Aligning with Galactus

Charged with saving the life of Galactus, Mr. Fantastic found himself on trial in an extraterrestrial court room (Fantastic Four #262). In his defense, Mr. Fantastic made an appeal to alignment, more ore less. Because there is order in the universe, he argued, Galactus must be part of that order and therefore is truly Neutral. If that is the case, Galactus' actions as a devourer of worlds are not Evil but part of some greater Good. With the Watcher as defense counsel, Odin testified on behalf of Mr. Fantastic, comparing Galactus to a natural force like a super-nova or the solar wind.

I have a hard time seeing Galactus as Neutral in this way. It was Silver Surfer, a former herald of Galactus, who discovered that Mr. Fantastic was apprehended (#261). Silver Surfer could not attend the trial, however. As the Surfer reminded Invisible Girl more than once, he remained trapped on Earth due to the will of Galactus.

I could understand of Mr. Fantastic had argued that all sentient beings, including Galactus, have a right to live. But Silver Surfer's own words would contradict an interpretation of Galactus as naturally Neutral.

Lawful Good	Neutral Good	Chaotic Good
Lawful Neutral	True Neutral	Chaotic Neutral
Lawful Evil	Neutral Evil	Chaotic Evil

This page comes from Fantastic Four #261 (Dec. 1983).

Lawful Good: Comics Code Authority

I started posting about Dungeons & Dragons alignments almost a decade ago, usually as a lens to discuss various characters or teams. Along the way, I have wondered how the Comics Code Authority would fit within the nine alignments. Introduced in 1954, the lengthy set of rules greatly limited the artwork and text within comic books—to the chagrin of many fans and creators. As contentious as the code may have been, the prohibitions against glorifying crime or depicting criminals in a positive light would most closely match the alignment of Lawful Good. The revised version of the code from 1971 loosened some of these restrictions, allowing more depth and mature themes. The end result was still Lawful Good but certainly a more nuanced version of that alignment.

I plan to continue posting about character alignments intermittently in the coming months.

Lawful Good	Neutral Good	Chaotic Good
Lawful Neutral	True Neutral	Chaotic Neutral
Lawful Evil	Neutral Evil	Chaotic Evil

Reservations about Wertham

I've written several posts over the years about Seduction of the Innocent, Fredric Wertham's scathing attack on the comic book industry. After rereading the book again, I've decided to address a few more of Wertham's arguments, which contributed to the Comics Code of 1954. Wertham held that comic books were anti-educational. Western comics, for example, did not accurately portray the American West. Additionally, placing dialogue in word balloons was just one of many practices that depleted comics of literary merit.

The merits of some of Wertham's claims were themselves suspect, however, such as his contention that superheroes promoted a Fascist ideology. In Chapter II, Wertham remarked that we should be thankful the S on Superman's chest was not an S.S. That comparison was blatantly ahistorical seeing how often comic books had portrayed Superman and other costumed heroes battling Nazis during the Second World War.

Wertham's credibility might be called into question elsewhere as well. In Chapter IV, he recalled a conversation with a boy who suffered from nightmares. The boy said he liked reading Blue Beetle comics, likening the title character to Superman but with the added power of turning into a beetle. Wertham said it was easy to understand why a child would be frightened after reading the adventures of a man who became an insect. The problem with Wertham's analysis, however, was that Blue Beetle did not transform into an insect—exposing Wertham's unfamiliarity with the material he was so prone to condemn.

Right or wrong, Wertham was convinced that comic books interfered with the psychological well-being of children and their ability to identify with positive role models. In Chapter IX, he asked, "Is that the best we can do for children, that we teach them the Green Lantern will help?" Interestingly, though self-reflection was uncommon for characters during the Golden Age of comics, Green Lantern would readily question his impact on society during the Bronze Age.

The original Green Lantern first appearance in All-American Comics #16 (July 1940).

Buzz Baxter: Public Enemy #1

Back in their days as high school sweethearts, Patsy Walker and Buzz Baxter were at odds. After warning Buzz about being too quick to lose his temper, Patsy became all the more concerned when Buzz refused to appear in court to pay a fine on a traffic ticket (Patsy Walker #42).

Patsy: Buzz, I'm afraid this is far more serious than you think! It could ruin your future … One thing leads to another and before you know it you're Public Enemy Number One!

As things turned out, Buzz had received a phony traffic ticket as a practical joke, so he wasn't in any real trouble with the law—at least not until years later when he became the supervillain Mad-Dog and Patsy became the crimefighter Hellcat.

