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Judge Decides X-Men Aren't Human
An anonymous reader points to this Wall Street Journal article, writing "According to the U.S. Court of International Trade, the X-Men (along with other figures from the Marvel universe) aren't human. The presiding judge subjected the figures to "comprehensive examinations" which included "the need to remove the clothes of the figure." Ironically, the X-Men, whose struggle for human acceptance has been a key theme in the series, were more easily classified as non-human than Kraven and Mole Man.
Can't we all just get along?
There are 01 types of people in this world. Those that understand binary, and me.
Soooo... am I demented for wanting to bed Rebecca Romijn-Stamos?
Trolling is a art,
The judge is right! The X-men are not dolls. Boys don't play with dolls. They're action figures! Dolls are wussy, action figures are manly! And don't you forget that.
From the article: "The judge found him to be "stout and thick," with "exaggerated troll-like features" and very pale skin -- fitting for someone who lives underground." Ok, all you guys sitting there in your parents basement, are you more mole than human?
Also from the article: "In her chambers at the U.S. Court of International Trade, in New York, the judge examined Prof. X and the rest of his band of X-Men, all of them little plastic figures " 'Nuff said.
Pigs might fly, but don't make breast landing Weird News
Fans Howl in Protest as Judge
... . A decision that the X-Men figures indeed do have 'nonhuman' characteristics further proves our characters have special, out-of-this world powers."
... powers on the side of good or evil." The judge observed how the character Storm, with her flowing white hair and dark skin, "can summon storms at will," while Pyro has a "mutant ability to control and shape flames."
Decides X-Men Aren't Human
Marvel Fought to Have Characters Ruled
Nonhuman to Win Lower Tariff on Toys
By NEIL KING JR.
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Judge Judith Barzilay huddled late last year with a telepathic professor and a cast of mutants to ponder an age-old question: What does it mean to be human?
In her chambers at the U.S. Court of International Trade, in New York, the judge examined Prof. X and the rest of his band of X-Men, all of them little plastic figures at the heart of a six-year tariff battle between their owner, Marvel Enterprises Inc., and the U.S. Customs Service.
Her ruling thundered through the world of Marvel Comics fans. The famed X-Men, those fighters of prejudice sworn to protect a world that hates and fears them, are not human, she decreed Jan. 3. Nor are many of the villains who do battle with Spiderman and the Fantastic Four. They're all "nonhuman creatures," concluded Judge Barzilay.
Marvel subsidiary Toy Biz Inc. pushed Judge Barzilay to declare its heroes nonhuman so it could win a lower duty rate on action figures imported from China in the mid-1990s. At the time, tariffs put higher duties on dolls than toys. According to the U.S. tariff code, human figures are dolls, while figures representing animals or "creatures," such as monsters and robots, are deemed toys.
To Brian Wilkinson, editor of the online site X-Fan (x-mencomics.com/xfan/1), Marvel's argument is appalling. The X-Men -- mere creatures? "This is almost unthinkable," he says. "Marvel's super heroes are supposed to be as human as you or I. They live in New York. They have families and go to work. And now they're no longer human?"
Chuck Austen, current author of Marvel's "Uncanny X-Men" comic-book series, is also incredulous. He has worked hard for a year, he says, to emphasize the X-Men's humanity, to show "that they're just another strand in the evolutionary chain."
Marvel issued this statement: "Don't fret, Marvel fans, our heroes are living, breathing human beings -- but humans who have extraordinary abilities
The X-Men series broke new ground when it began in 1963 by confronting racism and intolerance head-on. The good-hearted mutants rallied around their mentor, the wheelchair-bound Prof. Charles Xavier, to protect mankind, even as humans shunned and despised them.
In 1996, Toy Biz sued Customs in the Court of International Trade, which arbitrates foreign-trade disputes between U.S. companies and the government. Toy Biz said its pantheon of action figures should be classified as toys instead of dolls. Customs insisted the figures are dolls, and thus subject to 12% import duties, instead of the 6.8% rate for toys. Duties have since been eliminated from both categories.
