What If? #1000: What If Marvel Earth Had The Purge?

[JudicatorPrime]

It's time to get dark. Really dark.

We've all seen the movies, if not the semi-popular TV show. What do you think would happen if the Purge was a global occurrence on Marvel Earth? (If it's easier to envision this happening on an Earth other than 616, fine, do that.) Who do you think would participate in the purge? Which heroes would cross the line? Which villains would have the most fun? For that matter, which heroes would have the biggest targets on their back? Which villains? Lastly, who would you like to see purged?

[Shinglepants]

I imagine it would be Frank Castles busiest night of the year.

I could see guys like Tony Stark being big targets. Personal grudges, business rivals, anybody looking to get their hands on some cutting edge tech etc.

Hard to see how it would really be a thing though as you’d have the Avengers and every other hero out there doing their thing.

[Triniking1234]

Last people standing: Spider-Man, Doom, Illyana.

[DrNewGod]

It would end in a final throwdown between Deadpool and Squirrel Girl.

[babyblob]

I mean Carnage would thrive on a night like that!

[LordMikel]

Do you think the Punisher would wait until Purge day to kill anyone? Would he simply be making a list and Purge day rolls around start killing?

[babyblob]

Truth be told most of the super villains and people like the Punisher arnt going to care about if it is Purge day. I mean mosgt of them are nuts or so evil they just dont care. I mean Carnage kills because he enjoys it. Punisher kills because he thinks it is the right thing to do to handle crime. They didnt care if they are breaking the law. So why wait and care if it is legal all the sudden.

[Shinglepants]

I’m sure Frank would be working year round but come Purge Night, there’s a lot of bad people on the streets and most of the public safe behind closed doors. I’m sure he’d have one or two big targets that he’d go after with no fear of repercussions or civilian casualties.

[JudicatorPrime]

Hard to see how it would really be a thing though as you’d have the Avengers and every other hero out there doing their thing.

But that's the twisted irony. If the Purge was legal, anyone who attempted to obviate, obstruct, limit, or otherwise interfere would be violating the law and likely find themselves arrested and subject to criminal penalties long after the 12 - 24 hour Purge had passed. So the Avengers and other heroes would in effect be thrown in jail for doing the morally right thing. Funny how that works out. Plus, I'm going to guess that in a dystopia like this the government would have extremely powerful countermeasures at the ready to deal with teams like the Avengers.

Hmmm...the more I think about it, the more I'd like to see Marvel write this "event." It certainly can't be worse than Civil War I & II.

[ed2962]

We had it already. It was Ultimatum LOL!

[babyblob]

But that's the twisted irony. If the Purge was legal, anyone who attempted to obviate, obstruct, limit, or otherwise interfere would be violating the law and likely find themselves arrested and subject to criminal penalties long after the 12 - 24 hour Purge had passed. So the Avengers and other heroes would in effect be thrown in jail for doing the morally right thing. Funny how that works out. Plus, I'm going to guess that in a dystopia like this the government would have extremely powerful countermeasures at the ready to deal with teams like the Avengers.

Hmmm...the more I think about it, the more I'd like to see Marvel write this "event." It certainly can't be worse than Civil War I & II.

All crime is legal. So Being a superhero and stopping said crime is now illegal and a crime. Wouldnt that make it legal on Pruge night?

[cc008]

I imagine it would be Frank Castles busiest night of the year.

He's certainly ready for it already. But he would not survive the night and he probably knows that already too.

[JudicatorPrime]

All crime is legal. So Being a superhero and stopping said crime is now illegal and a crime. Wouldnt that make it legal on Pruge night?

In that fictional dystopia, the Purge was passed into law as an amendment to the Constitution. However, the law wasn't without stipulations. Murders and most crimes were totally fine, but the violence was limited in terms of the type of weapons that could be used. For example, weapons of mass destruction and wide area of effect explosive devices were forbidden, punishable by death. Further, the Purge amendment established a protected class of individuals who had full immunity from the Purge, including high ranking government officials. Harming anyone who had this immunity was also punishable by death.

The point here is that I'm willing to bet that a mechanism was in place to promote execution of the Constitutional amendment and any person or group who sought to contravene the law of the land would find themselves in deep, deep trouble. Good trouble. Undoubtedly necessary trouble. But trouble nonetheless.