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THE LAW IS A ASS Installment # 440: DID SUPERMAN BOUNCE A CHECK

…And then he ducks the guns.

Last column we discussed what happens to those criminals on Adventures of Superman who shoot at Superman only to have their bullets bounce off him. Bottom line, they get charged with some crimes. But that’s just for shooting at Superman. There are still two very important questions that remain unanswered.

First, why did the invulnerable Superman, who already had bullets bounce off of him, duck when the bad guys threw their guns at him? Actually, we need to answer a question before that one – hey, if airplanes can pre-board, I can pre-first – namely did Superman actually duck a thrown gun?

From my research, inextensive though it was, I can say it definitely did happen. Once. In the first season episode “The Mind Machine.”

Theories abound, as to why Superman ducked but the one I think the best is that in parts of said scene, Superman wasn’t being played by George Reeves but by a stunt double named Dale Van Sickle. Van Sickle bore a slight resemblance to Reeves, but it wasn’t enough to survive close scrutiny. Or even the level of scrutiny you could get on those small, grainy, not-hi def, cathode-ray TVs of the 50s. If you study the scene, you’ll note that after the gunshots, Superman is standing erect and smoke obscures his face. That’s because it was the stunt double who nobody wanted you to see very well. Then, when the bad guy winds up to throw his gun at Superman, the Man of Steel avoidance ducked, again hiding his face. I think Superman ducked so that no one would notice the stunt double or that “Superman” wasn’t Superman.

The more-important question is this: if one of those bullets ricocheted off Superman and rabbitted into an innocent bystander could the criminals be brought up on charges for that injury? For once I have an easy answer for you. Yes.

With what crime could the criminals be charged? Okay, now we’re back to our usual complicated answers.

Before we can answer that question, we must answer another question or three. Such as, did the poor bystander die, or only get injured? Meaning is it homicide or assault? Then there’s, did the criminals know the bullets would bounce off of Superman? (Yes that again.) And finally, what were the criminals doing before Superman confronted them?

Let’s take the easy question first. If the bystander is only injured, then, irrespective of whether the criminals knew the bullets would bounce, the crime is going to be what the Model Penal Code calls aggravated assault.

Aggravated assault is knowingly causing bodily injury with a deadly weapon. A quick show of hands, how many of you think a gun is a deadly weapon? (Come on, it’s not a trick question, even Wayne LaPierre cops to that one.) But there’s a second prong to the definition, aggravated assault can also be recklessly causing serious bodily injury while showing indifference to others.

If the criminals knew the bullets would bounce off Superman, they knew a rebounding injury was as likely here as in a Basketball game. The law dictates that people intend the reasonably foreseeable consequence of their acts. So if the criminals knew the bullets would bounce like an inflated Bumble, they knowingly caused the reasonably foreseeable physical harm resulting from a bouncing bullet.

Even if the criminals didn’t foresee the bouncing bullets might hit another person, firing at something, or someone, that is going to make the bullets bounce when other people were around would be a reckless act showing indifference to others. Which constitutes an aggravated assault under the second definition.

If the criminals didn’t know the bullets would bounce then they thought they’d injure Superman and shooting at Superman would be aggravated assault. But, the bullets didn’t hurt Superman, they hurt a bystander. Ha! The law covers that possibility. The law may be an ass, but sometimes it’s smart enough to anticipate things.

The law anticipated this possibility with the transferred intent doctrine. If criminals intend to cause harm to person A but end up harming person B instead, the criminals’ intent to hurt A is transferred to the injury to B and the criminals are guilty of assaulting B. Because our criminals knowingly tried to injure Superman their criminal intent transfers to harming the bystander and they’re guilty of aggravated assault of the bystander.

What if the bystander dies? Obviously, we’re talking a homicide, but which homicide?

If the criminals didn’t know the bullets would bounce off Superman and thought they would kill him, then the criminals are guilty of aggravated murder or murder in the first degree; whatever that crime is called in Metropolis, other than antisocial. That’s because the criminals tried to kill Superman but ended up killing another person. Once again the transferred intend doctrine transfers the intent to kill Superman onto the unintended killing of the bystander.

