The Wertham Spectrum is a range of psychological and ideological classifications used to identify the behavioral patterns and motivations of costumed adventurers. The spectrum was created by psychiatrist Fredric Wertham. The spectrum is used by the FBI to catalog masked vigilantes.
Known Classifications[]
- Objectivist/Messianic - (Rare)[1]
- Overman/Passive-Aggressive – Doctor Manhattan[2]
- Paramilitary/Nihilist – (Increasingly common)[1]
- Objectivist/Sociopath – Rorschach[2]
- Savior/Narcissist – Ozymandias[2]
- Thrillseeker/Nostalgia – Nite Owl II[2]
- Unclassifiable/Incalculable – Hooded Justice[1][2]
- Super-Soldier/Nihilist – Comedian[2]
- Thrillseeker/Romantic – Nite Owl[1]
- Hero Enthusiast-Obsessive/Solipsist – Lube Man[3]
Trivia[]
- Fredric Wertham was a real life psychologist and prominent anti-comic activist who accused the comic book industry of corrupting children’s minds. According to supplementary material of the HBO series on Peteypedia, Wertham created the Wertham Spectrum for cataloging the mental states of costumed adventurers.
- The existence of the Wertham Spectrum implies that in a setting where comic book superheroes never caught on because there were real superheroes, Fredric Wertham’s focus shifted from the psychology and effects of fictional superheroes to real ones.