Why do small-time non-superpowered criminals even bother?

Chat about stuff other than Transformers.
User avatar
Civ
Posts: 4330
Joined: Sun Oct 19, 2003 12:10 am
Location: Pennsylvania

Why do small-time non-superpowered criminals even bother?

Post by Civ »

I've been watching a bit of JLU and The Incredibles and there's something that's got me thinking. In both universes, the citizens are fully aware of people with amazing gifts that can stop speeding trains, dodge/deflect bullets, have lasers shooting out of their eyes, etc. So why do the small-time, non-superpowered criminals even bother? I mean really, why? I would tend to think that they're aware there's a good chance of running into a superhero that'll beat the ever-loving snot out of them and insure a one-way trip to jail.

Let's bar the real reason that writers want to show the superhero is capable of doing more than a regular human. What legitimate reasons could someone have for running the risk of encountering a superhero and pretty much heading straight to jail? Desperation (needs money)? Knows how to work the system to get out of jail quickly?
Image
Thanks, Zeeks! Great job! :up:
User avatar
Denyer
Posts: 33033
Joined: Sun Sep 17, 2000 4:00 am
Location: Perfidious Albion
Contact:

Post by Denyer »

Law of averages. Most heroes aren't speedsters, need to sleep at some point, have other identities, have other crises to deal with, and generally aren't 24/7.
User avatar
Halfshell
Posts: 19167
Joined: Sat Sep 16, 2000 4:00 am
Location: Don't complain to me. I don't care.
Contact:

Post by Halfshell »

Mhm. Most superheroes have bigger fish to fry. Find the right level of small time crookery, where you make a tidy living without drawing undue attention, and odds are they won't even notice you. You're what the regular police are for.
Cliffjumper
Posts: 32206
Joined: Wed Jan 31, 2001 5:00 am

Post by Cliffjumper »

Why do the big-time superpowered criminals even bother, though? They never win... I bet percentage-wise it's easier to get away with mugging in Gotham City than it is to, say, do whatever it is Batman villains actually do.
User avatar
electro girl
Posts: 1719
Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2008 4:38 pm
Location: Robot Republic of Yorkshire.
Contact:

Post by electro girl »

Cliffjumper wrote:Why do the big-time superpowered criminals even bother, though? They never win... I bet percentage-wise it's easier to get away with mugging in Gotham City than it is to, say, do whatever it is Batman villains actually do.
why else do you think the riddler has moved to accountancy?
-------------------------
A Chinese cartoon where the robots turn into blingwads!
User avatar
slartibartfast
Posts: 1895
Joined: Sun Sep 03, 2006 11:40 pm
Location: paris.
Contact:

Post by slartibartfast »

Image

Gothams' economy is probably based on mugging, thugs thugging the rich, thugs thugging thugs, thugs paying taxes back to the rich.
Cliffjumper
Posts: 32206
Joined: Wed Jan 31, 2001 5:00 am

Post by Cliffjumper »

Got to love the way he almost falls over, what, four times...
User avatar
electro girl
Posts: 1719
Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2008 4:38 pm
Location: Robot Republic of Yorkshire.
Contact:

Post by electro girl »

why dosent batman dance anymore?
-------------------------
A Chinese cartoon where the robots turn into blingwads!
User avatar
slartibartfast
Posts: 1895
Joined: Sun Sep 03, 2006 11:40 pm
Location: paris.
Contact:

Post by slartibartfast »

electro girl wrote:why dosent batman dance anymore?
kevlar.
User avatar
Denyer
Posts: 33033
Joined: Sun Sep 17, 2000 4:00 am
Location: Perfidious Albion
Contact:

Post by Denyer »

Cliffjumper
Posts: 32206
Joined: Wed Jan 31, 2001 5:00 am

Post by Cliffjumper »

User avatar
Halfshell
Posts: 19167
Joined: Sat Sep 16, 2000 4:00 am
Location: Don't complain to me. I don't care.
Contact:

Post by Halfshell »

If you want Halfshell to make a "but that's not Adam West's Batman" comment, hotlink an image of The Captain from Nextwave.