If the criminals did know the bullets would bounce, then we have to know what the criminals were doing that attracted Superman’s attention. It’s not like Superman was flying around until he got bored then decided to go hassle some guys to see whether they’d shoot at him. No, true to their names, the bad guys were doing something bad and Superman was trying to stop them.

If the criminal were committing a major felony when Superman intervened, then the felony murder rule comes into play. Criminals who cause a death while committing a major felony like armed robbery or kidnapping – and most of the crimes in Adventures of Superman involved one or both of those; especially kidnapping Lois Lane (Adventures_of_Superman) or Jimmy Olsen (Adventures_of_Superman) – commit first degree murder under the felony murder rule. This is true whether the deceased is the original victim or a bystander.

If the underlying crime was a lesser crime that wouldn’t trigger the felony murder rule, we’re in the realm of manslaughter. In some states, like Ohio, causing a death while committing a felony or misdemeanor that didn’t trigger the felony murder rule is an involuntary manslaughter. So if the criminals were committing a minor crime and killed someone by shooting at Superman, the criminals would be guilty of an involuntary manslaughter.

But what about Superman? Can he be brought up on charges for allowing bullets to bounce off of him and strike a bystander? A criminal charge of negligent homicide could apply to a person who allows another person to die through negligence. Superman allowing bullets to bounce off him without checking to make sure other people weren’t around is probably negligent homicide, provided a prosecutor wanted to risk reelection by bringing Superman up on charges. Nowadays, to prevent the possibility of Superman negligently killing someone, Superman either melts the bullets with heat vision or plucks them out of the air.

But what if Superman intentionally kills someone by, say, snapping his neck in battle?Oh no! Once was enough. I’m not going there again!

Thought-provoking Us comes to Home Video June 4

Universal City, California, April 30, 2019 – Academy Award® winner Jordan Peele follows the success of his blockbuster hit, GET OUT, with the masterfully executed and viscerally terrifying US. Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with a score of 94%, the film is being hailed as “a colossal cinematic achievement” (Richard Brody, The New Yorker) and is “meant to be watched over and over” (Emily Yoshida, New York Magazine/Vulture). Fans around the world can now untether the truth with more than 50 minutes of bonus features delving deep into the mind of Jordan Peele, his filmmaking process and the symbolism behind US. The global sensation arrives on Digital on June 4, 2019, as well as on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-rayTM, DVD and On Demand on June 18, 2019.
 
Featuring incredible must-see performances from Academy Award® winner Lupita Nyong’o (Black Panther, 12 Years a Slave), Winston Duke (Black Panther), Emmy® winner Elisabeth Moss (“The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Mad Men”) and Tim Heidecker (The Comedy, “Tim & Eric’s Bedtime Stories”), US is “the most out-of-the-box horror film of the past decade,” (Nathaniel Brail, Heroic Hollywood). Movie enthusiasts and horror fans alike can watch US again and again to unravel its darkest secrets. Doppelgängers. Hands Across America. The Nutcracker. Rabbits. 11:11. The key themes and imagery from US are unpacked and explained in exceptional bonus content such as The Duality of US featurette where Jordan Peele talks in-depth about many of the ideas behind the film.
 
Set along the North California coastline, Adelaide Wilson (Nyong’o) reluctantly returns to her beachside childhood home with her family and finds that she is haunted by unresolved trauma from her past along with a string of eerie coincidences. As darkness falls after a tense day at the beach, the Wilsons discover four figures standing in their driveway. They soon realize this is only the beginning of their troubles as they find that the four figures are terrifying and uncanny opponents: doppelgängers of themselves.

