In films based on characters published by DC Comics or Marvel Comics, no plot element recurs more often than a villain who tries to copy the hero’s powers—from technological trade secrets to alien DNA—thereby threatening mass destruction. But no other Hollywood genre warns that copying will lead to apocalypse. Copyright Vigilantes explains why. Against arguments that duopoly films seek to assuage public anxieties after September 11th, this book argues that they work even harder to assuage corporate anxieties about a changing marketplace.