Thus began the great debate over the figures' true being. Barbie is a doll. Pooh Bear's a toy. That much is easy.
But what about Wolverine, the muscular X-Man with the metal claws that jut out from his fists? Wolverine has known many forms in his more than 40 years as a Marvel character. In some comics, he resembles a futuristic robot. In the movie "X-Men," he's a scruffy Canadian who drives a camper until falling under the protection of the telepathic Prof. Xavier, dean of an academy for gifted mutants in suburban New York.
But is he human?
To weigh that question, Judge Barzilay sat down with a sheaf of opposing legal briefs and more than 60 action figures, including Wolverine, Storm, Rogue and Bonebreaker.
Toy Biz, in its filings, pulled no punches. The figures "stand as potent witnesses for their status as nonhuman creatures," the company argued. How could they be humans, Toy Biz said, if they possessed "tentacles, claws, wings or robotic limbs?"
Toy Biz had good cause to pursue this line. Having its action figures declared toys would mean a hefty reimbursement of past duties, though the company declines to give specifics on how much was at stake.
The U.S. government showed more feeling. Each figure had a "distinctive individual personality," the federal legal team argued. Some were Russians, Japanese, black, white, women, even handicapped. Wolverine, the government insisted, was simply "a man with prosthetic hands." Justice Department lawyers who handled the case didn't return calls seeking comment.
Judge Barzilay, through a spokesman, said that she would let her 32-page decision speak for itself. But she described in her ruling how she subjected many of the figures to "comprehensive examinations." At times, that included "the need to remove the clothes of the figure."
The X-Men, oddly, gave her the least trouble. They are mutants, she declared, who "use their extraordinary and unnatural
Thus the X-Men are "something other than human." Case closed.
Tougher for the judge were figures from the Fantastic Four and Spiderman series. Judge Barzilay wrestled at length with Kraven, a famed hunter who once vanquished Spiderman, thanks in part to the strength gained from drinking secret jungle elixirs.
The judge found that Kraven exhibited "highly exaggerated muscle tone in arms and legs." He wore a "lion's mane-like vest." Both features helped relegate him, in the judge's mind, to the netherworld of robots, monsters and devils.
Judge Barzilay conceded that the closest call was the Mole Man, who once blinded the Fantastic Four with searing beams of light. The judge found him to be "stout and thick," with "exaggerated troll-like features" and very pale skin -- fitting for someone who lives underground. Given all that, Judge Barzilay concluded, the Mole Man was more mole than man.
Veteran comics fan Christian Cooper, who once worked as a Marvel editor, thinks Judge Barzilay got carried away. If Kraven isn't human, what about the twisted villains in Dick Tracy? Or worse yet, Superman himself?
"Here's a guy who changes his clothes in a phone booth and flies through the air," says Mr. Cooper. "Does that mean he's now an animal?"
Write to Neil King Jr. at neil.king@wsj.com
Pretty sensationalist headline for the Journal. For those who didn't read the article, it's about whether the X-Men figurines are toys or dolls. Obviously the status of fictional characters as "human" or not is completely absurd, and not at all what the case was about.
X-Men fans should stop whining and go play with their dolls.
Karma: Good (despite my invention of the Karma: sig)
I guess it's just a matter of time until the Sentinels arrive. Better start filling out that application to the Hellfire Club right about now...
~jeff
Negative, I am a meat popsicle.
"Prefiero morir de pie que vivir siempre arrodillado!"
Brotherhood of Mutants
when as we all know the proper, grandiose, toungue-in-cheek name was
Brotherhood of EVIL Mutants
I mean, of course they're not human. The question is, are they eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeevil?
If Jesus wants me it knows where to find me.
A humanoid in yellow spandex was spotted in Washington, DC the other day, madly yelling "I am not an X-man! I am a HUMAN BEING!!!!"
This sig no verb.
<comic geek pedant mode>
It's Spider-Man, not Spiderman
</cgpm>
And Superman was never human - he was always Kryptonian!
a world in progress...
