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Message: <blockquote data-quote="MarkB" data-source="post: 5432492" data-attributes="member: 40176">we hit some of these issues when playing a Marvel Superheroes game recently, in which we were an alternate-universe line-up of X-Men. It's a tricky topic, especially when it comes to things like holding and questioning supervillain suspects.In one memorable event, we managed to capture Norman Osborn, in full Green Goblin costume, but had no reliable witnesses to his actions or capture. Combined with the fact that we were on Oscorp property and it was the night before Halloween, we wound up having to let him go and breathing a sigh of relief that we weren't buried in lawsuits.On a small scale, a tacit agreement between superhero and local law enforcement (think Batman and Commissioner Gordon) can work. But on the larger scale, no government is going to enjoy having unregulated walking weapons with a variety of idiosyncratic codes of conduct enforcing order on their streets.On the other hand, they don't want their streets trashed by unstoppable supervillains either, so some compromise would be necessary.I could see superheroes being employed as 'special constables' - loosely affiliated with the police, allowed and expected to defeat and constrain supervillains, but not allowed to perform arrests or long-term detention without deferring to a legitimate law officer.Enforcement of any such system would require positive identification of superbeings, though, which leads back to the points already discussed. Governments want to know who their citizens are, and it's hard to see and kind of 'secret identity' being allowed to remain secret from, say, the IRS.Plus of course insurance and liability. If Superman wrecked your car throwing it at General Zod, the insurers want to be able to send the bill to Clark Kent.</blockquote>

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