Complete Scoundrel gives alignments for Batman, James Bond, Riddick, and more...

[delericho]

It would have been interesting to see a comparison between Supes and Batman. If Batman is LG then what is Superman?

Superman is pretty much as iconically LG as you can get.

However, this does not preclude Batman from also being LG. Not all flavours of LG are identical. And, in fact, LG characters can come into conflict, without either of them ever ceasing to be either Lawful or Good, or even necessarily being mistaken.

 

[edemaitre]

Alignments and fictional characters

I also thought this discussion is interesting and may even give the "Complete Scoundrel" a look, although I've been buying fewer splatbooks in preparation for D&D3.6 or D&D4.0, but that's for another thread...

I would also make Robin Hood of most legends and later versions Neutral Good. Except for some modern revisionist takes, he is helping Anglo-Saxon peasants against cruel Normal feudal lords (yes, it's ahistorical propaganda, but that's also another story). Who's to say that the Bill Gates and Donald Trumps of today aren't corrupt plutocrats? ;-)

I would give Indiana Jones a NG. Yes, he prefers to put artifacts in museums, but why not leave them with the indigenous peoples? He's not averse to working with smugglers in "Raiders of the Lost Ark," and in the later movies, his hatred of the mostly Neutral Evil Thugee and Lawful Evil Nazis overcomes his reluctance to be a hero, not a strict code of honor.

As for Batman and Superman, I agree that their alignment depends on which version--comic book, animated, or live-action television and movies. I see the iconic versions of both superheroes as being different strains of Lawful Good, just as Paladins of different deities might approach situations differently. Batman may be a vigilante, but he tries to uphold most laws in an effort to protect the innocent of Gotham City. Superman generally respects authority, but that doesn't stop him from opposing Lex Luthor, who has been U.S. president.

For those of you reading Marvel Comics' "Civil War," how would you describe the alignments of the main characters there? How do they relate to D&D? Lately, Captain America has been breaking laws, but his ideals may make him Lawful Good not unlike Batman or Superman above. Iron Man and Mr. Fantastic have committed some evil acts in the name of what they believe is a greater good--Lawful Neutral? Misguided Lawful Good? Slipping toward Lawful or Neutral Evil?

In my game, Paladins have occasionally slain someone in the heat of battle, only to realize later that the foe wasn't truly evil. Atonement rituals usually ensue, and this is a good way to encourage role-playing over mere hack-and-slash tactics. Talking to one's enemies, even in combat, is a properly cinematic/literary part of genre entertainment, IMHO...

 

[Kaodi]

Starbuck is Good? Huh?!

 

[Umbran]

And, in fact, LG characters can come into conflict, without either of them ever ceasing to be either Lawful or Good, or even necessarily being mistaken.

See the conflict between Roy and Miko, in Rich Burlew's "Order of the Stick" (starting around #199), as a very nice example of this.

 

[JVisgaitis]

No alignment for House? Bah!

 

[delericho]

Starbuck is Good? Huh?!

She repeatedly and consistently puts her life in direct danger for the protection of the remnants of the human race. That's pretty Good right there. And I'm hard pressed to think of more than a couple of Evil actions. (That said, the third season has just started over here; her alignment may shift.)

 

[edemaitre]

More on alignments

I'd say that Starbuck in the original 1970s "Battlestar Galactica" was Neutral or Chaotic Good. Occasionally selfish, but generally benevolent. In the SciFi Channel's current revisionist military space opera, Kara Thrace is more self-destructive and is barely able to keep her commission due to personal problems including alcoholism, but she's still a sympathetic character.

The newer Starbuck is still a hot-shot Viper fighter pilot, gambler, and occasional protector of the innocent. She may fight on the side of humanity, but she has been involved in vigilante reprisals against collaborators with Cylons, slept with her best friend despite the fact that both of them are married, and frequently disobeyed orders with few disciplinary consequences. I'd make her Chaotic Neutral with Good tendencies. Of course, the distinctions between order and anarchy, good and evil are deliberately blurred in the current television show...

 

[carolina]

Starbuck is Good? Huh?!

Yeah, that was exactly my first thought when I read that.

Caprica Six on the other hand ...

 

[Sejs]

It would have been interesting to see a comparison between Supes and Batman. If Batman is LG then what is Superman?

Superman would meet the criteria for being an exalted character. He's extra lawful good. So lawful good it makes your teeth hurt.

 

[Cthulhudrew]

For those of you reading Marvel Comics' "Civil War," how would you describe the alignments of the main characters there? How do they relate to D&D? Lately, Captain America has been breaking laws, but his ideals may make him Lawful Good not unlike Batman or Superman above. Iron Man and Mr. Fantastic have committed some evil acts in the name of what they believe is a greater good--Lawful Neutral? Misguided Lawful Good? Slipping toward Lawful or Neutral Evil?

Captain America is definitely Lawful Good. The only law(s) I have seen him breaking currently is the Superhuman Registration Act (which I'm not even positive has been ratified as a law in Civil War yet, has it?). In any case, the point is that he himself has stated time and again that he represents the ideal, the American dream and its people, and that is a concept that goes beyond the interests of any given administration and its current agenda. He quit being Captain America for a time when he disagreed with his government and what they wanted him to do, and now that his government has introduced legislation that goes at odds with his goals, he continues to fight on in the name of the larger issue. He still generally abides with the laws and system of the USA- which includes due process for criminals, etc.

(As for Iron Man and Mr. Fantastic, I don't know. I think I'm too blinded by what I see as blatant mischaracterization and shoehorning characters to fit an editorially/creatively driven plot rather than allowing the plot to flow from the characters to really comment objectively)

I will say that I see Spider-Man as more Lawful Good than Neutral Good. His whole credo is that "with great power comes great responsibility" and he- while being a vigilante- is always serving the cause of law and order. He leaves criminals for the police to arrest and prosecute, without taking justice into his own hands. If the rationale is that "law" and "chaos" can/do represent personal codes of honor as much or equally with actual recognition of societal laws, then Spider-Man fits in that category as well. I don't really see where he would be Neutral Good at all.

Now someone like the Punisher I'm not really sure where to put alignment wise. On the one hand I could see him being Lawful Evil- in that he puts his own sense of morality/legality above that of the state, but it is a personal code he adheres to. At the same time, the fact that he considers himself judge, jury, and executioner puts him at odds with the government, which would make him Chaotic in their eyes at least. I personally consider him evil because of the methods he uses- regardless of the underlying notions of where his motivation stems from- but others might see him as being good, because his intentions are clearly in the interest of others (those he considers innocent).