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“The Call to do Justice”: Superheroes, Sovereigns and the State During Wartime

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International Journal for the Semiotics of Law - Revue internationale de Sémiotique juridique Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper maps superheroes as signifiers of substantive justice and their relationship with the state across two Coverian nomoi, World War II and the “war on terror”. It is argued that the central concern of most superhero narratives is justice, exploring both what it means and how it can best be articulated. This “call to do justice” (to borrow Douglas Litowitz’s phrase) becomes even more important during wartime where superheroes become agitators for cultural change, appropriating the sovereign decision during states of exception even as they resist co-option by the state itself.

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Notes

  1. This article is therefore adopting a pragmatic view of justice as the “correct” or “fair” result, predicated on the notion that something is “just” when individuals get what is due to them, a definition that applies to both of these notions of justice. In part the article plays into the debates around moral relativism in accepting that justice does have a different meaning depending on where it is found—though in this case this is produced more by its relationship with law than its social or cultural context.

  2. Some commentators extend this to 1949 when once-popular characters were retired.

  3. Decker [19] notes that the Golden Age quite clearly attaches to the superhero genre as horror, western, romance or funny animal comics would have their own “golden ages” covering quite different periods of time, yet these are never referred to as such (despite comics actually reaching an all-time sales high during the early 1950s).

  4. The superheroes returned to popularity in what is popularly referred to as the “Silver Age”, commencing with the debut of Barry Allen as the Flash in “Mystery of the Human Thunderbolt!” (Showcase 4 October 1956) and gaining momentum with Marvel Comics’ Fantastic Four in 1961.

  5. Arguably the most famous war comic of all, DC’s Sgt. Rock (commencing publication in 1959), could be included here as it occurs well after the Golden Age period and, for most of its run, brings a gritty realism and, later, a Vietnam sensibility to World War II.

  6. In SHAZAM each letter represents the name of a mythical hero - Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles and Mercury—from which Captain Marvel derives his wisdom, strength, stamina, power, courage and speed.

  7. Naturally when supervillains team up they call themselves the Injustice Society.

  8. Though it should be noted that this comment was made well in advance of the September 11 attacks and Frank Miller may revise such an assertion in the current political climate, it still highlights the reason why we may consider some articulations of substantive justice “heroic” and others as “terrorist acts.”

  9. In DC Comics, the magic properties of acquired artifacts such as Hitler’s Spear of Destiny and Tojo’s Holy Grail protected the Axis countries from direct superheroic intervention.

  10. The title ended in 1950 (after 75 issues) and was briefly revived (for 3 issues) in 1956 with the subtitle “commie smasher”.

  11. Captain America was not the first patriotic hero (that was MLJ’s The Shield) but he was certainly the most popular and inspired slews of imitators, amongst them Uncle Sam, Superpatriot, the Fighting American, General Glory, etcetera.

  12. Pillar [36] notes that this is very much a product of the times. Post Watergate and the Pike and Church committees there had been a curtailing or controlling of executive power rather than an expansion (6).

  13. Full Citation: The ‘Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT ACT) Act of 2001’ (HR 3162).

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  1. Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, VIC, Australia

    Jason Bainbridge

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  1. Jason Bainbridge
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Correspondence to Jason Bainbridge.

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Bainbridge, J. “The Call to do Justice”: Superheroes, Sovereigns and the State During Wartime. Int J Semiot Law 28, 745–763 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11196-015-9424-y

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