# Dirt poor superheroes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 29, 2014, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirt-poor-superheroes/691927 "2014-06-29T12:29:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirt-poor-superheroes/691927/41 "2014-07-02T19:19:19Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > Daredevil’s Law Firm where Foggy works for free and they never get paid. Sure they get paid. We just don’t get to see those cases, because they’re boring, any more than we see Clark Kent covering Metropolis City Council meeting except when the Atomic Skull attacks said meeting. Heroes with jobs but bad pay: Captain America, Steve Rogers, is officially in the Army but apparently not pulling Captain’s salary, although in several issues his “Captain” title is real. In several issues, he usually takes shifts watching the Avengers mansion as a part-time job. He’s also left the army on several occasions to be a comic book artist or school teacher. [/quote] Most of the Avengers get paid (though I assume Stark doesn’t bother, as it’s his money, and the likes of Thor and Hercules decline because they don’t give a fuck.) Back in the 80s, they got paid a grand a week plus room and board; I’m sure it’s more now. Cap, being a mainstay of the team, doesn’t NEED a regular job; sometimes he just wants one. > [@](#): > > The entire Legion of Super Heroes Paid a salary by Brande, with the probable exception of the pre-crisis Superboy (what was he going to do with 30th century money?) and possible exceptions of Brainiac Five and Princess Projectra (had far more money than Brande was paying anyway). ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirt-poor-superheroes/691927/42 "2014-07-02T23:15:11Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Most of the Avengers get paid (though I assume Stark doesn’t bother, as it’s his money, and the likes of Thor and Hercules decline because they don’t give a fuck.) I dunno about Hercules but Thor is rolling in it. He re-built Asgard in Montana or somewhere a while back and when the owner of the empty land he used showed up, he sent the guy into a vault full of gold with a wheelbarrow and basically said “take what you want and get out.” ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2014, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirt-poor-superheroes/691927/43 "2014-07-03T01:29:34Z")
> [@Sr\_Siete](#): > > Back in the early 90’s, one of the go-to writer for DC comics was Meisner-Loebs, who just loved his superheroes failing to pay their bills. He had the Flash as a 20-something living with his mother, doing random tasks for hire and Wonder Woman going broke and taking a job at a fast food joint. [Not even kidding.](http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lr9vntnyq61qbujox.jpg) OK, I finally took a look at the picture and… what the _hell_??!! It looks like a spaghetti taco, with a side of spaghetti, the taco meat also on the side, and coffee to drink. I’m pretty sure that meal has never been served, in any restaurant, ever. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2014, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirt-poor-superheroes/691927/44 "2014-07-03T01:51:40Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > I’m pretty sure that meal has never been served, in any restaurant, ever. :dubious: Ah, but have you ever been in a Themiscyran restaurant?! ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2014, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirt-poor-superheroes/691927/45 "2014-07-03T02:38:41Z")
Not dirt poor, but I’m pretty sure that Clark Kent was traditionally portrayed as living a middle-class life on a reporter’s wages. At one point, when Clark became a TV anchorman, his apartment seemed to get nicer. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirt-poor-superheroes/691927/46 "2014-07-04T04:24:55Z")
The Black Canary ran a flower shop. Starman III had an antique store. Hourman was the head of a pharmaceuticals company. The Martian Manhunter’s secret identity was a plainsclothes detective, and had a small apartment. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirt-poor-superheroes/691927/47 "2014-07-04T07:59:55Z")
[Empowered](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empowered) is a part time superheroine, she had to augment her meager pay by taking a job appearing in malls with a group of superhero lookalikes, pretending to be herself. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirt-poor-superheroes/691927/48 "2014-07-04T08:20:27Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Who actually ended up being a Durlan, and Reep Daggle’s (Chameleon Boy)father, didn’t he? Yes. A Durlan permanently stuck in human form. Post-Zero Hour, it was implied at one point that he was a Martian (possibly J’onn), but I can’t remember if it went anywhere with that. The pre-Zero Hour continuity has been mostly restored, though there’s a few confusing new angles to it. