Reformed Villains

Comments

• bulgarex Posts: 2,310 Arc User

  September 2015 edited September 2015

  If you mean, a named program specifically geared toward rehabilitating super criminals, then no. What has been mentioned in the lore essentially follows the precedents from the mundane prison system: prisoners sent to Stronghold are often required to undergo mandatory therapy. There are also psychologists who more or less specialize in treating the exotic conditions often afflicting superhumans. The Champions book Everyman describes one such specialist, Dr. Raymond Wright, known as "The Supervillains' Psychologist."
  
  While the success rate from such treatment is probably as low as in real life, it hasn't been wholly futile. For example, the alien villain Herculan, written up in Champions Villains Vol. 3, was paroled (under electronic monitoring) in 2007 and made a sincere attempt to reform, using his superhuman strength to get some high-paying jobs. So far as has been revealed he's stayed on the straight-and-narrow.

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• sistersilicon Posts: 1,687 Arc User

  September 2015

  Didn't Herculan keep getting nicked for robbery because he came from some post-scarcity, lower-case-c communist society that had no concept of our property laws?

  Choose your enemies carefully, because they will define you / Make them interesting, because in some ways they will mind you
  They're not there in the beginning, but when your story ends / Gonna last with you longer than your friends

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• bulgarex Posts: 2,310 Arc User

  September 2015

  Well... no. Not explicitly for previous incarnations of the Champions Universe, and definitely not for the current official one. Herculan crash-landed on a, to him, primitive backwater planet, went looking for help to fix his vessel, only to return to find the "barbarians" demolishing it. Confrontation escalated, and the public proclaimed him a "villain." If that was how they wanted it, he'd show them what villainy really meant!
  
  Herculan's culture is driven by pride, honor, and getting what they believe is their due; which didn't always rub well with Earth's cultures and laws. But Herculan himself was also driven by guilt over events from his past. He isn't really a criminal at heart, which is why Stronghold's therapists were able to help him.

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• bulgarex Posts: 2,310 Arc User

  September 2015 edited September 2015

  Conversation on this topic with moxiedanger elsewhere brought up some details which could be relevant to people looking up this thread, so I think I should transcribe some of that here.
  
  As examples, two current members of the famous superhero team, the Justice Squadron -- Flashover and Superstar -- were both convicted criminals, but were basically just troubled young people who hadn't caused serious harm. Both were recruited into the Squadron and served admirably for years, and are today not only generally accepted by the public, but have US government security clearance and federal police powers like other Squadron members.
  
  Flashover was the daughter of the first Flashover, a criminal who was killed fighting the Justice Squadron. Flashover II felt it was her duty to avenge her father, and fought the Squadron a few times, but her heart wasn't in it. After the leader of the Squadron heard her story he persuaded her to turn herself in, but arranged for provisional Squadron membership for her as part of an extensive community service plea-bargain.
  
  Superstar was a juvenile delinquent when his mutant energy powers emerged. He went on a robbery spree, was caught and served three years in Stronghold. While there he met Rowan, founder of Ravenswood Academy, who persuaded him to enroll in that young-super-school upon his parole. Those experiences turned his life around, and after a brief solo heroic career he was recruited by the Justice Squadron.

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