Buzz Baxter worries about becoming a criminal in this panel from Patsy Walker #42 (Sept. 1952).

The Defender: William Shatner

In New Defenders #128 (Feb. 1984), Beast lamented that his VHS tapes of the 79 episodes of Star Trek were ruined. I wonder if Beast was also a fan of The Defenders television series that ran 1961-1965 on CBS. Before William Shatner became Captain Kirk, the actor appeared five times on the courtroom drama. Far from being typecast, Shatner played a different role in each of those Defenders episodes:

"Killer Instinct" "The Invisible Badge" "The Cruel Hook" "The Uncivil War" "Whipping Boy"

Shatner previously starred as a young defense attorney in a television play titled The Defender, which aired in two parts on CBS in 1957.

Revisiting Wertham

I recently reread Seduction of the Innocent, psychiatrist Fredric Wertham's infamous book taking aim at the comic book industry. This time around, I paid particular attention to arguments I didn't cover in my initial post about the 1954 publication. As one example, Wertham criticized Millie the Model and similar comic books for setting unrealistic beauty ideals for girls.

Among his other concerns, Wertham asserted that the visual storytelling of comic books caused children to develop poor reading habits, such as picture reading: reading only the title and maybe the text on those pages with particularly violent or sexually intriguing illustrations. To Wertham, even comic books stating that "crime doesn't pay" were harmful as they showed children how to become criminals.

In writing Seduction of the Innocent, Wertham acknowledged that some psychiatrists regarded his claims as overzealous. Wertham countered that such colleagues made the mistake of seeing juvenile delinquents as fundamentally flawed while ignoring the pernicious influence of comic books. In another generalization, Wertham characterized comic book writers as dissatisfied with their own work.

For clarity, Wertham distinguished comic books from the newspaper comic strips, which he described as intended for adults and subject to tighter publishing standards. Here, Wertham employed a double standard, dismissing Flash Gordon and other comic books derived from newspaper strips as mere caricatures of the originals. In short, even comic books of the highest quality were inherently tainted by virtue of being comic books.

Millie the Model #55 (August 1954) appeared in print the same year as Seduction of the Innocent. Decades later, Millie guest-starred in Defenders #65.

Flash Gordon was one of several Golden Age adventurers reintroduced in the Defenders of the Earth limited series published in 1987 under the Star Comics imprint of Marvel Comics.

Neutral Evil: Purple Man

Daredevil #4 marked the first appearance of Zebediah Killgrave (a.k.a. The Purple Man). With the power to control minds, Killgrave would make a career forcing others to do his bidding. Both methodical and self-serving, the vindictive supervillain demonstrated characteristics of the Neutral Evil alignment from Dungeons & Dragons.

Lawful Good	Neutral Good	Chaotic Good
Lawful Neutral	True Neutral	Chaotic Neutral
Lawful Evil	Neutral Evil	Chaotic Evil

Daredevil was the first person with willpower enough to resist the Purple Man. This panel from Daredevil #4 shows the hero in a precarious position. As attorney Matt Murdock, the the court appointed him to defend Killgrave. One could make the argument that Murdock followed one alignment (Lawful Good) when practicing law and adhering to a professional code of ethics but veered outside that alignment (toward Neutral Good) as the costumed crimefighter Daredevil.

Seduction of the Innocent

Out of historical interest, I recently purchased a copy of Seduction of the Innocent by psychiatrist Fredric Wertham M.D. At approximately 400 pages, the 1954 book led to the development of the Comics Code that year and had a lasting influence on public opinion about comic books.

Amid his sweeping generalizations, Wertham's treatise issued numerous concerns against comic books. He warned that even children who appear to enjoy only animal comics like Donald Duck might secretly read crime comics (including Westerns and superheroes), which Wertham found particularly dangerous.

According to Wertham, the prevalent violence within crime comics directly contributed to juvenile delinquency and disturbed thinking. As an example, Wertham told of a nine-year-old boy who insisted his favorite comic book was called Human Torture rather than Human Torch.

In discussing superheroes, Wertham leveled most of his attacks against a handful of DC characters. Many comic book fans today are well aware of Wertham's homophobic inferences about Wonder Woman, and the partnership between Batman & Robin. Similarly, Wertham criticized the salaciousness of "love comics" as a genre.

