DC Universe
In
DC Comics'
DC Universe the
Justice Society of America chose to disband in 1951 rather than appear in front of the
House Un-American Activities Committee, which demanded that they unmask themselves. This was first shown in a back-up story in
Adventure Comics (vol. 1) #466 ("The Defeat of the Justice Society!"; December 1979) by writer
Paul Levitz and subsequently further explored in the
America vs. The Justice Society 4 issue limited series (JanuaryApril 1985) by writers
Roy and
Dann Thomas.
There is also a piece of legislation called the "Keene Act" (an apparent reference to
Watchmen, see below) in the DC Universe. First mentioned in
Suicide Squad (vol. 1) #1 (May 1987) in a story written by
John Ostrander, the "Act" is referred to as a piece of legislation from 1961 which gives prisons greater leeway in imprisoning superhumans than ordinary prisoners.
It was more fully explored in
Secret Origins (vol. 3) #14 (May 1987), again written by Ostrander, where it is revealed that the Act was passed in 1961 and it reaffirmed the right (that had been cast into doubt by HUAC in 1951) of superheroes to operate with
secret identities. That story also reveals that the later "Ingersoll Amendment" (a reference to lawyer and comics writer
Bob Ingersoll) to the Keene Act, which delineates governmental authority over superhuman activity in times of crisis, was passed into law in 1972.