EXCLUSIVE BONUS FEATURE ON 4K ULTRA HD, BLU-RAYTM & DIGITAL:

  • Scene Explorations – The making of three iconic scenes from the film including the Tyler house massacre, Jason’s abduction, and Adelaide’s underground flashback.
    • Seven Second Massacre
    • It’s a Trap
    • I Just Want My Little Girl Back

BONUS FEATURES on 4K ULTRA HD, BLU-RAYTM, DVD & DIGITAL:

  • The Duality of US – Jordan Peele goes in-depth on some of the key themes and imagery in US including Doppelgängers, Hands Across America, The Nutcracker dance scene, rabbits and the infamous 11:11 coincidence.
  • The Monsters Within US – Examine how the great cast was able to find their characters, whether they were playing one of the Wilsons or their sinister doppelgängers.
  • Tethered Together: Making US Twice – Making of a movie is hard. Making a movie where all the main cast play dual roles can be downright mind-bending. In this piece, filmmakers, cast, and crew discuss some of the technical challenges to making the film, as well as some of the design choices for the characters.
  • Redefining a Genre: Jordan Peele’s Brand of Horror – In the space of two films, Jordan Peele has set himself apart as an invaluable artistic voice. Hear cast and filmmakers highlight what makes him so unique, as well as Jordan’s own thoughts on his inspirations and the relationship between horror and comedy.
  • Becoming Red – Using behind-the-scenes footage from between takes, we take a closer look at Lupita Nyong’o’s intense and mesmerizing performance as “Red.”
  • Deleted Scenes
    • I Am Not Even Near You
    • Rabbit Season
    • That’s Badass
    • Driftwood
    • The P is Silent
    • I Wanna Go Home
  • We’re All Dying – Hilarious outtakes from the conversation between Winston Duke and Tim Heidecker on the beach.
  • As Above, So Below: Grand Pas de Deux – An extended version of the dance sequence from the film, cutting between adolescent Adelaide at her recital to Red in the Underpass.


The film will be available on 4K Ultra HD in a combo pack (4K Ultra HD+ Blu-rayTM + Digital). Bonus features on the 4K Ultra HD will all be delivered in stunning 4K resolution.

  • 4K Ultra HD is the ultimate movie watching experience. 4K Ultra HD features the combination of 4K resolution for 4X sharper picture than HD, the color brilliance of High Dynamic Range (HDR) with immersive audio.
  • Blu-rayTM delivers a pristine HD picture and theater-quality surround sound.
  • Digital lets fans watch movies anywhere on their favorite devices. Users can instantly stream or download.

FILMMAKERS:
Cast: Lupita Nyong’O, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss, and Tim Heidecker
Music By: Michael Abels
Costume Designer: Kym Barrett
Editor: Nicholas Monsour
Production Designer: Ruth De Jong
Director of Photography: Michael Gioulakis
Executive Producers: Daniel Lupi and Beatriz Sequeira
Produced By: Sean McKittrick, p.g.a,, Jason Blum, and Ian Cooper, p.g.a.
Written, Produced, and Directed By: Jordan Peele 

TECHNICAL INFORMATION 4K ULTRA HD:
Street Date: June 18, 2019 
Selection Number: 61201558 (US) / 61201863 (CDN)
Layers: BD 100 / Aspect Ratio: 16.9 2.39:1 Widescreen 
Rating: Rated R for violence/terror, and language 
Video: 2160p UHD Dolby Vision/HDR10 
Subtitles: English SDH, French and Spanish 
Languages/Sound: English Dolby Atmos, English Dolby Digital 2.0, French and Spanish Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
Run Time: Sean McKittrick, p.g.a,, Jason Blum, and Ian Cooper, p.g.a.

DOLBY VISION:

US 4K Ultra HD is available in Dolby Vision. Leveraging the HDR innovation that powers Dolby’s most advanced cinemas around the world, Dolby Vision transforms the TV experience in the home by delivering greater brightness and contrast, as well as a fuller palette of rich colors.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION BLU-RAYTM:
Street Date: June 18, 2019
Selection Number: 61201423 (US) / 61201427 (CDN)
Layers: BD 50 / Aspect Ratio: 16:9 2.39:1 Widescreen
Rating: Rated R for violence/terror, and language.
Subtitles: English SDH, French and Spanish
Languages/Sound: English Dolby Atmos, English Dolby Digital 2.0, French and Spanish Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
Run Time: 1 Hour and 56 Minutes

