Superheroes, Phoenix Comicon and Family Law
Episode 40
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Disclaimer: The materials and content within this podcast are intended as general information only and are not to be considered a substitute for professional legal advice or a consultation with a lawyer.
1. Family Law Tip of the Week
If you are going through a divorce (or have just gone through one), be sure to update your estate planning documents (wills, trusts, powers of attorney, etc.). If you previously named your ex as the beneficiary/person in charge and fail to update your estate planning documents, in the case of your unexpected death, guess who is going to probably receive control over your assets? Yup. Your ex.
If you don’t want this to happen, make changes as soon as your divorce is final.
If you live in Arizona and need help with your estate plan, Hernandez Family Law can now serve your family in this area, too! Contact our office for more information.
2. Superheroes, Phoenix Comicon and Family Law
Summer is knocking at our back door in Phoenix. That means Comicon is town! In honor of Comicon, we are talking with attorney, author, blogger and comic book hero expert, James Daily, about Comicon and family law.
There are 10s of 1,000s of comic books that have been created since they began in the 1930s. James thinks people keep reading comic books because of the larger-than-life stories and the archetypes reflected in the themes and storylines. In terms of the law, comic books create tons of hypotheticals that can be related to real life.
Wendy and James talk about the different types of superheroes in terms of heroes that have private human lives (Superman and Batman) vs. heroes that don’t have private lives. Wendy comments that she enjoys superhero stories because they are really soap operas. James agrees and talks about how superheroes are really never killed off, they are reincarnated, etc. In the comic book world, there are very few people who are dead and never come back. In superhero world, they don’t get old and die and when villains get caught, they don’t stay in jail forever.
Superheroes have evolved with the times. For example, there are “out” (gay) superheroes. Same-sex relationships do exist. In the X-Men, there are mutants whereby the mutants have been used as an allegory for different persecuted groups in the past. James believes comic books are big enough to just entertain people (who want only that) and to comment on events happening in modern society such as terrorism, immigration issues, etc.
The State of Marriage in Superhero World
Superheroes do get married, and they stop getting married, too! Usually marriage is part of a larger storyline (and drama). For example, there was a Spiderman plot-line whereby Spidey married Mary Jane, but then it had to be undone. In another plot-line, a superhero married a shape shifting alien without his knowledge. (This is possibly grounds for an annulment according to Wendy.)
Relationships in superhero world are fraught with difficulties. Technically, superheroes aren’t human. So…the question then becomes this: can a marriage between a hero and a human actually be legal? What is interesting in comic book world is that this “issue” is not often discussed. However, in the case of The Swamp Thing and his “love,” there were questions about the legality of their relationship in Louisiana.
Domestic Violence in the Comic Book World
Unfortunately there is often domestic violence in the comic book world. Often this storyline is used to give the male hero (or villian) a reason to be “angry” and sometimes become a vigilante. For example, in the relationship between The Joker and Harley Quinn, Ms. Quinn is a mental health professional who was treating The Joker, fell in love with him and then joined him in crime, despite his mistreatment of her.
Another well-known comic book story which starts with domestic violence is the story of AntMan. There is a major motion picture that will be released about AntMan, centering on Hank Pym, whose wife is The Wasp. Michael Douglas will be one of the stars in the movie.
Wrapping up, one the great things about comic books is the fact that they are so large, there are often several different versions of the same character. James has written a book based upon how the law would treat different superhero characters and situations. The name of the book is The Law of Superheroes.
You can find James and his blog, “Law and the Multiverse” at lawandthemultiverse.com. You can also find him on Twitter @lawatmultiverse, and on Facebook by going here. Don’t forget to check out his book!
3. Thoughts From the Life Coach
In today’s thoughts, James talks about holding onto resentment when someone does you wrong. No one should have control over your happiness agenda except YOU!
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