Wednesday, April 2, 2014

May It Please The Court


While it's true that Marvel's characters fight to uphold the law (for the most part), on occasion they've found themselves on the receiving end of a hard-swung gavel when in a courtroom setting. And sometimes a poor bailiff is ill-prepared to cope with the result:




Let's have a look at a few instances where the scales of justice were perhaps a little overtaxed. Why don't we start with Tony Stark, who's testifying before a Congressional committee that wants to know Iron Man's identity. Right off the bat, we can see that Tony might be on the verge of declaring his own recess:




Even the Sub-Mariner was going to have his day in court, though it was frankly more surprising to learn that he wanted his day in a court where he would be subjected to human laws:




Attorney Costello didn't know the half of it. After all, how do you locate a client who's just ditched you and your little suit and decided to simply swim off in the Atlantic Ocean?




It must be nice to just put off a civil suit against you for an indefinite period of time while you tend to other matters. And you know, that's the way it should be. After all, if a gavel comes down but the defendant never shows up to hear it, did it really swing?

The Falcon, on the other hand, was present for both his trial and verdict. The judge ended up going easy on him, but it was touch-and-go there for a minute:



Sometimes things have gotten a little testy simply being near a courthouse. Probably because crowds who see heroes on their way to court as defendants tend to already think they're guilty:



Heck, sometimes the hero doesn't even make it to court:




Finally, it doesn't look like the Fantastic Four are immune from prosecution, not to mention the blunt opinions of their adoring public:



Gosh, Sue--I'm sorry the legal process doesn't agree with you.
How would you like to be booked?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Trial of Yellowjacket?


The Prowler (had to go to jury duty, got picked, then the defense attorney had a heart attack and we all went home).

Comicsfan said...

Prowler, there are no doubt a lot of instances such as that, but they've been handled more as internal matters of conduct (like this one with Ms. Marvel) than actual open court litigation or similar matters taking place through our formal judicial channels. (Though they might make for an interesting post on their own one day!)

Anonymous said...

I was thinking Pym's trial for treason in 228-229 where Egghead tries to frame Hank. The newly reformed Masters of Evil kidnap him at the trial but makes it look like they were springing him.

The Prowler (still can't type clearly).

Comicsfan said...

Prowler, yes, now I get your meaning--that one totally slipped my mind. Excellent call! That dust-up in the courtroom definitely deserved a spot here.