[size="8"][i]After years of conflict, supervillains are calling it quits. But we might need them now more than ever.[/i][/size]
By Benjamin Yin | Nov 25, 2018, 12:00 GMT


Controversy erupted online this month when California voters approved Proposition 5, which authorizes private companies to sponsor and arm supervillains. Under the rules of Prop 5, even if said supervillains go on to break the law, the companies backing them cannot be held responsible. The proposition, which passed by a narrow 51% to 49% margin, sparked fierce debate on both sides of the aisle.

Americans who disagreed with the vote have gone online to make their outrage heard. Many argue that this is tantamount to state-sponsored terrorism. Yet, lobbyists  have been pushing this for years.

When asked about the proposition on Friday, GlydeTech CEO Jon Craver played peacemaker. “I understand the concern,” said Craver, who publically campaigned for the proposition’s approval. “But understand: with supervillains going away, a bill like this is going to do wonders for the economy.”

While most haven’t bought his message, there’s evidence to support his claim.

Let’s break it down.


[b]The supervillainy rate has been falling for years[/b]

Last month, the city of Boston celebrated a full year without any supervillain attacks. Most chalked this up to the work of [i]R.I.O.T.Squad[/i], a local superhero collective. Since their debut four years ago, Boston has gone from one of the most dangerous cities in America to one of the safest.

They're not alone. Worldwide, reports of supervillain attacks have become scarce. Experts say that the superpowered crime rate has plummeted—and we can expect it to drop further in the future.

“It’s remarkable,” says Kelly O’Hare, a researcher at the Department of Enhanced Peoples. “To compare crime rates from the '80s with now? It’s another world.” O’Hare credits the decline to higher funding for superheroes, the introduction of stricter superhero training, and comprehensive mental healthcare initiatives. “We’re attacking the root causes of supervillainy,” she says. “We’ve got results. It works.”

Obviously, many see the fall of supervillainy as a good thing. But it's not so cut-and-dried.


[b]Our economy depends on supervillains[/b]

The prevalence of superheroes stems from the Restoration Accords, the 1949 UN agreement that provides funding for superheroes to combat supervillains, and be paid by their home countries. Currently, the US provides more funding than any other UN Member Nation—largely because the US registers the most superheroes yearly.

In other words: with no supervillains to defeat, that’s billions of dollars’ worth of superheroes sitting around, doing nothing.

Some nations have already made cutbacks—Japan, for instance, has instituted a citizen-voted “Usefulness Survey,” allowing only the ten most popular heroes to work at any given time. And while freeing up funding sounds great, it’s bad news for the heroes left without jobs.

Heroes around the globe are going unemployed for days, even weeks on end. No villains to fight means no income. Tension is high, but most have let the issue simmer.

Mexico City’s Guerilla-Man, however, has never been known to simmer. On Twitter last August, Guerilla-Man openly asked supervillains to attack Mexico, so that he might be paid for arresting them. He also blamed American heroes for driving supervillains out of society. And while his PR team quickly issued an apology, some heroes have quietly agreed.

A London-based hero (who requested anonymity) described a growing sense of resentment among heroes, as they scramble to scoop up what few villains are left. Last month in Paris, heroes Paralysse and Flèche came to blows while chasing a villain, leveling a four-story building.

Which brings to mind the other population affected by the disappearance of villains: construction workers. Reconstruction from superhero/villain battles provides for construction jobs across the country. No battles means a loss of work for thousands.

In the recent midterms, Republicans ran on a platform promising subcontractors easier access to work on rebuilding projects. Both politicians and their base are betting on supervillains sticking around. They’re not prepared to lose such a major part of our economy.


America—the world—has caught itself in a bind. Supervillains are terrorists, taking lives and causing destruction wherever they please. They need to be stopped.

But if we do rid the world of them, we need to be prepared for the consequences. Are we ready to absorb that temporary blow, and get to work restructuring our society for a lasting peace? Or will the spike in unemployment scare us off? 

At first, the answer seems obvious. But to economists—and, evidently, the average citizen—things aren’t so simple.