The famous case of The People of The United States vs. Devastato set forth in motion the process by which costumed supers may legally take the stand under the guise of their superhero identity rather than their normal identity. During this case, the then President of the United States, Bill Clinton, testified that the man taking the stand was in fact the costumed vigilante known as Black Panther, who had previously saved him and his children during Devastato’s attack.

Having no other clear means of further prosecuting Devastato (aka Richard Hargreaves) without Black Panther’s testimony, the judge made an ad hoc ruling that a costumed super may testify in court under his or her assumed identity (i.e., their superhero name) if an appropriate member of the federal government also testifies that the entity taking the stand is, in fact, the entity in question and if in fact the entity could be considered a U.S. citizen.

In the wake of this trial, the National Para-Humans Agency was created.

printer-friendly version | login to post comments