If you want Halfshell to link to the Shortpacked! strip with Batman playing on a dancemat, and make a joke about how "of course he still dances", hotlink an image of Spider Jerusalem.

Lines close with the next post. Calls charged at your standard network rate.
User avatar
Denyer
Posts: 33033
Joined: Sun Sep 17, 2000 4:00 am
Location: Perfidious Albion
Contact:

Post by Denyer »

Halfshell wrote:If you want Halfshell to make a "but that's not Adam West's Batman" comment
I thought we were doing non sequiturs.

Though there's a fair case for a given reference to Batman being to the original.

And nothing in the thread beforehand that suggests Batman dancing...
User avatar
Halfshell
Posts: 19167
Joined: Sat Sep 16, 2000 4:00 am
Location: Don't complain to me. I don't care.
Contact:

Post by Halfshell »

Denyer wrote:I thought we were doing non sequiturs.
No need - the gardener came round earlier in the week.
User avatar
DrSpengler
Protoform
Posts: 4891
Joined: Thu Nov 21, 2002 1:04 pm

Post by DrSpengler »

I honestly think it depends on the city.

If it's Metropolis, then yeah, why bother? Superman is essentially an all-seeing God, capable of moving at the speed of light, seeing through walls and moving galaxies with his bare hands. Comitting a crime in Metropolis is pretty much impossible.

But then there's Gotham, where there is aparantly a crime of some sort going on at every hour of the day at every street corner. There may be ten members of the Bat-Family, but not even all of them can cover the whole city 24-7.

And then you have Marvel's version of New York, which appears to have just as much crime per square inch as Gotham, but no less than 6,000 resident superheroes to cover it all.
Cliffjumper
Posts: 32206
Joined: Wed Jan 31, 2001 5:00 am

Post by Cliffjumper »

There was a great random issue of Wolverine a few years back where he's possessed by some woman or another, and he goes around knocking out all the super-heroes on patrol that night. The score's something like forty ownages in 22 pages...
User avatar
AndyTurnbull
Protoform
Posts: 481
Joined: Thu Mar 09, 2006 9:01 pm
Location: Dunfermline
Contact:

Post by AndyTurnbull »

Sounds like an entertaining issue of Wolverine (bit of a rarity that). Marvel's New York really should have zero crime given the fact that at any given point you could find yourself getting twatted by the Avengers, The FF, Spidey, hell a frikking Thunder God was hanging around. You'd think the fear of that might discourage antisocial behaviour!

Andy
Cliffjumper
Posts: 32206
Joined: Wed Jan 31, 2001 5:00 am

Post by Cliffjumper »

It was unusually entertaining... I'll have to dig it out and seeing about scanning... Most of it was classic "Oh yeh, I remember him!" stuff - Darkhawk, the New Warriors, USAgent... IIRC he basically got to beat up everyone who didn't have a current title..
User avatar
AndyTurnbull
Protoform
Posts: 481
Joined: Thu Mar 09, 2006 9:01 pm
Location: Dunfermline
Contact:

Post by AndyTurnbull »

Darkhawk?! Good lord he was shit. I remember flicking through a copy of his title years ago and thought it was muck.

Andy
User avatar
wolfbolt86
Protoform
Posts: 415
Joined: Wed Feb 06, 2008 9:45 pm

Post by wolfbolt86 »

AndyTurnbull wrote: Marvel's New York really should have zero crime given the fact that at any given point you could find yourself getting twatted by the Avengers, The FF, Spidey, hell a frikking Thunder God was hanging around. You'd think the fear of that might discourage antisocial behaviour!

Andy
Lets not forget the Punisher, he kills most no power crooks when he sees them in the act. Does he kill everyone that comments crimes or does he let some of the minor lawbreakers live?
Post Reply