When a superhero needs money, how do you get it? In this clip we find Peter Parker trying to decide how to use his newly acquired spider skills to help Aunt May pay the bills.
After being bitten by a radioactive spider, Peter Parker discovers he has some interesting abilities. To test his powers, he gets in the ring with Crusher Hogan and wins $100. This gets Peter thinking. Maybe he could cash in on these new powers. An agent discovers him and starts to book Peter as a side show, which is great, until two things happen. First, the bank won’t cash a check made out to “Spider-Man”. Second, J. Jonah Jameson starts to disparage Spider-Man and the gravy train comes to an end.
Should superheroes be able to make money using their abilities? In an economy where free enterprise governs decisions to produce, it seems like their human capital should allow them to, but the superhero code says otherwise. It isn’t acceptable for heroes to make money using their abilities.
This raises another pertinent question. How would a hero collect their fee? If you wait to get paid before saving someone, that could look like extortion. If you wait to save a town or the planet before entering the fight, it could take too much time to negotiate with hold outs. Meanwhile, the villains are wreaking havoc. If you wait until after you save the day to collect, then there will be free riders. Hero work is effectively non-excludable. It is also non-rival in consumption, which makes hero work a public good. If heroes are providing public goods, charging someone for their services might be a waste of time.
(Click on the image below to access the comic panels.)
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