TECHNICAL INFORMATION DVD:
Street Date: June 18, 2019
Selection Number: 61200733 (US) / 61201426 (CDN)
Layers: DVD 9 / Aspect Ratio: 16:9 2.39:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Rating: Rated R for violence/terror, and language.
Subtitles: English SDH, French and Spanish
Languages/Sound: English, French, and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, English Dolby Digital 2.0
Run Time: 1 Hour and 56 Minutes 

First Clip from Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles finds Gotham City reaching new levels of danger when Shredder joins forces with Ra’s al Ghul to enact a nefarious plan – leading to the team-up of the Dark Knight and the Turtles to combat the combined might of the Foot Clan and League of Assassins!

The Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles all-star cast is led by Troy Baker (Batman: Arkham Origins, The Last of Us) as the voice of both Batman and the Joker – making Baker the first actor to ever play both roles in the same film. Opposite Baker are the Ninja Turtles themselves – Emmy Award/Golden Globe Award/SAG Award winner Darren Criss (American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace, Glee) as Raphael, Kyle Mooney (Saturday Night Live) as Michelangelo, Baron Vaughn (Grace and Frankie) as Donatello, and Eric Bauza (Looney Tunes Cartoons, The Woody Woodpecker Show) as Leonardo.

The first official clip is actually the opening scene of the film, where the Foot Clan descends upon Powers Industrial at the same time Barbara Gordon, aka Batgirl (voiced by Rachel Bloom of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend fame) is touring the facility, getting a first-hand look at an important power generator.

Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Enhanced Content

Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack and Digital

Cowabunga, Batman! When Comic Worlds Collide (Featurette)– Super hero crossovers have inspired some of the most unique comics of all time. Explore the concept of the crossover, and see the creativity that ensues when the worlds of Batman and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles meet.

Fight Night in Gotham (Featurette) – DC animated movies have continued to push the realism of hand-to-hand combat on-screen. Take an exciting look at both Batman’s and the Ninja Turtles’ fighting styles, and how the creators make it feel like you’re in the fight!

A Sneak Peek at the next DC Universe Movie, Batman: Hush – An advance look at the next animated film in the popular DC Universe Movies collection.

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray disc of Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will feature Dolby VisionTM HDR that dramatically expands the color palette and contrast range and uses dynamic metadata to automatically optimize the picture for every screen, frame by frame. The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray disc of Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will also feature a Dolby Atmos® soundtrack remixed specifically for the home theater environment to place and move audio anywhere in the room, including overhead. To experience Dolby Atmos at home, a Dolby Atmos enabled AV receiver and additional speakers are required, or a Dolby Atmos enabled sound bar. Dolby Atmos soundtracks are also fully backward compatible with traditional audio configurations and legacy home entertainment equipment.

Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will also be available on Movies Anywhere. Using the free Movies Anywhere app and website, consumers can access all their eligible movies by connecting their Movies Anywhere account with their participating digital retailer accounts.

Fans can also own Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles via purchase from digital retailers beginning May 14, 2019.

REVIEW: Miss Bala

REVIEW: Miss Bala

In an era of female empowerment, Hollywood is looking far and wide in an attempt to create role models and franchises for proper exploitation. The most recent non-super-powered entry in this field is Miss Bala, a remake of the 2011 Mexican film of the same name, starring CW darling Gina Rodriguez.

We take a makeup artist everywoman and watch her routine, not entirely satisfying life get upended by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Along the way, she is terrified, betrayed, seduced, and ultimately woke. She goes from patsy to taking control of her destiny, finding the strength to do things she couldn’t imagine weeks earlier.

The problem with the film, directed by Catherine Hardwicke, is that we don’t develop Gloria Fuentes as a character to care about beyond a few perfunctory scenes before things go sideways. When she and a girlfriend, Suzu (Cristina Rodlo), are at a nightclub, it happens to be the night members of the “Las Estrellas” gang attacks. Suzu goes missing and Gloria, who admits seeing the attackers’ faces, winds up in the hands of a corrupt police officer who turns her over to Lino (Ismael Cruz Córdova).