As for Superboy/Superman, Wertham argued that the character's unrealistic powers misled children about the laws of science and overshadowed historical figures deserving of true admiration. To Wertham, Superman embodied the dangerous ideal of a super-race. Wertham found fault with other comics, particularly those with Jungle settings, for for their racist depictions of native peoples.

Discrediting the literary merit of comics, Wertham noted their frequent reliance on words like BLAM and KAPOW. Further, their vivid illustrations made comic-book depictions of horror far more pernicious to Wertham than the most unsettling fairy tales.

Wertham felt that comic book adaptions of classic literature, such as Robert Louis Stephenson's Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, corrupted the source material and failed to motivate children to seek out the original text. In contrast to comic books, Wertham saw educational promise in film and children's television, media that are also intrinsically visual.

Wertham's concern about the content of comic books extended to the advertisements within. He deplored ads for (largely ineffective) health products that capitalized on the insecurities of girls and boys. Wertham also condemned ads for B.B. guns and knives, regarding these weapons as inappropriate for children.

Human Torch #38 (Aug. 1954) was published the same year as Seduction of the Innocent. Human Torch was the only superhero from Timely (later Marvel) directly mentioned in the Wertham's 1954 book.

Marvel Classics Comics #1 (Jan. 1976) launched a new series that presented critically acclaimed literature in comic book form, following a tradition other publishers had carried out in the past.

ABC's of Law

The Defenders legal drama of the 1960s inspired a short-lived comic book series by Dell Publishing based on the CBS television show. The inside front cover of #1 (September-November 1962) included these four legal definitions.

Alimony—Allowance for support, ordered by a court, which a husband pays to his wife if she is not living with him. Alimony ceases with the death of the husband.

Barratry—A wilful and unlawful act committed by the master of mariners of a ship, as a result of which the owners of the vessel sustain loss or injury.

Corpus-Delciti—Literally, "the body of the crime". While it is commonly thought to refer to a corpse, the term actually means the existence of the essential fact which proves the commission of a crime … such as finding stolen goods on the person of an alleged thief.

Deforcement—The act of withholding property to which another person holds the rights, but of which he cannot gain possession.

The above image appeared with the definition of Barratry in Defenders #1.

The Defenders

About a decade before the formation of the Defenders non-team, Dell Publishing launched a comic book version of The Defenders legal drama, which aired on CBS during the early 1960s.

Along with the main story within the comic book, here are some of the notes about legal terms and legal history appeared on the inside cover and back cover of #2 (February-April 1962).

In medieval times, it was customary for animals to be tried and condemned for violations of the law. Faulty evidence brought against the defendants gave rise to a phrase which exists to this day … "insufficient to hang a dog!"

Go without Day—An expression signifying that a case has been dismissed from court.

Although The Defenders ran four seasons on TV, the comic book was cancelled after two issues.

Defend Comics

This year Free Comic Book Day lands on Saturday, May 3, 2014. The book that looks most interesting to me this year is Defend Comics, by the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Created in 1986, the CBLDF is non-profit organization dedicated to protect the First Amendment rights pertaining to comics and graphic novels.

Sample pages from Defend Comics illustrate topics surrounding the freedom of speech, including the history of the Comics Code.

As an aside, the original version of the Comics Code from 1954 banned many themes associated with horror and fantasy literature. Note the following item under General standards—Part B:

Scenes dealing with, or instruments associated with walking dead, torture, vampires and vampirism, ghouls, cannibalism, and werewolfism are prohibited.

The revised Comics Code from 1971 loosened those initial restrictions:

Scenes dealing with, or instruments associated with walking dead, or torture, shall not be used. Vampires, ghouls and werewolves shall be permitted to be used when handled in the classic tradition such as Frankenstein, Dracula, and other high calibre literary works written by Edgar Allen Poe, Saki, Conan Doyle and other respected authors whose works are read in schools around the world.

This revision allowed for a hero billed as The Son of Satan, the transformation of the original Cat into Tigra the Were-Woman, and a storytelling genre that would become the bedrock of the Defenders.

Kangaroo Court

When a special tribunal of the International Court of Justice charged Magneto with crimes against humanity in Uncanny X-Men #200, the scope of the legal proceedings hinged on the time Mutant Alpha reverted the master of magnetism from an adult to an infant (Defenders #16).

Prosecuting the case against Magneto was Sir James Jaspers, attorney-general of England. Leading the defense, Gabrielle Haller argued to strike all criminal counts that happened prior to that incident with Mutant Alpha.