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2014, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirt-poor-superheroes/691927/49 "2014-07-05T16:16:40Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Not dirt poor, but I’m pretty sure that Clark Kent was traditionally portrayed as living a middle-class life on a reporter’s wages. At one point, when Clark became a TV anchorman, his apartment seemed to get nicer. DC has been hilarious in portraying how reporters live. He lives in a penthouse apartment during the animated series, and Lois is in a luxury hi-rise. > [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > [Empowered](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empowered) is a part time superheroine, she had to augment her meager pay by taking a job appearing in malls with a group of superhero lookalikes, pretending to be herself. That’s clever! ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2014, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirt-poor-superheroes/691927/50 "2014-07-05T16:43:32Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > OK, I finally took a look at the picture and… what the _hell_??!! It looks like a spaghetti taco, with a side of spaghetti, the taco meat also on the side, and coffee to drink. > > I’m pretty sure that meal has never been served, in any restaurant, ever. :dubious: Until you mentioned it, I hadn’t noticed the steam coming up from the cup, which I’d assumed was some sort of cola. But on reflection, given what else is on the tray, I wouldn’t rule out the possibility that it is, in fact, a steaming cup of pipin’ hot Coca-Cola. > [@jayjay](#): > > Ah, but have you ever been in a Themiscyran restaurant?! Maybe that’s the joke - Diana, being an immigrant to these shores, doesn’t really know what Mexican cuisine looks like, and this was her best guess. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2014, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirt-poor-superheroes/691927/51 "2014-07-05T17:18:42Z")
It’s not taco meat on the side; it’s beans. Which are a perfectly normal and common side dish for a taco, as are the chips… but the other side really ought to be rice. ---
**Author:** ![holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e95f7d/32.png) [@holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/holmes)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2014, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirt-poor-superheroes/691927/52 "2014-07-05T22:12:23Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It’s not taco meat on the side; it’s beans. Which are a perfectly normal and common side dish for a taco, as are the chips… but the other side really ought to be rice. It’s a spaghetti taco. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2014, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirt-poor-superheroes/691927/53 "2014-07-05T22:23:28Z")
When I lived in Laredo TX, I saw more than one person eat a tortilla filled with left-over Fideo. Ate more than one or two myself. [http://talesfromthescratchingpost.blogspot.com/2011/01/fideofood-for-friday-12111.html](http://talesfromthescratchingpost.blogspot.com/2011/01/fideofood-for-friday-12111.html) ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2014, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirt-poor-superheroes/691927/54 "2014-07-05T23:35:50Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > OK, I finally took a look at the picture and… what the _hell_??!! It looks like a spaghetti taco, with a side of spaghetti, the taco meat also on the side, and coffee to drink. > [@Miller](#): > > Until you mentioned it, I hadn’t noticed the steam coming up from the cup, which I’d assumed was some sort of cola. But on reflection, given what else is on the tray, I wouldn’t rule out the possibility that it is, in fact, a steaming cup of pipin’ hot Coca-Cola. There are two creamers on the tray next to it. TWO LITTLE CONTAINERS OF COFFEE CREAMER, YA PERVERTS It’s totally coffee. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2014, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirt-poor-superheroes/691927/55 "2014-07-06T01:15:19Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > Mmm Mmmm, rubber band filled tacos, with extra rubber bands on the side, my favorite. > [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > I am rather curious what the artist’s intention was there. > [@Sr\_Siete](#): > > Well, Brian Bolland, the cover artist, is British… his exposure to tacos may have been limited when he got the description for the art. My guess - he was told to draw “onion rings”. The battered variety are not a big thing over here, so B.B. interpreted it as sliced raw onion. The stuff inside the taco is probably lettuce. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2014, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirt-poor-superheroes/691927/56 "2014-07-06T11:40:57Z")
Shang Chi made really decent coin (and got a luxury apartment) working for Sir Denis Nayland of MI6, British Military Intelligence. Today he draws a salary from the Avengers. He was never really broke. He started out as an heir to Fu Manchu and at one point got money working for Luke Cage and Moon Knight. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirt-poor-superheroes/691927.md?page=2)