The Wife-Beater (DC Comics)

The Wife-Beater's
only appearance
in Action Comics
(1938) #1

In Action Comics (1938) #1, Clark Kent overhears a report on the tip line involving a "wife-beating." Superman proceeds to give the guy "a lesson [he]'ll never forget."

Superman "stopping" a Wife-Beater

The violence that Superman commits in this first issue continues with a more "deserving" villain in the "Wife-Beater." Who doesn't want to see a wife-beater get... 

beaten?

Violence as a solution for violence is a crucial enduring element of the superhero genre. When does the vigilante's violence equate to illegal activity? Immoral activity? Insane activity?