Mutants and the Economy

The idea of mutation introduces some interesting concepts into the global economy. Marvel's conception of a mutant race introduces an entire populace that has extraordinary abilities. In terms of culture, these individuals are an ethnicity who have their own customs and shared identity. But the mutant race also represents an entirely new venue for economy.

Each mutant possesses a special skill which has its own inherent value. Because of this, a mutant can be viewed as a craftsman or a skilled laborer. Mutants with enhanced strength can work in construction, demolition, or even transportation. Storm could irrigate the crops of all the suffering farmers in the midwest and California when the droughts of summer are destroying their crops. Quicksilver could sort the daily mail output of the United States in 3 hours. And the extraordinary power of these abilities would only make the economic effect of using mutant powers that much more extraordinary itself. Time, labor, and machinery costs would all be cut dramatically.

Tragically, most mutants use their powers to either save the world or terrorize it. At least this is the popular depiction in Marvel Comics. Imagine what Magneto could do if he worked in construction. For one thing, all of those New York City public works project would have their completion dates moved up from 2018 to roughly five minutes from now. But instead, he spends his time sinking Russian submarines and making asteroid bases to live in. For the love of God, the man has the power to build himself a high-tech home in space. He could repair the Hubbell telescope with no trouble whatsoever.

The only time Marvel Comics presented a mass use of mutants for economic purposes, it was in the context of the island nation of Genosha. On this island, mutants were enslaved and forced to work for the government. This turned the troubled economy of Genosha around in the span of a few years, making it a thriving paradise (for those who were not enslaved and constantly tortured, of course). Naturally this brutal treatment of mutants could not stand and the X-Men destabilized the government (resulting in thousands of deaths, but that is the price of freedom and giant, bloody splash pages). Eventually Genosha became a haven for mutants. And with an all mutant population, the island did thrive, but in total isolation from the rest of the world.

But its strange how there haven't been any depictions of how mutant powers could be integrated into the modern economy. It seems like whenever mutants are given employment, it's usually because their powers can be used to murder someone. The government has an endless parade of mutant assassins at their disposal, yet somehow refuse to employ Scalphunter as a computer mainframe manufacturer.

Of course, there is the very logical reason why mutants are not integrated into economy in comic book stories. No-one wants to read 22 pages of Colossus moving girders to build an office building and then going home to watch "24." An ordinary, integrated life for mutants is not interesting. But tearing the head off a Sentinel while falling through the atmosphere. Now there's something special.

Where Does the Canadian Government Get the Money from to Keep Making Super-Soldiers?

In the Marvel Universe, Canada is responsible for creating some of the most deadly super-soldiers in history. Wolverine, Sabretooth, Deadpool, Kane, and Agent Zero were all deadly assassins who were empowered by Canada's Weapon X program. This secret division of the Canadian government went to great expense to create nearly unstoppable weapons (and in almost all cases, allow them to escape shortly thereafter). This gives rise to a single question: WHY?

What threat was Canada so afraid of that the government felt the need to constantly produce human death machines?

"Holy Crap, Quebec is getting uppity again, let's coat another mutant in adamantium!"

One explanation is that Canada needed its own meta-human defenders. This was, of course, the reason why Canada's own Alpha Flight was formed. But Weapon X had a different purpose. It was supposed to create unstoppable assassins. Work by writers like Larry Hama, Grant Morrisson, and Frank Tieri has muddied the waters in terms of the purpose of Weapon X and why it was built. Based on divergent histories, Weapon X may have been a subdivision of the CIA, a covert operations training program, or an offshoot of a counter-mutant program developed by sentient bacteria. That's right, I actually typed that sentence.

Regardless, someone in the Canadian government was still there to provide funding for Weapon X, whatever its intended purpose may have been. And I'm sure they had to receive progress reports such as: "We created a supersoldier with a healing ability and an indestructible skeleton. And he was really cool. But then he killed all of the scientists and the guards... and he's living in the woods now. So... we need more money."

