Abstract

The first episode of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law raises questions concerning the moral responsibilities of superpowered individuals. It suggests that such individuals have a duty of beneficence towards others. But, to be a superhero requires that you perform acts that go beyond duty, i.e,, supererogatory acts. These two ideas, however, seem to be in tension: if you have a duty of beneficence than it is not clear that any of your actions can be supererogatory. A way between this apparent dilemma is to reconceptualize the actions of superheroes as making choices worthy of esteem that improve the character of the superhero.