Marshal Lawwas the vanguard of a waveof anti-heroesthat cropped up in the 90s. Not as well-known as Venom, Juggernaut, or many other villains gone good, Marshal Law nonetheless held a strong cult audience fascinated by a wasteland world destroyed by superheroes. Long-time, die-hardfanatics ofMarshal Lawfirmly believe that if developed and delivered perfectly, the long-dormant and long-suffering intellectual property would prove profitable.
We’ll dispel the myths and take a look at a few rumors regarding everybody’s favorite anti-superhero vigilante.
A Moron in a Hurry?
On the cusp of 1987, Kevin O’Neill and Pat Mills devisedMarshal Law, envisioned as a pastiche, blood-soaked examination of the superhero trope. Characterized by bold but meticulously detailed panel work, the comic version ofMarshal Lawintroduced sci-fi fans to the futuristic, broken world of San Francisco, known as San Futuro, and its similarly broken characters. Many misconstrue and misappropriateMarshal Lawas being a spin-off or in some way directly related to Judge Dredd, and perhaps that’s intentional.
Marshal Lawwas meant to mimic and act as asatire of Judge Dreddspecifically. As the titular Marshal is the singular active government-sanctioned superhero hunter in a ruined city, the subtext became clear to aficionados. Marshal Law was revealed through its concept: he defends what’s left of his city from wannabe-crime fighters, crusaders, and ‘capes.‘Marshal Lawdescribed superheroes who were more interested in indulging obsessions and reveling in depravity rather than standing for truth, justice, and everything else you see in your typical superhero fare. But this proved to its long-term detriment.
Marshal was published by Marvel, then by various independent comic imprints, and then by DC. The rights should rest with DC currently, but as fans have noted, despite positively ancientproperties likeBlue BeetleandPeacemakerhaving their day – there is noMarshal Law. Original co-creator Kevin O’Neill passed in November 2022, leaving rights to Pat Mills.
This tie-up is summarized best by the ‘moron in a hurry’ argument in British Law. Say a soda is introduced called ‘Shmoka-shmola’ with an equivalent cursive font and crimson-colored can. That would be so similar to a certain litigious, trademarked company that a ‘moron in a hurry’ at a gas station wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. Were the can to be green, that would be a different story. But it’s too close for comfort – as seems to be the case with Marshal Law vis-a-vis Judge Dredd.
The similarity in both concepts and styles of the franchises (as well as occasional storylines) would be too confusing to a moron in a hurry, and the properties, presumably, could be mistaken. Yet, that’s only one supposition, and we’ll explore just how close the ol’ Marshal has come before.
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Blips On the Horizon?
Occasional vested interest in aMarshal Lawfilm or series crops up and the property has been optioned, although one producer, Don Murphy, theorized that there was little chance it would ever be made. The works related toMarshal Laware brutal and unyielding, and the tone is subversive and heavy on political subtext. Given the wave of superhero and pastiche anti-hero sci-fi fare available in the genre (such asThe Boys,Suicide Squad, andPeacemaker), one would think aMarshal Lawfilm or even an independent series would be a guaranteed hit.
One noteworthy Hollywood intellectual property agency pitchedMarshal Lawto Warner Brothers just beforeWatchmen(2010) came out. Before this, the rumor is that whatended up being Stallone’sDemolition Man(1995) had initially been penned and originated as aMarshal Lawscript. While this would make sense given the subsequent release ofJudge Dredd(1996), it would also make sense that the studio chose to change the name of the protagonist and the film itself at the last minute to avoid perceived confusion among moviegoers and sci-fi fanatics. All of this ancient Hollywood gossip must be taken with a grain of salt, of course, and there is no guarantee of a Marshal Law film on the horizon, intriguing as the concept may have once proven to be.
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Day Late, Dollar Short
Enthusiasts over the decades have praisedMarshal Lawfor its anti-hero edge, and the franchise was a breath of fresh air to the stale comic genre of the 90s. Even if conceived and produced in a similar manner to Frank Miller’sSin City(2005) with a budget of approximately $40 million, the intellectual property could prove prosperous.
The simple fact isaMarshal Lawfilmwould be ironically late to the party. As one of the very first series that seemed to forecast such works asThe Boys,Watchmen,Peacemaker, and other nearly satire-based pastiche superhero juxtapositions, Law could be perceived by viewers unaware of Marshal’s backstory as a rip-off of the aforementioned works.