And Canada, true and loyal country that it is, kept footing the bill. And Weapon X kept on chugging, giving bionic enhancements and healing factors to the clinically insane. Now that's good government.

Millionaires= Crazy

In the world of comic books any individual who has more than 5 million dollars in saving or assets immediately becomes bat-shit insane. It's a strange rule, but it seems that every independently wealthy individual in superhero comics decides that fighting/committing crime is the best way to spend their free time. They ignore possible hobbies like golfing, yachting, and collecting antique cars and go straight into wearing a mask and creating a global organization designed to save/destroy/conquer the world. The examples in comic book fiction are nearly limitless.

In terms of billionaire superheroes there are: Batman, Iron Man, Moon Knight, The Golden Age Sandman, Professor Xavier, etc. The list of wealthy villains is even more dramatic: Lex Luthor, Ra's Al Ghul, Norman Osborn (The Green Goblin), Hush, Count Nefaria, Spymaster, Justin Hammer, Obadiah Stane, The Mandarin, Sebastian Shaw, etc. It seems that anyone who encounters a financial windfall in the comic book universe immediately invests all of money into either saving the world or destroying it.

In some cases, the actions of these comic book millionaires seem somewhat logical. Professor Xavier used his money to create a sanctuary for mutants who were being persecuted. He also used his money to train said mutants using a holographic "Danger Room" created with technology gleaned from alien bird-people. But with that superfluous spending aside, we can look at the Xavier Institute as version of the WMCA for people who can shoot lasers out of their eyes and with slightly less gay sex on the grounds (see: The Village People). Wealthy industrialist Tony Stark built the Iron Man suit to save his life and then continues flying around in it because he's a joy-riding arrogant ego-maniac. I understand that.

But then there's this man...

Norman Osborn started as a weapons and chemical designer. But like all wealthy industrialists do in the comic book world, he decided profit margins weren't enough. And as such he began riding around on a bat-shaped glider in a green and purple outfit and started throwing pumpkin bombs. It truly boggles my mind when i consider the amount of research and development that must have gone into the creation of pumpkin-shaped explosives. Some poor R&D guy had to sit in front of his computer screen, working on plastic explosive casings while dealing with Norman standing over his shoulder and shouting, "No, it needs to be MORE ORANGE!"

It simply boggles the mind that an industrialist who had made millions designing lucrative compounds, weapons, and technology would then perform an engineering about-face and decide that the best means of long distance transportation would be a halloween-themed glider that uses foot-grips to secure the rider. That's right, Norman Osborn expects a commando to be secured to a glider flying 800 miles an hour by the same technology that keeps boots connected to skis. Not to mention the fact that Norman Osborn decides that he is the best person to use this new technology. A company of hundreds spends millions of dollars to create a new series of weapons only to have the company CEO steal it all and fly around new york wearing a Halloween costume. In this economic downturn, it seems truly tragic for a company to nearly go bankrupt because their fourth-quarter profits were spent "trying to kill Spider-Man."

This persistent pattern of a wealthy individual building a financial empire through shrewd economic skill and then destroying it almost instantly through costumed antics shows only one thing. In comic books, all money is coated with a powerful hallucinogen. When you aquire enough of it you go crazy and then act accordingly. I will no doubt come back to this in later posts.

Jonah Hex Exercises Some Real Estate Intuition

Well, maybe. One of the great things about reading Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray's Jonah Hex series is that, aside from the sheer badass adventures of the meanest, ugliest, most violent bounty hunter in the old west, there are lots of subtle implications about economic development in the late 1800s United States, specifically regarding the massive industrialization and business expansion.

In his latest adventure, Hex was hired to rescue a hotel owner/manager and his daughter from a gang who had kidnapped them. In the process, Hex had burned down the hotel and upon attempting to collect his fee, the bank (who evidently hired him because of their interest in the hotel) informed him that they would be unable to pay for his services. The reason being, simply, that he burned down the source if income with which they would have paid him.

