Is Profiting Off of Being A Super Hero Ethical?

In my entry about Secret Identities (See here), I talked about how as a super hero you don’t tend to make a lot of money. But some heroes do manage to make a profit from their alter egos. And I have to wonder if that is morally ethical. I’m not trying to condemn anyone for trying to make a living but as I said in my Political Entry (see here) there is supposed to be something superior about the behavior of super heroes. Doesn’t monetary gain in some way negate or corrupt their true motivations behind their desire to do good?

 

Two characters that indirectly benefit from their careers as super heroes are Superman and Spider-Man. Coincidently both work in the field of journalism. Clark Kent is a reporter and Peter Parker is a photographer. Their careers do not solely depend on their heroic deeds but they do benefit from them. Clark writes exclusive stories about his escapades as Superman and Peter takes photos of himself in action as Spider-Man. They do cover other events and stories so they do not solely cash in on their identities.

A person who more closely benefits from his heroic deeds is Tony Stark, aka Iron Man. Much of Tony’s intellect is dedicated toward improving his Iron Man armor. However, he then will take some of those new designs and implementations and see how he can use them to benefit the rest of his company. Also, Tony uses the Iron Man identity as a bit of a corporate brand. So Tony Stark is getting some monetary gain from his exploits as Iron Man. But the monetary gains just seem like a benefit from being in the line of duty. Tony Stark put in the hard work to develop the technology so he certainly should benefit from its use.

To really find an unethical use of a super hero identity for profit we need to consider what constitutes a direct connection between profit and identity. Essentially I believe it would be an instance where one is actually paid to be a hero. By putting on a mask and tights, an individual ensures themselves a paycheck. Which makes me immediately think of the super team simply named Heroes for Hire.

 

For those unfamiliar with the comics, the Heroes for Hire originally consisted of Luke Cage, aka Power Man, and his best friend Danny Rand, aka Iron Fist. Luke Cage is an individual with bullet proof skin and Danny Rand is a master of martial arts who can focus his chi into a devastating strike known as the Iron Fist, hence his name. These two heroes work in low-income neighborhoods and defend people from criminals. For a price. They charge for their services as super heroes. Or I should say, Luke Cage charges for his services. Danny Rand is actually independently wealthy (yet another billionaire turned vigilante).

But even though Luke Cage charges for his services as a hero, can that still be considered unethical? Mr. Cage does perform the service for which he charges. If he is hired to remove drug dealers from a neighborhood then they are removed. And he does not charge exorbitant fees for this service. Usually whatever small amount is offered to him is enough of a retainer.  Can he still be condemned for profiting off of being a hero?

"Too much?"

For me the ethics of earning a profit only comes into play if the quest for monetary reward supersedes the noble motivations of the hero. As long as the hero places the saving of lives above the saving of profits, then they deserve a small compensation. Police and Firemen earn a paycheck and they perform the same duties we assign to super heroes.