In The News
Spider-Man Encourages Reckless Behavior Among Teenagers
NEW YORK, NY -- Last night, a young woman was attacked by a gang of masked thugs and dragged into an alley. The victim, Melinda Brown, managed to escape with superficial injuries, but not, she says, because of the girl, the masked vigilante known as "Stinger", who interfered on her behalf.
"She was just a child," Melinda recalled. "She couldn't have been more than fifteen. Maybe sixteen if her bra wasn't stuffed."
According to Melinda, while the situation was harrowing, the thugs never pulled any weapons until Stinger injected herself. "The guys were menacing, but it wasn't until the girl showed up that I suddenly had a knife to my throat. I was lucky to get away with my life."
Melinda owes her life due to the interference of the masked menace, Spider-Man. "If he hadn't showed up and distracted everyone, both me and the girl would be probably be dead." The criminals were found suspended by webbing over Houston Street, near where the attack took place.
But for Melina, that wasn't the worst part. "I overheard them talking after it was over. He was saying something about 'responsibility', but you'd think the responsible thing would be for him to tell that girl to go home, rest, then get her butt to school in the morning. Instead, he seemed to be encouraging her."
Since the repeal of the Underage Hero Act, this is just one of a marked increase in reported teenage superhuman activity. With concern mounting, is there the possibility of a revised Underage Hero Act making its way across Capitol Hill? Melinda certainly hopes so. "It wasn't just her life she was risking, but mine as well."
But that might be an uphill battle. "After it was revealed that it was the Red Skull who was behind the original UHA, and the manner in which the law was abused, it became political suicide to back it," said Ronald Frenz, a Beltway insider. "There would have to be some drastic changes for it to get some movement on Capitol Hill. However, since some time has passed, we're starting to see a groundswell of support among parents. A number of parent groups have been lobbying the Commission on Superhuman Activities hard recently for a revised version of the UHA. They're definitely taking a hard look at it."
But what about a group like the Young Avengers? "The Avengers are responsible for them now. If those kids screw up, its on Captain America's head. But other kids and independents, who's responsible for them? No one is, and something needs to be done about that."
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NEW YORK, NY -- Last night, a young woman was attacked by a gang of masked thugs and dragged into an alley. The victim, Melinda Brown, managed to escape with superficial injuries, but not, she says, because of the girl, the masked vigilante known as "Stinger", who interfered on her behalf.
"She was just a child," Melinda recalled. "She couldn't have been more than fifteen. Maybe sixteen if her bra wasn't stuffed."
According to Melinda, while the situation was harrowing, the thugs never pulled any weapons until Stinger injected herself. "The guys were menacing, but it wasn't until the girl showed up that I suddenly had a knife to my throat. I was lucky to get away with my life."
Melinda owes her life due to the interference of the masked menace, Spider-Man. "If he hadn't showed up and distracted everyone, both me and the girl would be probably be dead." The criminals were found suspended by webbing over Houston Street, near where the attack took place.
But for Melina, that wasn't the worst part. "I overheard them talking after it was over. He was saying something about 'responsibility', but you'd think the responsible thing would be for him to tell that girl to go home, rest, then get her butt to school in the morning. Instead, he seemed to be encouraging her."
Since the repeal of the Underage Hero Act, this is just one of a marked increase in reported teenage superhuman activity. With concern mounting, is there the possibility of a revised Underage Hero Act making its way across Capitol Hill? Melinda certainly hopes so. "It wasn't just her life she was risking, but mine as well."
But that might be an uphill battle. "After it was revealed that it was the Red Skull who was behind the original UHA, and the manner in which the law was abused, it became political suicide to back it," said Ronald Frenz, a Beltway insider. "There would have to be some drastic changes for it to get some movement on Capitol Hill. However, since some time has passed, we're starting to see a groundswell of support among parents. A number of parent groups have been lobbying the Commission on Superhuman Activities hard recently for a revised version of the UHA. They're definitely taking a hard look at it."
But what about a group like the Young Avengers? "The Avengers are responsible for them now. If those kids screw up, its on Captain America's head. But other kids and independents, who's responsible for them? No one is, and something needs to be done about that."
Continued on page A3...