Before the comic book geeks get worked up about "They may not be Homo Sapiens, but they're human dammit", it's just a stupid tax matter. There used to be different import taxes on "dolls" and "toys". The guv'mint said the Marvel figures were dolls because they're human figures and wanted them taxed at twice the rate of toys. Marvel disagreed and won.
The taxes have since been repealed. Nothing to see here.
-B
Will someone please think of the children?
:)
I'm pretty sure that both Rachel and Nathan (Cable) are old enough to be able to look after themselves now, don't you think?
-MT.
"The judge found him to be "stout and thick," with "exaggerated troll-like features" and very pale skin -- fitting for someone who lives underground. Given all that, Judge Barzilay concluded, the Mole Man was more mole than man."
Sorry, Ron, back to the farm with you.
-=Best Viewed Using [INLINE]=-
No, sir, I didn't see you playing with your dolls again, sir!
~D:
The X-Men, oddly, gave her the least trouble. They are mutants, she declared, who "use their extraordinary and unnatural ... powers on the side of good or evil."
Yes, but aren't all humans mutants? (I guess it all depends on which theory you believe: evolution or creation.) Humans use their powers for good and evil.
But she described in her ruling how she subjected many of the figures to "comprehensive examinations." At times, that included "the need to remove the clothes of the figure."
Doesn't this sentance make you think the whole article is fake?
Bugs are just features that have been fixed.
OK kids. A 32-page ruling on whether or not the X-Men are human or non-human, due to a 6.8% vs 12% import duty differential charged seven years ago, a duty that isn't even in effect anymore.
How many hundreds of thousands (millions?) of dollars got spent on lawyers - both from Marvel's shareholders for their lawyers and our tax dollars being spent on the Government's lawyers - in the case leading up to this ruling - a ruling that took seven years after the initial dispute hit the courts?
In the world of the X-Men, something would have broken by now, but the real world has no superheroes to save us.
Isn't it time we called our Congressmen/women and demanded, on pain of our voting for third parties, that they put the tax law genie back in the bottle?
Anyone? Bueller?
So..If by some act of god, radiation, whatever, I gain some odd ability similiar to that of a super hero, I am denyed all the privilages of a normal citizen?
Sure, you can laugh and say it will never happen, but IT COULD.
X-Men's Wolverine: Man or beast?
Well, it's obvious the WSJ reporter didn't do the examination. Beast has blue fur (whenever the Marvel writers aren't messing with his mutation), and there's no way in the world could he be confused with Wolverine.
Good judgment comes from experience.
Experience comes from bad judgment.
The way I remember it, all X-men, and all mutants, for that matter belong to the species Homo Superior, and if I remember my Carl von Linné correctly (and I think I do) that means theyre not human. Theyre part of the same family (as Cro-Magnon and other prehistoric species) but not being the same species as humans, they arent humans. Why did it take her so long, unless she enjoyed playing, dressing and undressing the dolls. I know I would... Id undress Rogue and then.... Never you mind.
... at least Michael Jackson will have to pay taxes now.
"The judge found that Kraven exhibited "highly exaggerated muscle tone in arms and legs.""
.. if exaggerated musles make craven nonhuman than what about Barbie's extremely small waist size?
This begs the question
Here's a guy who changes his clothes in a phone booth and flies through the air," says Mr. Cooper. "Does that mean he's now an animal?"
No,it means HE AIN'T REAL!
Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to walk my Incredible Hulk.
Where does the school board find them and why do they keep sending them to ME?
Summary: Marvel wanted the items to be declared non-human to shoehorn them into an arbitrary category that incurred less import tax.
This is an affront to the X-Men theme of intolerance in only the most semantical, BS way imaginable.
My
Limekiller
(there are as many variants of x-men comics as there are linux distros)
:)
Ain't that the truth!
-MT.
I hate to be picky, but I have to point out this line in the WSJ article, even if it just proves what a geek I am.
"Wolverine has known many forms in his more than 40 years as a Marvel character."
Wolverine's first appearance was in 1974, in The Incredible Hulk #180. That would give him about 28 years in the Marvel universe.
