, making sure the victims stay to talk to the cops, getting recorded confesions from the criminals, etc.), but that doesn't mean other, newer heroes haven't.

 

[torkibe]

Actually, undercover detectives are allowed to testify in absentia. Basically, they record their testimony in the presence of both attornies, so they don't have to appear in court.

 

[Tropico]

Cool, I didn't know that. It's good to know 'cause I've talked to policemen when I've been in court and they've told me that it's a waste of their time a lot of times to have to be in court all day so that MAYBE their case gets seen that day. They would have preferred to be on patrol.

 

[OzzyKP]

It would be nice if the comics dealt with that aspect a bit. It's rather superficial at the moment, giving people the false notion that all you have to do is catch the bad guys and everything is over. It is far from over.

Not to say we need to go through a full trial for every bad guy that gets nabbed, but a nod here and there would be nice. Plus I think it'd be fun to see Doctor Octopus on trial sometime. Could be a great story.

 

[Tropico]

First off, I'm against registration mainly because I think that if things were handled realistically (like some people say they're being handled) the way Marvel writes comics would have to drastically change. One of the points I made was this point you bring in. Not only the going to court but having to wait for cops to pick up the perp or take him to police station and then fill the paper work. Would they have to fire a warning shot? Where would funding come from? Would regular law enforcement jobs get diplaced? What would it do to "normal" law enforcerment officers' morale to now have to "compete" with the super-powered beings? Stuff like that.

IMO, Marvel will just gloss over this and say they registered and maybe address some training issue or perhaps a legal snafu, but I feel that the whole registration would jsut be a background thing with everything else running a it normally would. It's not realistic to ME, but I guess that's what people expect will happen.

 

[Tropico]

Sorry, double post.

 

[rigel7soldiers]

The aspect of the registration act that has so far not been mentioned is if superheros are public figures, one would think that after they bust someone, they'd have to show up in court to testify against him and make sure they get locked up.

No longer can Spidey just leave burglers hanging from a lamp post. He'll have to fill out paper work, and show up in court just like a cop.

Assuming Marvel isn't asking us to suspend our disbelief of course.

You know, Pete could surrender the identity of Ben Reilly. Not that it would help, but it would be good for a laugh.

Of course, they've been doing this sort of thing anyway, kind of. Like in She-Hulk, known superheroes have testified, in costume no less (Razorback, Nocturna, etc.)

I find that there's no way to convict a supervillain. Think about it.
In Secret War, they acted like video tape made an airtight case against Killer Shrike. But just because he was busted in the costume doesn't mean he was the one in the costume comitting the crime. Stranger things have happened. Any competant defender would say Mentallo made him do it, or something along those lines.

 

[supermarvelman]

I think Law enforcement will still have there place in society, why would you send IronMan to stop a simple back robbery. If Spider-man did stop someone they would have his info on file I dont think he would need to stick around. I'm sure the rules will be a little different for the super-heroes.

 

[OzzyKP]

I don't see why the rules would be different.

 

[supermarvelman]

I dont know Because they're a different type of law enforcement.

 

[OzzyKP]

Well if you think about it, no matter what kind of law enforcement out there has to go to trial and actually prove a case. The only people who don't are the military, like when they declare someone an "enemy combatant", but that doesn't really work with Americans, only foreigners.

 

[The Question]

Actually, undercover detectives are allowed to testify in absentia. Basically, they record their testimony in the presence of both attornies, so they don't have to appear in court.

I doubt vigilantes would have the same luxury.

 

[yahman]

Yeah. Which, legally, would make things work out better. One big problem with vigilante activity (besides the obvious) is that it leads to a lack of evidence that would otherwise be there. If the guy who stopped the criminal in the first place isn't there to testify, then unless there was some major evidence and another eye witness like a victim around, then odds are that the perp's going to get off. Now, I assume that Spidey became aware of this early on and has done his best to compensate (doing a little detective work to find whatever evidence is around, making sure the victims stay to talk to the cops, getting recorded confesions from the criminals, etc.), but that doesn't mean other, newer heroes haven't.

Its a very good point, are vigialanties going to have to make a statement everytime they catch the criminal. How does it work with Bounty Hunters in real life ? Will Super heroes still be considered a Vigilanties ?

 

[The Question]

Bounty Hunters are, usually, asked to apear in court to testify. And yes, super heroes, for the most part, are vigilantes. However, should the registration act go thorugh, I suppose they wouldn't be any more. Which would solve alot of problems.

 

[Purple Man]

Bounty Hunters are, usually, asked to apear in court to testify. And yes, super heroes, for the most part, are vigilantes. However, should the registration act go thorugh, I suppose they wouldn't be any more. Which would solve alot of problems.

And quite possibly cause some more. What happens when one of these deputized heroes do something that the government doesn't approve of? Or when the government tries to push around the heroes and use them for their own personal agendas? What about international law? If a super hero ends up in Latveria, would Dr.Doom take it as a declaration of war since the hero is endorsed by the government?