She s briefly in the hands of the DEA, using a civilian as a pawn to entrap Lino, but when things go wrong, disavow her, forcing Gloria to side with her captor. There’s a touch of Stockholm syndrome at work, a hint of sexual desire between Lino and Gloria, and a whole lot of things going boom.

Gloria, Lino, and all the other characters in this story are bland, boring, and two-dimensional. Any attempt to add complexity to the players falls flat. We should be rooting for Gloria to overcome her circumstances and come out on top, but we don’t believe the steps in the paint-by-numbers script from Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer. Hardwicke can get good performances from her cast as witnessed by Thirteen and even Twilight, but seems more intent on the action pieces than the characters.

Rodriguez is clearly a talented, appealing actress and it’s good to see her stretch beyond Jane the Virgin but was ill-served here.

The film is out from Sony Home Entertainment in a handful of formats. The standard DVD was reviewed and looks and sounds fine, although I’ve come to miss the sharper definition of the superior formats.

The DVD contains the usual assortment of special features including Audio Commentary from Hardwicke, Producer Jamie Marshall, and Associate Producer Shayda Frost. Then we get into the more perfunctory pieces including Gina: The Strength of a Woman (4:03), The Bigger the Bang (7:31), Making of Miss Bala (7:05), Wardrobe Tests with Commentary by Director Catherine Hardwicke (7:30), Action Rehearsal with Commentary by Director Catherine Hardwicke (4:59), Deleted & Extended Scenes (7:31).

USC Gets Collection of 180,000 Comics With First Avengers, Justice League, X-Men

University of South Carolina Gets Collection of 180,000 Comics With First Appearances of Avengers, Justice League, X-Men

And you thought you had a large collection to organize…

The collection, worth an estimated $2.5 million, includes first editions and first appearances from the Avengers, Justice League, X-Men, Iron Man, Spider-Man, and the Hulk as well as a number of comics rom the so-called Golden Age covering the 1930s through the 1950s.

The collection contains non-superhero comics from romances (Boy Meets Girl) to religious stories (He’s The Greatest), science fiction magazines and Mutt and Jeff books that date back to the early 20th century.

University library officials have gone through about 100 of the 500 long boxes donated by Gary Watson, a retired Columbus, Ohio, nurse who has never visited USC but whose life’s work now sits in a vault inside the school’s library.

Originally at www.free-times.com

So yeah, you’re not getting access to all of it right away. On the other hand, if you were considering whether or not to accept that admission to USC, this may be an important factor to consider.

Batton Lash: The Best of Us

I have a long running tradition of giving my readers a gift on my birthday. That gift was usually a piece about an amazing person. Yesterday was my birthday— this was to run then, though I wish it would have never run.

It did not post yesterday because I was killed on my birthday and that noise would have cheapened a very rich legacy. 

Batton Lash was among the best the comic book industry had to offer.

As an artist or writer, he could hold his own against anyone and outclassed most. His masterwork Supernatural Law is a rarity in any media, an original concept which maintained its originality from its early beginning as Wolff and Byrd, Counselors of the Macabre in 1979 until its transition to a web comic in the early 2000s.

In 2019 there are still few ideas as original as Batton’s series about the law practice of Alanna Wolff and Jeff Byrd, whose focus is defending monsters and other supernatural beings in court.

That was a brilliant idea, and almost 40 years since its creation it’s still just as excellent. Batton’s career featured many unique ideas I won’t go into here just know his body of work would be sufficient enough reason to say Batton Lash was among the best the comic book industry had to offer.

Impressive as his work is it is not the first reason, I think Batton Lash was a shining light in the industry.

That reason is the kind of man Batton Lash was, a brilliant kind and genuine soul.  That’s rare and hard to believe nowadays even rarer to a man who believes less and less about the milk of human kindness.

Batton passed away last January it’s now the last days of April; regrettably, I didn’t notice until a few days ago when I tried to call his wife, Jackie Estrada before I could I had to make another call first.

