On Mutants And Tax Laws

The NPR show Radiolab is one of (if not the) best radio program on the air today. If you haven't listened to it before, you definitely should. No other program out there, be it on radio, TV or the Internet, manages to mix science and whimsy as well as Radiolab does.

In their most recent podcast episode, the fine folks who run the show decided to take a detailed look at a recent court case involving Marvel comics. The lawsuit centered on whether Marvel's famous mutants known as the X-Men qualified as humans or not. No, this isn't some form of viral marketing for an upcoming X-Men story. This was a real court case with major implications for Marvel's mutant toy lines.

It all comes down to taxes, and how imported toys are taxed by the US Government. Just why would Marvel be arguing over the possible inhumanity of the X-Men? What does such a legal argument say about the story of the X-Men as a whole? What does it say about us as the readers? All of these questions are addressed in this episode of Radiolab.

If you're a fan of the X-Men, or even just comics in general, you should definitely give the show a listen. You can stream the episode here.