It probably would not be a great idea to start a super hero business unless you were rich like Bruce Wayne or Tony Stark. From a profit making point of view, there isn’t any money to be made from saving people’s lives, their businesses, and relationships. The only thing I can think of is if you charge a reward or take a percentage of the proceeds from whatever you recover but that starts getting more into bounty hunting. I suppose some bounty hunters look at their work as if they are super heroes and depending on who they are recapturing they may be right in some situations.
The question of what licensing can masked vigilantes or even those wearing tights and a cape can look to would be easy. You would need to first create something unique as your character, copyright and or trademark it. You would then have to apply for whatever permits that you need. If you are planning on doing super heroics in Los Angeles you need to get a city business license. I would think something similar to security guard. You would have to take whatever courses you need for proper arrest procedures, firearm training and it wouldn’t hurt to add CPR and first aid classes for taking care of the people that you rescue from a burning building.
If you are planning on selling T-shirts with your likeness you will need to get a resale license and you may need to also work on getting your image marketed correctly. Ah, you will probably need some sort of body armor too in case some nut jobs want to take a shot at you so they can say that they knocked off a super hero.
I honestly don’t think that you will need to worry about a super secret identity unless you really are making waves in the criminal world. It might be a good idea to not do that because you will have a hard time getting a gun permit, laser permit and jet plane authorized to fly at super sonic speeds just above street level at Fifth and Figueroa when you are chasing down purse snatchers.
It wouldn’t hurt to befriend the mayor, governor and other citizens and maybe you can get a multi-billionaire (maybe Steve Jobs) to fund your secret weapons.
The reward for such a job would be satisfaction and an ego boost.
The drawbacks are cost, time (you wouldn’t have a social life) and you will need tons of liability insurance. If you accidentally break a glass window of a business while fighting your arch nemesis, Litter Master, and some glass goes ahead and cuts a five year old kid in the forehead, you can expect at least one lawsuit.
You probably will be sued by Litter Master as well for assault and battery since I don’t think most places sanction being a vigilante (though I may be wrong about parts of Texas).
Make sure your medical insurance is up to date and expect it to be cancelled unless you are under your husband or wife’s group policy. I don’t think any sane insurance company will cover your injuries for too long if they see that you actively are looking for dangerous situations for a living.
Regardless of what you decide, I hope you make a decent evaluation if you want to become a super hero for money. It may be easier to take those night classes at community college that you were thinking about.
Sep 28 2009
Kim Isaac Greenblatt
If you want to start your own super hero business.
Tags: Business, super hero