Long story short: for well over a year a hacker has disrupted most of my organization with a vicious personal assault. Yeah, someone really hates me that much. As Prince said in his song “Let’s Go Crazy”, there’s something else… and the hacker isn’t even a close second of things I worry about. I’d often thought about people who unplug from the world with envy; therefore, I did what some may consider a nuclear option, wiping or replacing all computers cell phones tablets, and no social networking.

I left it up to a tech company to make sure vital files and contacts was purged, that meant I no longer have my contact info readily available; moreover, no one has my new information, not even my management.

A smart BRILLIANT move…for an idiot.

Batton helped me realize just what an idiot I was, and that’s not the first time. The first time was 2 decades ago during a ‘elevate the industry’ discussion at Pro Con.

The audience of creators, publishers, and vendors were debating ways to elevate the comic business to bring in more women readers. To some that meant less superpowered plotlines, women characters drawn and written without the mandatory T&A 15-year-old boys crave. Lastly the curtailing of needless violence.

I agreed with all that.

In fact, I stood and agreed with a short but elegant (so I thought) speech.

That way the entire audience would know what a forward-thinking man about town I was. “We need less superpowered plotlines, women characters drawn and written without the mandatory T&A 15-year-old boys crave and a curtailing of needless violence.”

When I sat down, Batton got up turned towards me (no doubt to co-sign my greatness) and said, something like “Michael, with all due respect your new line of books are filled with superpowered plotlines, women characters drawn and written with T&A 15-year-old boys crave and plenty of needless violence!”

Yeah. I’d forgotten about that tiny bit of truth.

I’d met Batton, but we were far from friends at the time and lightyears from “let me school you in front of everybody” terms. I was pissed and knew I’d stay pissed forever.

Took about 10 minutes for my fury to flutter away.

I caved because Batton came over after the panel with that copyrighted Lash grin, that smile was so sincere I could not stay mad, and I knew when he spoke to me “with all due respect” wasn’t just lip service. Batton defended his point of view without insult while respecting mine which he knew differed in my work at the time. In short, he was a throwback to a time when integrity was commonplace.

Years ago, I received a call from an African American website asking me to comment on a “racist” cartoon on a far-right website featuring our last President and his wife.

I’d take a bullet for the Obama’s faster than the Secret Service could yell “gun”, so I was ready to get my “OH NO THEY DID-ANT” on. After looking at the cartoon, my quote for the website was; “The cartoon was silly satire, not racist” because that’s what it was.

The website didn’t use my quote.

Batton co-created the cartoon. I’m Black and there was a better chance of me becoming Grand Wizard of the KKK than of Batton Lash being racist.

I’ve been in no hurry to reconnect with the world so instead of re-joining my network if I needed a contact, I’d call my manager when I called to get Jackie’s number my rep told me Batton was gone.

To show my appreciation for people who have shown me kindness I often gift them a painting. It’s the greatest show of love and respect I can give a person. I’ve lost all my immediate family learning the hard way to let people know you care as soon as possible. A few years ago, to celebrate Batton’s and Jackie’s anniversary I did a painting for them.

Fed-Ex delivered to the wrong address and took months to find it.  Once found it was sent back to me damaged. I’d just finished reworking it thus the call to Jackie to get the correct address.

Batton’s death and the amount of time passed before I was aware was an agonizing ordeal for me. So determined was my desire to avoid any life occurrences I purposely made it impossible to reach me.

Batton made me realize what a self-centered thing I did.

Batton Lash was significant, he mattered I should have known and paid my respect to his memory and condolences to Jackie long before this.

I really liked and admired Batton for sure as a creator but suffering from depression, my focus was his humanity.

In my opinion, Batton Lash was the best of us.

Jackie, I don’t have the words to convey how sorry I am for your loss. Please know I will honor Batton’s memory and value the friendship of you both for the rest of my life.

THE LAW IS A ASS Installment # 439: Bouncing Ideas Off Superman

In the immortal words of Dorothy Parker… Err, maybe we shouldn’t go there.