The registration act is giving the government a little too much power over the super heroes. At least in the past if the government was up to something shady, the heroes could bust it up and not worry about their family getting assassinated. It's like being the one good cop in Detroit; you want to help and stop the corruption, but they know where your children sleep.

Very interesting stuff.

'Who watches the watchmen?' indeed.

 

[Artistsean]

with the hereos being super cops there could be alot of super villians claiming police brutality.
I think what is going to happen, if Marvel actually goes through with this, is that the government is going to tell the heroes what they can and can't do.

 

[The Question]

And quite possibly cause some more. What happens when one of these deputized heroes do something that the government doesn't approve of?

Same as when a cop does. The get investigated, I'd assume.

Or when the government tries to push around the heroes and use them for their own personal agendas?

That really happens less than you'd think. Unless the heroes become official agents of the military, I doubt that they could easily be forced into political matters.

What about international law? If a super hero ends up in Latveria, would Dr.Doom take it as a declaration of war since the hero is endorsed by the government?

What do you mean by "ends up in Latveria"? If they're just in Latveria, Doom might be suspicious. But then, he's suspicious of anyone who enters his country, including tourists. It wouldn't be considered a declaration of war unless the person in question did something that was against the Latverian government.

The registration act is giving the government a little too much power over the super heroes.

The problem is, they had almost no control to begin with. We're talking about a world where vigilante activity has sky rocketed over the past ten years, and some of those vigilantes can be classified as living WMDs. I can completely understand a need for the act.

At least in the past if the government was up to something shady, the heroes could bust it up and not worry about their family getting assassinated. It's like being the one good cop in Detroit; you want to help and stop the corruption, but they know where your children sleep.

It's alot more complicated than that. The government isn't completely corrupt. Very few governments are.

 

[Horrorfan]

Punisher's bad guys don't make it to trial

 

[torkibe]

I doubt vigilantes would have the same luxury.

As mentioned, they will no longer be vigilantes if they register. If they don't, they'll be criminals.

 

[LouFerignoDemon]

Same as when a cop does. The get investigated, I'd assume.
That really happens less than you'd think. Unless the heroes become official agents of the military, I doubt that they could easily be forced into political matters.
What do you mean by "ends up in Latveria"? If they're just in Latveria, Doom might be suspicious. But then, he's suspicious of anyone who enters his country, including tourists. It wouldn't be considered a declaration of war unless the person in question did something that was against the Latverian government.
The problem is, they had almost no control to begin with. We're talking about a world where vigilante activity has sky rocketed over the past ten years, and some of those vigilantes can be classified as living WMDs. I can completely understand a need for the act.
It's alot more complicated than that. The government isn't completely corrupt. Very few governments are.

I agree about the little corrupted government thing. But to add to the other persons, Superhero's would have to be registered under something that could potentially control them. Most likely, it would be a type of military deal which would delegate their powers. Do I THINK that would happen in Marvel? Not really. But now they become political figures, so if an enemy makes it to foreign shores, and a hero pursues to detain, that COULD be considered an international problem. So heros would be restricted to America, with the borders being a villans best friend.

Case in point with Latveria, let's say Dynamo goes to Lat, and Iron Man chases him, disobeys the laws, and beats the crap out of Dynamo after being told to leave (but Tony doesn't because he's gung ho) THAT could be used as an act of war. And Doom MIGHT launch an attack, that the UN probably wouldn't hold too much of a place on, because the UN never does it seems.

But yes, the people have little to zero control over it's superhuman population. And really, leaving things to people who are "above" being human, to judge human matters without any form of restraint on the people's part is not too good for the people.

As for the families of hero's thing? You don't NEED a government in MU, far less corrupted governments have gone there.

 

[Purple Man]

How about when the government tells Iron Man that there are nukes in Iraq and that they want to send him and the Avengers over there to take care of things instead of risking thousands of soldiers?

What if one of the heroes doesn't want to go along with this? Would they jail the hero for not performing their sworn duty?

Super heroes need some strict guidelines for them to operate, but getting in bed with the government is asking for trouble. They are going to tell the capes what to do, and what can the capes do about it? Nothing, the government knows where you live, where your family lives and they would be more than willing to kill you all to further their own ends.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

If the superheroes really are becoming analogous to cops, I imagine they'd have the same choices a cop does in that situation: they can either perform their duty or they can quit. Quitting for the heroes would probably mean retirement with some assurance that they'd never use their powers again unless they come back to the government.

Of course, that's the naively optimistic view given how powerful some of these characters are. More likely, they'd object but be coerced into participating or imprisoned and made to serve some other way.

 

[yahman]

I suppose they wouldn't be any more. Which would solve alot of problems.

Its kind of what i was getting at .... I don't see how it will solve any problems. Especially when it comes to incidents, that may involve the need for deadly force . The Super heroes will no longer be able to make the moral choice, as it will be up to the Authorities.