According to the plot of Superman, he shares no DNA with us, he just happens to be roughly the same shape because evolution on Kryton followed a Parallel path.
On the other hand, Spider-man IS human, in fact according to the plot of the comic, he was a perfectly normal person up to the point in the story that he was bitten. Peter Parker dolls definitely should have been subject to the tax, according to the (admittedly very dumb) rules.
A pizza of radius z and thickness a has a volume of pi z z a
The article is actually on the front page of the deadtree version of the WSJ, a place I really thought I'd never see a little plastic Wolvie.
It's either an incredibly slow news day over there, or the wacky assistant-front page editor is filling in while the boss takes a three-day weekend or something. Wow.
"Understand you're having a little Jimmy Page trouble."
In related news, attorney Johnathon F. Spunkelmuncher is spearheading a class-action lawsuit against the United States of A. The plaintifs, who will heretofore be known as "Cabbage Patch Kids" contend that they were sold into slavery by toy stores nationwide. Millions of little girls abused the plaintifs in the 1980's and now they want to be compensated...Tape at 11:00.
"A terrorist is someone who has a bomb but doesn't have an air force." -William Blum
From the article:
Veteran comics fan Christian Cooper, who once worked as a Marvel editor, thinks Judge Barzilay got carried away. If Kraven isn't human, what about the twisted villains in Dick Tracy? Or worse yet, Superman himself? "Here's a guy who changes his clothes in a phone booth and flies through the air," says Mr. Cooper. "Does that mean he's now an animal?"
No, he's Kryptonian you nitwit. What a kneejerk reaction!
THIS IS OVER IMPORT DUTIES CLASSIFICATION FOR CRIPES SAKE! Who gives a groundhog's fanny if they call Superman a "cup of water with a straw hanging off the end?"
My
Limekiller
Ha! Just remember Judith! I've got the Daily Bugle on my side, and if there's any funny business going on, these pictures that Parker took are going in the afternoon edition!!
Angrily Signed with Desk Pounding Action,
J. Jonah Jameson
This is one of those articles that really raises the question "As an American, am I morally required to kill the people and politicians who make such brain numbingly stupid things possible?"
I don't even want to know how much money was spent by the government on this case. While, yes, from a business perspective, it is an issue of some small import, this is the type of thing that should make any self-respecting judge literally throw the gavel at the plaintiffs. And I mean literally throw the gavel at them. Instead she sits around and plays house with Wolverine and Mole Man. Which is disturbing in and of it self.
Yes, I'm sure this will be modded down, but damnit, it needed to be said.
Mod Points: Helping you keep your opinion to yourself.
Disney made a marvelous little cartoon of the story in 1954.
I've read many times, in many different places, that the superheroes and villians of the Marvel Universe are *not* human at all because of their slight forward step in the evolutionary process. We are 'homo sapiens' they (collectively) are 'homo superior.'
Superman (and any other alien--and yes, I know full well Superman is a DC creation, so I'm not mixing companies here) would fall into the family of 'extraterrestrialis.'
So with that, it's clear that they are not human, and their plasic representations, although possessing humanoid forms, are not humans (as are you and me.)
Customs insisted the figures are dolls, and thus subject to 12% import duties, instead of the 6.8% rate for toys. Duties have since been eliminated from both categories.
Captain Pointless has saved us yet again!
End communication!
about the Marilyn Manson action figure I just picked up?
The irony was in demonstrating that you can push and lobby a federal judge into affirming any damn thing you like...
...but not until a couple of years after it ceases to matter.
Thus the system is corrupt, but so slow that it's all fair in the end. Didn't Frank Herbert foresee this with the Bureau of Sabotage?
horribly, horribly wrong. why in hells name is a judge spending taxpayer's money on deciding this!!! truth is stranger than fiction.
"You never want a serious crisis to go to waste." - Rahm Emanuel
I went to see if I could find Judge's opinion online. Indeed, it is! In PDF form, I bring you Toy Biz, Inc. v. United States.