Sorry it’s been a while. September until May constitutes a while, cause it’s a bit longer than a little while. Between out of town comic book conventions, trips to Chicago, family vacations, trips to Chicago, holidays, even more trips to Chicago – including a lengthy one to help my daughter when, first, she pulled a rib muscle and couldn’t lift her two-year-old and another lengthy one when she gave birth of my grandson – and various and sundry other sundries that I can’t talk about quite yet; I just haven’t had much time to write a column.

But I’m back with a vengeance. The vengeance being what the fine and patient folks at ComicMix will demand if I go this long between columns again. So, as the Prufrock is in the puttin’ words together; “let us go then, you and I…”

…And then they throw their guns at him.

Seriously, how many times did we see that scene play out in the Adventures of Superman TV show with George Reeves? Superman confronts some two-bit thugs – the show’s budget didn’t allow them to spend more than twenty-five cents for extras – the thugs would shoot at Superman, and the bullets would bounce off him harmlessly. Then, after the bad guys emptied their guns at Superman without effect, they’d throw their guns at him believing guns thrown at maybe 50 mph will do Superman harm when projectiles moving at 1,067 feet per second had already bounced like their last rent check.

An oft-repeated scenario which prompted one Ron Hartley to tweet me with a question: under this fact pattern, would the criminals be guilty of a crime? Not some silly low-grade crime like illegally discharging a firearm or an excessive noise violation, are they guilty of a major crime?

To which I answer, it depends. No, not because lawyers are constitutionally incapable of answering a yes or no question “yes” or “no.” I answer it depends, because the answer actually does depend on a few variables.

First, let’s zero in on of what crime might the criminals be guilty? Not murder. Superman didn’t die. But by firing their guns the criminals did commit an act which, if successful, would have resulted in killing Superman. That’s attempted murder. Then there’s some type of assault. What type? As a bar-be-cue chef who’s fond of Shakespeare might say, “Ah, there’s the rub.”

I turn to the Model Penal Code, a document written by the American Law Institute in an effort to update and unify the penal laws throughout the country. Toward that end, the MPC contains model statutes which define crimes and penalties. Since it’s first publication in 1962, more than half the states have modified their criminal codes to incorporate language of the MPC in their penal codes. So the MPC is about as close to a universal criminal law of the land as we’re likely to get.

The MPC defines aggravated assault as causing, or attempting to cause bodily harm to another with a deadly weapon. Note that attempting to cause part, that means the criminal doesn’t have to cause actual injury, the criminal can merely attempt to cause injury with a deadly weapon. So if a criminal shoots at you and misses, you’re lucky. The criminal, not so much. The criminal attempted to cause physical injury with a deadly weapon, and so is guilty of aggravated assault, even though you’re peachier than a peach cobbler washed down with peach schnapps.

To get back to our question, if criminals shoot at Superman and the bullets bounce off him, the criminals still attempted to cause bodily injury or death. So they would be guilty of aggravated assault and attempted murder. Right?

To which I say, not so fast there, Speedy Gonzalez. Like a man who leapt into a brick wall, you’re jumping to contusions.

There’s one additional matter that must be considered. We must also answer the question did the criminals know the bullets would bounce off of Superman when they shot at him?

In the law, an attempt crime – such as the attempted murders or aggravated assaults we’ve been talking about – is what the law considers a specific intent crime. In order to be guilty of an attempt, the criminal must have specifically intended to commit the crime he or she was attempting. In our Superman question, to be guilty of either attempt crime, the criminals must have either intended to kill Superman or to cause him physical harm when they shot at him.

Now we know that killing Superman with bullets is impossible, they bounce off him like raindrops on roses. (Don’t complicate the matter with hypothetical Kryptonite or magic bullets, we’re not talking about the Kennedy assassination.) So killing Superman with bullets is impossible. The law recognizes the possibility of an impossibility defense to attempt crimes. If a criminal is attempting to commit a crime that is impossible, then the criminal could not have intended a specific result, because that result is impossible.

So there you are, if the criminals were attempting the impossible crime of shooting Superman, then they can’t be guilty of attempted murder or aggravated assault. Right?

