The influence of the legal profession on popular culture cannot be denied. From John Grisham to David E. Kelley, countless authors, directors, producers, and animators have built entire fictional worlds around the practice of law – which, in turn, have inspired generations of would-be lawyers to commit the to profession. In the wake of Oz Comic Con (one of Australia’s largest pop culture conventions), it seems only fitting that we take a moment to honour a few of the fictional lawyers who have been immortalised in ink.
1. Harvey Dent/Two-Face
Before an attempt on his life morphed him into the symmetrically scarred, coin-flipping, Batman-opposing supervillain Two-Face, Harvey Dent served as Gotham City’s District Attorney. As one of the finest criminal prosecutors to grace the Dark Knight’s home city, Harvey Dent was considered by many to be a more effective instrument in the war on crime than Batman himself. Harvey Dent’s descent into criminal insanity was made all the more bitter by the fact that he was such a stalwart champion for justice – and, to quote Batman, “he [didn’t] need a mask to do it.”
Having featured in countless comic books and animated series, and having been depicted by three different actors on the silver screen, Harvey Dent’s status as a renowned comic book lawyer is beyond reproach.
2. Nathan Summers/Cable
This time-travelling, cybernetically enhanced mutant super soldier and sometime ally of the X-Men is adept at many things…and unbeknownst to many readers, passing the Bar is one of them. Having teleported to our era from one thousand years in the future, Cable found time in his busy anti-heroic schedule to obtain a degree from Harvard Law School. Regardless of his motivations, this serves as a pretty gratifying discovery for lawyers the world over: if a telepathic commando from the 30th century sees the merit in qualifying as a 21st century lawyer, we must have made the right career choice.
3. Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk
To some, Jennifer Walters is known primarily as the Incredible Hulk’s cousin, able to channel a milder degree of his strength and durability while still retaining her composure and intellect. However, it can be argued that Jennifer Walters makes a real difference not on the roster of the Avengers, but in the courtroom.
As a graduate of UCLA School of Law and a member of the national scholarly merit society the Order of the Coif, Jennifer Walters runs a successful legal practice, having served as legal counsel to numerous superheroes over the years. She has even appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court on a number of occasions – an honour any non-fictional lawyer would be happy to claim.
4. Matt Murdock/Daredevil
When Matt Murdock first heard the expression “justice is blind”, he clearly chose to interpret the words literally. A stick-wielding vigilante dedicated to toppling organised crime in his neighbourhood of Hell’s Kitchen, Matt Murdock has proven himself to be a competent crime fighter despite his terminal blindness.
However, the self-styled “Man without Fear” possesses talents which span beyond the world of costumed heroism: a graduate of Columbia Law School, Matt Murdock serves as managing partner of Nelson and Murdock Attorneys at Law. The firm retains the somewhat unrealistic honour of only defending innocent clients – however, on the rare occasions on which he cannot serve justice in the courtroom, you can be certain he will serve it on the street.