You might be wondering why it is that the bank would elect to honor their agreement at all, being that Jonah Hex technically operates outside the law. The reason is, also simply, that they fear Jonah's wrath on them might exceed that of his on the gang and the hotel.

So, we have a problem where the bank and hotel owners have no money to pay Hex. The solution that is eventually agreed upon is that the hotel owner would transfer ownership of the land on which the hotel was built over to Hex, who gladly accepts, declaring the land a fine form of currency in the rapidly industrializing economy.


I have a few comments on this:

1) I'm a bit confused as to how this transfer of ownership works. I'm not a real estate expert, especially concerning 19th century property values, but it seems to me that this is the basic way it works: someone wants to open a hotel, so he or she goes to the bank to acquire a loan for land (remember that land is considered real property and also one of the four basic factors of production in classical economics) as well as the capital to actually build the hotel. The new business owners now use the profits they earn from the hotel in order to pay back the loan, however the bank still technically owns all or part of that property until reimbursed. This is what I think the bank owner meant when he said that they had a "vested interested" in the hotel.

So, now that the hotel is burned down and the family has no means of paying back for the loan (and has no property insurance!!), it seems to me the equivalent of a default. Obviously, in this situation, it is perfectly acceptable to transfer land ownership to someone who could pay the rest of the loan (and this would also save on foreclosure costs, legal and administrative expenses, etc., and and save the owner from applying for bankruptcy), but wouldn't this still mean that Jonah would have to pay the bank? Unless his fee was so large or the amount the hotel owed was so small that they just considered it even (which I doubt) , I would think Hex would still owe the bank. And that doesn't sound very Hex, does it?

2) This demonstrates the importance of insurance (superhero insurance will be the topic of a later post).

3) Hex's comments on the last page confuse me. When asked what he would do with the land, he profoundly respond, "It's currency." Then he goes on to talk about the growth of towns and railroads, which leads to the implication that Jonah might want until the value of the property increases before he sells it to inevitably expanding businesses who might need the land. This is, first of all, an incredibly shrewd and economic tactic that is surprising coming from such a notoriously rough-around-the-edges bounty hunter. Secondly, however, Hex then goes on to say "with railroads and towns poppin' up, it's gettin' so a person can't keep to themselves. Best thing ta do is leave it clear and free." Does this mean that he actually just wants to keep the place and not sell it eventually?

All in all, Jonah Hex is a more shrewd economist than I would have guessed.

Ecocomic Recession Watch: Bad Dog Edition

The global ecocomic recession has spread so far that its effects are even starting to be felt in the already marginalized Image Comics world. Conditions there are so bleak that small business owners cannot even succeed in a werewolf's behind. There should really be an employer subsidy to aid these firms working in such harsh environments.

The Construction Industry in Comics

It has occurred to me that building repairs must make up something like 90% of the economy in comic book universes. This must be true to combat the rampant destruction in the comic book world. Nearly ever major title from DC comics showcases this constant and overwhelming destruction. Superman frequently levels Metropolis while "protecting" its citizens. Riots happen in Gotham City roughly every five minutes. A FRICKIN DARK GOD POSSESSED EVERY LIVING SOUL ON THE PLANET AND DESTROYED TONS OF BUILDINGS WHILE BURNING EVERY BOOK EVER WRITTEN!

The same is true of the Marvel side of the superhero world. In a decidely random sampling of issues in the Marvel Universe, New York has been destroyed roughly 5 times in the span of a few comic book months. Thats right, in less than a comic book year Marvel Comic's version of New York City has been leveled by a weather-controlling Ultron Robot, a plague of Venom symbiotes infecting every citizen in Manhattan, an invasion by shape-changing aliens from outer space, a terrorist raid of the United Nations performed by a french acrobat, and a battle with a rogue Norse god. Each time, buildings have crumbled, streets have been cracked, and the carts of hot dog vendors have been thoroughly over-turned.