Of course, not right. Not only can’t the law can’t answer a yes or no questions “yes” or “no,” it can’t even answer it with a definite maybe. It’s got to throw in a few depends along with a perhaps or two to muddy up the maybe.

Let’s look at a classic example law schools use to explain this conundrum. A man – the criminal – shoots another man – the victim. But what if the victim was dead at the time the criminal shot him? Obviously, it’s impossible to kill a man who’s already dead. So the criminal can’t be guilty of murder. But can the criminal be guilty of attempted murder, or does the impossibility defense come into play?

The answer to that question depends on what the criminal knew at the time he shot the dead man. If the criminal knew the man was dead, then the criminal knew killing the victim was impossible. The criminal couldn’t have specifically intended to kill the victim, so the impossibility defense would apply, because the impossibility negated the defendant’s specific intent.

But what if the defendant didn’t know the victim was already dead? What if the criminal believed the victim was alive when he shot and did intend to kill the victim? Then the impossibility defense doesn’t apply.

The law reasons it out like this, if the criminal attempts an impossible crime but doesn’t know it’s impossible, then the defendant would have been successful in the crime, had the facts been as the defendant believed them to be. So, because the defendant intended to cause a specific result, the defendant is still guilty of the attempt, even though the crime attempted turned out to be impossible. If our hypothetical would-be murdered cum corpse abuser didn’t know his intended victim was already dead, he would be guilty of attempted murder.

Or, to get back to the original question, if the crooks shot at Superman knowing the bullets would bounce off of him, they might be guilty of littering for spreading spent bullets all over the place, but they wouldn’t be guilty of attempted murder or aggravated assault. They knew murder and assault was impossible so didn’t specifically intend either. If, on the other hand, the mugs didn’t know the bullets would bounce off Superman and believed the bullets either kill or injure Superman, then they’re not only stupid, they would also be guilty of attempted murder and aggravated assault.
Is it any wonder that I retired from the law? After almost three decades in that morass of maybes and trying to make sense of laws that have more depends in them than a nursing home, my hair turned whiter than snow on the Night King’s butt.

UPDATE: Michael Davis victim of prank death hoax

UPDATE: Michael was hacked badly, with messages sent out to family and friends. He’s alive and well.

We are incredibly sad to report that Michael Davis, longtime columnist for ComicMix, committed suicide one day before his birthday.

We can list all his accomplishments in the comics field and go through his history and impact in the field, from his mentoring of numerous up and comers in the industry to his co-founding of Milestone Media and Motown Animation & Filmworks AND The Guardian Line AND The Black Panel at San Diego Comic-Con AND… but the best way to hope to understand and know Michael is through his words and his works.

There will be more to say later about him, but right now we’re too shocked to be coherent. Please, if you or someone you care about are considering self-harm or suicide, contact the Suicide Prevention Hotline.

We’re sorry we couldn’t have helped you more, Michael. Rest easy.


AVENGERS: ENDGAME Just Earned An Astonishing $1.2B At The Worldwide Box Office

AVENGERS: ENDGAME Earns $350MM Domestic Opening Weekend

However, as Dan Slott noted, “To be fair, the only reason Avengers: Endgame broke all those box office records is because Doctor Strange alone watched it 14,000,605 times.” At $25 a ticket, it must have been IMAX in New York City.

Avengers: Endgame opened to $350M at the domestic box office, shattering the record previously established by Avengers: Infinity War (which opened to $257.6M last year) and a number of other opening-weekend records in the process. In other words: not only did the Russo Brothers and Marvel Studios top themselves, they did so by almost $100M.

Originally at birthmoviesdeath.com

Netflix’s Lost in Space finds a DVD Home in June

LOS ANGELES — Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment presents LOST IN SPACE, The Complete First Season, arriving on Blu-ray™ and DVD June 4.

Set thirty years in the future, this epic reimagining of the original family space adventure ­finds the Robinsons torn off course en route to what they hoped would be a fresh start on a distant space colony. Against all odds, but with endless hope and extensive training, the family bands together to survive on a dangerous alien planet.

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