As comic book readers, most of us have a tendency to want to collect things. Whether it's a true trophy or just a memento to remind us of something cool that happened, it's human nature to keep certain things around. Superheroes are no different. There are several heroes and teams that have dedicated rooms to commemorate their successful victories when battling the supervillains.
The supervillains almost make it easy. If they don't have actual superpowers, they most likely have some crazy or high tech weapons and gadgets. Upon their defeat (or even escape), items are discarded or appropriated. Villains can't be allowed to keep possession of dangerous items regardless if it is actually their private property. It seems committing a super-villainous act takes away some of their legal rights.
These items are much too dangerous to sit in the police department evidence room and some most likely can't be easily destroyed, so it falls to the trustworthy heroes to take possession of them. The common place for these items is a room dedicated to storing and displaying the prizes from a battle.
Is this really a good idea? How safe is it for these items to sit out on display and how safely locked up are they really?
== TEASER ==
You would think that a superhero team's headquarters is the safest place to keep trophies from villains. Sometimes their bases are even kept in hidden locations. They're rarely opened to the public so there shouldn't be a problem, right? Wrong.
We've often seen even secret headquarters infiltrated by crafty villains. Batman keeps several trophies in the Batcave and the Justice League has a trophy room as well. Because Batman is the World's Greatest Detective, that implies he's a pretty smart dude. He would make sure only the best security system is being used. Any base that he is involved in should be impenetrable to outsiders.
Yet, how many times have people casually wandered into the Batcave? This is Batman's ultimate private space. Villains have strolled in and could have access to any of his toys or trophies. The Hall Of Justice even has public tours. Sure, tourists aren't given full access but would it really be that difficult for a cunning villain to enter a restricted area?
The current X-Force team decided to have a secret base since the other X-Men don't know of their existence. Cavern-X is their place to gather as well as keep any spoils they feel looks really cool on display. Things got bad the last time the X-Men discovered there was a secret X-team of killers so you would think Wolverine, Angel, Psylocke and the others would go to great lengths to keep their activities and base of operations a secret. Yet, Magneto easily uncovered their secret, strolled in and made himself at home. Well, he is Magneto so that says something, right? Magneto is the same person that has been defeated by superpowered teenagers time and time again. There are other smarter villains out there that could easily discover the location of the X-Cave.
Going back to public headquarters like the Justice League or Teen Titans use, who maintains the facilities? I have never seen any member sweeping up the floors or dusting the trophy cases. They must have some sort of janitorial team. How heavily are they screened before getting hired? Even if they have the highest clearance and are scrutinized by Batman, they could easily be influenced or used by villains. What happens when a villain kidnaps their loved ones and forces them to get them access?
The heroes usually win their battles at the end of the day but happens if the team doesn't survive? What if they get transported to another world like in Secret Wars or Heroes Reborn. The heroes base would be left unattended and eventually someone would be able to crack their security system.
The trophy rooms we've seen do have some pretty cool stuff. If anyone has a secure place, it might be Superman with his Fortress of Solitude. But even that place isn't completely secure. If the heroes are looking to keep dangerous items away from villains, it makes sense for them to take possession. If they're just taking them to display in a boasting manner, their motives should be reassessed. Keeping so many dangerous items in one place is asking for trouble and eventually, it's going to result in the loss of innocent lives.
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