Discrimination against superheroes
Discrimination against superheroes is a common theme and plot element in comic books and superhero fiction, usually as a way to explore the issue of superheroes operating in society or as commentary on other social concerns. Often in response to this are Registration Acts, fictional legislative bills that have been plot points used in various comic books and mediums which, when passed into law, enforce the regulation of extra-legal vigilante activity vs. criminal activity, or the mandatory registration of superpowered individuals with the government.
The issues that superheroes may be discriminated against, and that the government might seek to regulate the activities and civil rights of superheroes, who are either criminalized or deemed to be a threat to the safety of the general public, who may be denied habeas corpus or detained indefinitely without trial, or viewed as valuable national security resource subject to forced conscription without notice in times of crisis, have also been explored in other comics, such as those featuring DC's Justice Society of America team, series like Watchmen, Astro City and Powers; the films The Return of Captain Invincible (1983) and The Incredibles (2004); and in role-playing games Brave New World (1999) and Dawn of Legends for Savage Worlds.
This plot point is especially rich and extensively explored in the fictional universes of various comic book stories that are published by Marvel Comics. The first mention of the broad concept was in Uncanny X-Men #141 (January 1981). The actual term "Registration Act" was first used in Uncanny X-Men #181 (May 1984). As their names suggest, Mutant Registration Act and Superhuman Registration Act deal with the registration of mutants and superhumans respectively. The Mutant Registration Act has also been featured in both the original X-Men animated series and the X-Men films. Numerous versions of each bill have been proposed at different times and in different jurisdictions in the Marvel Universe. The Superhuman Registration Act is a major plot point in Marvel's 2006 crossover limited series Civil War, which was loosely adapted for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in the film Captain America: Civil War (2016). This version was called the Sokovia Accords,[1] and would have a lasting impact in the films before its repeal was revealed in the series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022).
The Registration Acts as a concept[edit]
Publication history[edit]
The idea that enhanced individuals might need to be "regulated" or "registered" by the government was first raised in specific relation to Marvel Comics' mutants. In Uncanny X-Men #141, written by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, the concept is briefly suggested. In that issue the term "Registration Act" is not used, but one character (Moira MacTaggert) brings up the notion of "registration". In reference to a politician whom she suspects of anti-mutant bigotry she says:
DC Universe[edit]
DC Comics[edit]
In DC Comics, the Justice Society of America chose to disband in 1951 rather than appear before the U.S. House Un-American Activities Committee, which demands they publicly unmask themselves. This was first shown in Adventure Comics (vol. 1) #466 ("The Defeat of the Justice Society!"; December 1979) by writer Paul Levitz and subsequently further explored in the America vs. The Justice Society 4-issue limited series (January–April 1985) by writers Roy and Dann Thomas.
There is also a piece of legislation called the "Keene Act" (an apparent reference to Watchmen) in the DC Universe. First mentioned in Suicide Squad (vol. 1) #1 (May 1987) in a story written by John Ostrander, the "Act" is referred to as a piece of legislation from 1961 which gives prisons greater leeway in imprisoning superhumans than ordinary prisoners.
It was more fully explored in Secret Origins (vol. 3) #14 (May 1987), again written by Ostrander, where it is revealed that the Act was passed in 1961 and it reaffirmed the right (that had been cast into doubt by HUAC in 1951) of superheroes to operate with secret identities. That story also reveals that the later "Ingersoll Amendment" (a reference to lawyer and comics writer Bob Ingersoll) to the Keene Act, which delineates governmental authority over superhuman activity in times of crisis, was passed into law in 1972.