3 Bonkers Details From Marvel's Legal Battle Over Rights To Spider-Man, Iron Man, and More

3. Rights aside, Marvel characters have been on trial IRL

Beyond rights-related battles, the characters within the MCU have been subjects of IRL trials themselves, namely, the X-Men and their humanity – or lack thereof. Back in 2003, Marvel Comics’ subsidiary, Toy Biz, Inc, duked it out with the United States Court of International Trade regarding whether or not the X-Men were technically defined as “mutants” and if the Fantastic Four, and some Spider-Man villains could be legally categorized as “non-human creatures,” according to Polygon.

Although the company said these characters did, in fact, “manifest human characteristics at varying degrees,” they weren’t necessarily human. In making this argument, the company cited Wolverine’s likeness to, well, a Wolverine, noting his “long, sharplooking claws grafted onto his hands that come out from under his skin along with wolf-like hair and ears.”

Now, why, exactly were the X-Men’s humanity debated in a court of law? Like most bizarre technicality-heavy lawsuits, the answer ties back to good ‘ol tariff laws. “As dolls, X-Men figures were tied to tariffs of up to 12%. But as “nonhuman” toys, this figure was almost halved, to 6.8%,” Polygon’s Cian Maher wrote of the case. The importance of this distinction lies in the official definition of a doll, which according to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, must “represent a human being,” the outlet reported. Ultimately, Toy Biz Inc. came out on top, the judge ruling that the characters in question were not, in fact humans.

“the action figure playthings at issue here are not properly classifiable as ‘dolls’ under the HTSUS by virtue of various non-human characteristics they exhibit.” Judge Judith Barzilay, who presided over the humanity-testing suit wrote in her official ruling.

Considering they just nabbed a pretty darn good bargain, Marvel was evidently pleased with this decision, issuing an, erm, seemingly contradictory, statement in honor of winning their case. “Our heroes are living, breathing human beings — but humans who have extraordinary abilities,” it read. “A decision that the X-Men figures indeed do have ‘non-human’ characteristics further proves our characters have special, out-of-this world powers.”

Whatever helps you sleep at night – or more importantly, saves you roughly 6% in tariffs.

Top Image: Marvel

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