Would you want paid superheroes?

[Agent Z]

edited post.

[Agent Z]

Would you want paid superheroes?

For me it depends on how it is handled.

[9th.]

Yes, I've always been a fan of the idea. I never really thought it was fair to expect heroes to hold down a full time a job on top of trying to be a hero. Not everyone can own a business, be born into money or be a prodigy.

[Jim Kelly]

I think membership in the Justice League comes with a monthly stipend, which helps cover the personal costs of being a super-hero. The more well off members contribute to a fund that compensates the lower income members. There are other benefits such as medical & dental, legal representation, technical support, a gas card and dry cleaning.

[king81992]

So, I'm sure this question has come up before... It certainly does in comics...


If superheroes existed in the same way they do in DC (meaning, they've been around a while, and are just kinda part of the "way things are," as opposed to some new, sudden development), what would you prefer?
Superheroes who acted on their own moral code (whatever that may be)?
Superheroes who acted as part of the government or military?
Superheroes who were paid per job, although they may throw in some jobs for free when needed?
Some other option?


Reading the new "Blue and Gold" made me think of it, plus reading the solicit for DC's new "One-Star Squadron," a team doing pretty much the same thing as Blue and Gold are (not sure if there needs to be more communication in the DC offices, or it's on purpose...)

Anyway, your thoughts?

Not a fan of heroes as part of the government/ military. With the exception of a few, they're usually compromised and written as lapdogs.

I don't have a problem with heroes getting paid.

[RobinGA]

It depends what their moral code looks like.

If we are talking Superman than yes.
If we are saying someone amoral who just does whatever pops in their head then no.

I don't like the idea of a superhero who is working for the government.
Considering what we have seen from our government lately it doesn't inspire a lot of trust.

[phonogram12]

I can't point out why, exactly, but for some reason superheroes working on commission just seems like a terrible idea.

That said, if they existed in the real world (not the comic one where if government agencies can be massively corrupted, they will), some regulation probably wouldn't be a terrible idea. As we saw with the last president, there were at least a few that weren't willing to play his corrupt games.

[lemonpeace]

As the OP mentioned, this is about the DCU, not the real world. (or Snyder's version of "grown up": the DCEU) Also, there's already plenty of "state sponsored" enforcers - from the police to the armed forces and everyone in between. Would you trust them all? No - but would you distrust them all? Many POC proud servicemen and women might have their own feelings about that. Would a non-state sponsored super-person (vigilante) with zero oversight be inherently better since they take it upon themselves to act for the "greater good" (I would say no, since most people suck regardless)

If we've learned anything these past few years in America is that "the machine" has already done its work - the endless hours of straight white male american exceptionlism has created an immutable mindset in some people, whereas the government actually still has a mechanism to openly debate and challenge policy, including how to deploy supes.

they said if superheroes existed in the same way they existed in the DC universe and clarified that they mean in regards to their regularity. how would that make sense if we were talking about the DC universe? what if the DC universe had superheroes like the DC universe? so no, they are talking about the real world. second, yes there are state sponsored enforces and they regularly prove why I do not trust them; ESPECIALLY in America. to act as if the way America's use of force across the board isn't a textbook example of why I wouldn't trust a state-sponsored enforcer you must have been asleep for literal centuries. the existence of people of color in the police department or the military does not negate the rampant abuses of power, systemic racism, and class warfare entrenched in and plaguing those institutions. but this ain't the board for me to break all that down for any of y'all. you can trust Homelander if you want to, I will not. I'd sooner trust the independent hero who's proven through his actions whether or not he's fighting for my human rights.

[Marvell2100]

Someone will eventually start paying the villains.

[Jim Kelly]

Yes, I've always been a fan of the idea. I never really thought it was fair to expect heroes to hold down a full time a job on top of trying to be a hero. Not everyone can own a business, be born into money or be a prodigy.

Fans alway want to make life easier for the super-heroes, but it's all those complications that provide writers with problems to solve. That's what writing is all about--challenging yourself with some problem and then trying to work out how to deal with the problem in the story.

When I'd make up super-heroes in my head, finding the right job for them was one of the big things I'd obsess about. It needed to be a job that they could do and still have free time in fighting crime. Obviously, if they're super-rich, then it doesn't matter--but I would rather have characters that work at a job, with a supporting cast of characters--so there's more story potential. It can't be too easy for the super-hero, but they can't be at a job where they're on the warehouse floor with a supervisor monitoring them the whole time.

A postman is one of the best jobs--so long as the guy can sort his route and deliver his mail in record time. Both my father and brother were great at this--if they gave out Olympic medals for postal delivery, they'd win gold. They always had hours of free time, because they sorted and delivered their mail so quickly and with perfect accuracy.

[Riv86672]

Reading the new "Blue and Gold" made me think of it, plus reading the solicit for DC's new "One-Star Squadron," a team doing pretty much the same thing as Blue and Gold are (not sure if there needs to be more communication in the DC offices, or it's on purpose...)

Anyway, your thoughts?

So, is One Star Squadron a spiritual successor to Hero Hotline?

[Jabare]

If Heroes get paid, especially with taxpayer money they'll have to disclose their identities and make some of their information public.

They'll have to pay taxes and we can sue them for damages. Somebody tears up a street, destroys a car or a building they better lawyer up

Someone will eventually start paying the villains.

well if everyone is getting paid who is a hero or a villain will be subjective

[Lightning Rider]

I think they should be entitled to a living wage or stipend, but in a stringent & minimal way that prevents incentivizing unnecessary superheroics through market rewards (promotions, pay jumps, etc.). They should be governed by an independent civilian body, rather than the military or police (which are more hierarchical institutions with their own interests). So if anything controversial happens, they have to answer to that body and act within a code. There should be an annual referendum to renew their "license". In fact, this may already happen in the DCU, but superheroes are so engrained that it's probably reduced to a ribbon-cutting ceremony. (Though if it does, it probably doesn't happen in Gotham or for other street-level vigilantes since corruption seems rampant there.)

[Marvell2100]

If Heroes get paid, especially with taxpayer money they'll have to disclose their identities and make some of their information public.

They'll have to pay taxes and we can sue them for damages. Somebody tears up a street, destroys a car or a building they better lawyer up



well if everyone is getting paid who is a hero or a villain will be subjective

Self-employed heroes would have to form an LLC.