Fans Howl in Protest as Judge Decides X-Men Aren't Human

"Judge Barzilay, through a spokesman, said that she would let her 32-page decision speak for itself. But she described in her ruling how she subjected many of the figures to "comprehensive examinations." At times, that included "the need to remove the clothes of the figure."

more here:

http://online.wsj.com/article_email/0,,SB1043013622300562504,00.html

There is an Onion spoof waiting to happen here...
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this has got to be the "who cares" question of the week!! there mutants for goddness sake... by definition they have "mutated" into something beyond human. but really it's nuthing to get ya panties in a wad over.. it's a freaking tax/tariff ruling. i doubt magneto will mind!

This is the sort of stuff that reinforces the public ideal that comcis are for sweaty guys who live in there mom's basements. The X-Men are made up characters, nothing more.

First off:
The distinction between dolls and toys, presumably articulated by the US Customs Service, sounds stupid as hell. Dolls are toys, period, and I presume that the only reason Customs made the distinction was that it thought/hoped it would realize more money off the "human" dolls than off the "nonhuman" toys. This arbitrary distinction is purely monetary in nature, and certainly has no bearing on the character of comics-fans.

Second,
You know that if the tariff penalty went the OTHER way, Marvel's lawyers would be screaming about how unfair it was to characterize their beloved mutant heroes as "nonhuman."

Third,
It's true that it's all just a money matter to the parties involved, but I think there's some justification in fans being mildly piqued at the judge's decision (even if it accords with the self-serving views of the heroes' publisher). Obviously to fans who like the characters (or like to dislike them, as with the villains) it's idiotic to claim that the characters are "nonhuman." How much can one relate to the truly nonhuman? Even fantasy-animals like Winnie the Pooh and whatnot are clearly "human" in terms of their emotions and cognitive abilities, and are merely animal in appearance.

IMO the subset "nonhuman toys" should include only things that are clearly artifacts, like super-soaker guns or dollhouses or the like.

Not really. Some dolls are toys, probably even most dolls, but dolls are not by default toys. There are dolls that are most certainly not toys and which were never intended to be toys. (utter and needless pickiness, I know)

Aside from that, I very much agree with your post and think you're right on target.