In order to recover from such devastating blows, the comic book world must have an array of daring contractors and craftsman, willing to jump into the fray at a moment's notice. They are the truly amazing people in the comics universe. Somehow they are capable of repairing the Chrysler building overnight after Thor has been punched through it, only for the Green Goblin to the blow the top off of it the next day. And they do this consistently. For this to work, the public works department of Marvel's New York must be 1 billion workers strong. But still, with the amount of damage caused to the comic book world, the construction and repair can never stop.

The work of the comic-book contractor truly is a never-ending battle. These intrepid contractors were given powers. The power of wood-working. The power of welding. The godlike ability to drive rivets into steel with unerring accuracy. And with this great power comes great responsibility. Only the comic-book contractor can use their triple barrelled caulk gun to repair the damage Wolverine causes to a truck-stop bathroom. Only the comic-book craftsman can repair Lexcorp tower every five seconds while watching tensely for a flash of blue and red or a giant purple and green battlesuit.

Of course this begs the question of what taxes are like in the Marvel and DC universe. In order to pay for Superhero damage, it must be 18 billion dollars per person per year.

How Does Two-Face Fund His Crime Sprees?

Anyone ever wonder how Two-Face gets funding for his schemes? With other Batman villains, it's not so much of a problem. The Penguin, for instance, runs a "legitimate" restaurant/night club, from which he earns most of the resources he needs to continue funding criminal activity in Gotham City. The Riddler is now a semi-legitimate private detective. Villains like Killer Croc don't need to worry about money, as the extent of his rampage through the city involves roaring and smashing. Then there's Poison Ivy and Harley, who occasionally rob a bank and go on shopping sprees, but spend the majority of their time housed in Akrham Asylum. The Joker is a tricky one, since he always seem to have an army of henchmen, but I attribute this more to the crippling fear throughout the underworld of refusing to partake in any scheme which the Joker might concoct.

That leaves us with Two-Face. Former District Attorney and golden boy of Gotham, Harvey Dent, took a tragic turn towards villainy when Boss Maroni threw acid on his face, shattering him both physically and mentally. Since then, Two-Face has held Gotham at ransom numerous times (though never succeeding thanks to Batman), has hired plenty of henchmen, bought several weapons, hideouts, cars, clothes, etc., and staged elaborate schemes that inevitably involve large sums of money in order to capture Batman. This begs the question: Where does he get this money from?

One might argue that Two-Face has enough saved up from his time as District Attorney, that he hasn't needed an additional source of income. But consider this: surely the government would have seized whatever assets he owned once he escaped from Arkham for the billionth time. Further, his pay as DA of Gotham City was likely meager, considering that public prosecutors do not get paid that much. Take a look at this image, reprinted from Payscale.

Median District Attorney Salary, Updated May 3, 2009, reprinted from Payscale.


Clearly, Harvey was a young gun: he had just been a DA for a few years before his accident. Conservatively, I will say that he served as DA for 1-4 years. That means his average annual salary was approximately $57,000 a year. And this is by 2008 standards. Recall that by modern continuity, his accident occurred in 1996. All of this means that Two-Face cannot possibly have enough money saved up to conduct his elaborate schemes against Gotham City and Batman.

Here's another theory: perhaps Two-Face has all his money from bank robberies or underground drug trafficking, criminal activity, etc. This could be true, but we happen to know that the Batman is pretty good at rooting all of these mechanisms out. And I do not think that Two-Face has pulled off enough successful robberies to sustain him throughout the years.

So what's left? We know he does not launder money through a business as the Penguin does. We can assume he does not have money saved up and that he has not scored big enough through crime to sustain his operations for over a decade. And now post-RIP, Two-Face is in a gang war against the Penguin, requiring even more resources to keep up.

The only theory I have is that perhaps he has a private investor; someone deep in the underworld of Gotham benefits politically or financially from Two-Face's successes. I used to think this person was the Penguin, but being that they are now at war with one another, this is unlikely.

Any thoughts from the readers?