Gabrielle Haller: As I was saying -- at that time, Magneto was reduced to infancy, returned to a state of grace. His life can be said to have begun again. The man that was, at that moment, ceased to exist. In effect. he died. Which is, of course, the ultimate penalty for any crime.

James Jaspers: Objection! This is the most preposterous perversion--!

Building her defense, Gabrielle Haller noted that Magneto was an adolescent during his internment at a Nazi concentration camp. Yet, decades later, medical testimony would now place the mutant criminal in his early 30s instead of his much older chronological age.

James Jaspers: That's irrelevant! He committed those crimes, regardless of his age!

After a long deliberation, the court found in favor of the defense, restricting the indictment to those crimes committed after Magneto's "resurrection" (the court's term, not mine).

I, on the other hand, would have sided with the prosecution. For starters, Magneto did not die at the hands of Mutant Alpha. And once restored to physical prime through the actions of Eric the Red (X-Men #104), Magneto retained his full memories and mental faculties. His biological age may have altered back and forth, but he was the same person as before.

The Uncanny X-Men. Vol. 1. No. 200. December 1985. "The Trial of Magneto!" Chris Claremont (writer), John Romita Jr. & Dan Green (artists), Glynis Oliver (colorist), Tom Orzechowski (letterer), Ann Nocenti (editor), Jim Shooter (editor in chief).

Matt Murdock: Attorney without Fear

Daredevil was a welcome guest star in the Defenders. In fact, his real-life identity as attorney Matt Murdock was probably more valuable to the team than his costumed persona.

Here are a few examples:

• When police arrested Valkyrie for appearing to use undue violence against an opponent, Matt Murdock got those charges dropped (Defenders #40).
• When Nighthawk faced legal troubles due to problems with his company's finances, Murdock did what he could to help (Defenders #88).
• Murdock drafted the document that led to the celebrated amnesty of the Hulk (Incredible Hulk #279).

In short, the Defenders owed a lot to Matt Murdock!

This image of Daredevil appeared in the first edition of The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe.

For He's a Jolly Green Fellow

The plight of Dr. Bruce Banner continues on the big screen in June, when The Incredible Hulk film hits theaters. The trailer depicts Banner as a political fugitive struggling to control his anger-induced transformations.

But the green goliath has known better days.

Twenty-five years ago, Bruce Banner seemed to achieve the impossible by maintaining his intellect when becoming the Hulk.

The world took notice, and Hulk (with Banner's mind) received a full presidential pardon for his previous acts of destruction (The Incredible Hulk #278). Afterward, he got a key to New York City and a parade in his honor. Heroes from across the globe gathered for the commemoration (#279).

Yet when Iron Man recalled how the once-menacing Hulk had been a founding member of the Avengers, two heroes in the audience responded with chagrin.

Hellcat: Hey, Doc—You gonna let the Avengers claim the Hulk as one of their own? The green guy's a Defender now!

Dr. Strange: I am no longer sure, Hellcat. The old Hulk was a member of our non-team. The new Hulk may not so readily fit in.

These reactions made sense. Hulk left the Avengers after only a few issues but fought regularly alongside the Defenders throughout most of the original series, even with his lowered intelligence and tendency toward rage. One of the Defenders' ongoing accomplishments was keeping Hulk calm so he wouldn't smash everything to pieces.

During Hulk's amnesty, long-time love interest Betty Ross felt remorse in a different way. After sticking by Banner for years as he struggled to cure his uncontrollable alterations, she didn't like the idea of a man who now wanted to become the Hulk, even with his brain intact.

Bringing Hulk and Banner together, even temporarily, brought challenging questions to the table. Was turning into the Hulk, under any circumstances, a type of affliction? Was Hulk's mind a mere side effect of gamma-radiation poisoning, a repressed aspect of Banner's core personality, or a new person in his own right?

The Incredible Hulk. Vol. 1. No. 278. December 1982. "Amnesty!" Bill Mantlo (writer), Sal Buscema and Joe Sinnott (artists) , Jim Novak (letters), Bob Sharen (colors), Allen Milgrom (editor), Jim Shooter (editor-in-chief).

The Incredible Hulk. Vol. 1. No. 279. January 1983. "Acceptance." Bill Mantlo (author), Mark Gruenwald and Greg LaRocque (artists), Janice Chiang (letters), Bob Sharen (colors), Allen Milgrom (editor), Jim Shooter (editor-in-chief).