For those of you decrying our taxpayer dollars going to waste on such a suit, it appears some at least is being used to make such decisions more accessible, a fact which I hope we can all agree upon.
Personally, I think it was worth every penny to expose a fantastic example of corporate hypocracy. I read maybe a dozen X-Men comics (and didn't see the movie) and the main philosophical point I saw that the series revolved around (besides raw action) was that the X-Men should in fact be considered human despite their 'mutant' powers.
Given that, what could be more hypocritical than turning around and claiming that, while for storyline purposes the X-Men should be considered human, but for tax purposes, they are not.
But maybe I should read the Judge's opinion first. It's long, so I'm posting the link here before I read. Based on the first paragraph, it looks like the matter never went to a full trial and was decided in a pre-trial 'summary judgement'.
--LP
The people you're correcting with regards to comicbook spelling minutiae are the same ones who don't know the difference between "loose" and "lose" :)
I'd suggest you don't use Slashdot as your only news source, or you will suffer permanent brain damage.
my Jesus Christ action figure with posable arms and legs? Want to make a ruling on that one? What would Jesus tax? (WWJT)
Experts agree: everything is fine.
They are what they always were, merchandise.
Of course 40 years ago I had a slightly different view whilst putting my paper route profits into Stan Lee's pocket.
I see even classic Slashdot is now pretty much unusable on dial up anymore.
Whatever, just so that the tariff on Jar-Jar is too high for him ever to enter the country.
I see even classic Slashdot is now pretty much unusable on dial up anymore.
Years back people were already telling Africans apart from each other from their genes. They're actually rather genetically disparate - from the Biaka pygmies to Zulus.
If scientists say they can trace origins of the human race by genetic means, then they should be able to tell the races apart.
Real races I mean. Not silly arbitrary amalgations like the USA's "Pacific Islander + Asian" or UK's "Asian".
I daresay I have more in common with Asian women than _you_ think.
Why should talking about human races cause conflict? To me it's just like talking about people with different characteristics. Or different breeds of dogs for that matter - and we know though a dog is a dog is a dog, different breeds have different characteristics. The differences are less marked for humans (we're mostly "mongrels" that separated out ages ago), but they're there.
Just avoid the politicians and bigots, and we should be fine talking about racial differences.
but Soylent Green is! ;)
"To confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit." -Stephen Hawking
The point is, that it has not "ceased to matter". Read the article, and you will see that the toy company is seeking refund of paid import duty... no doubt with interest. And no doubt with legal costs.
The American public is ultimately going to lose out. If you bought one of these X-Men figures during the period in question, you paid the higher duty on it. Now,
Toy Biz is going to get back some of that duty... from the government; ergo, from the taxpayers.
You get screwed twice.
According to the article, import duties were once different for "dolls" and "toys". If the X-Men toys were considered humans, they'd be classified as dolls and subject to a tax rate. This is why the issue came to court, to rule on how they should be classified.
-- Will quantum computers run imaginary-time operating systems?
Plus the stories are only pretend.
I did wonder if it was the best use of the court's time, till I read down and saw the real reason - the usual one of course. It's not the first anomaly of this kind though. In the UK, chocolate biscuits used to be taxed higher than uncoated ones (or ones with imitation chocolate coating). In France, beer of 7% alcohol is taxed higher than wine of 10% strength to discourage alcoholism.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
NPR had a story about this on Morning Edition today (01/21). Here is a link directly to the real audio stream of the story.
"You call it a new way of thinking; I call it regression to ignorance!" -- Operation Ivy
The article does seem at first blush inflammatory. For example:
Her ruling thundered through the world of Marvel Comics fans. The famed X-Men, those fighters of prejudice sworn to protect a world that hates and fears them, are not human, she decreed Jan. 3. Nor are many of the villains who do battle with Spiderman and the Fantastic Four. They're all "nonhuman creatures," concluded Judge Barzilay.
What is important to remember here is that this is just the real world, and doesn't count.
One of the lessons of history is that nothing is often a good thing to do and always a clever thing to say.
--Will Durant