The Science of Superheroes

The Flash's Lightning Speed

2010-05-30T09:22:00.000-07:00

The Flash, a.k.a. Wally West (amongst many others who took up the mantle) has superhuman speed, allowing him to move at great distances in very short periods of time. His powers also grant him other abilities, such as super agility (his eye-hand coordination is astounding), and super speed-sight (allowing him to see and register what he sees at incredible velocities). He can speed-read, use kinetic force to punch really hard, rob others of their kinetic force or lend his own out, heal at super speeds, and even vibrate his molecules at the proper frequency to pass through solid matter!

So what's the deal? Are any of these powers plausible in the real world? Scientifically speaking, is there any way we could improve our own dexterity, speed of thought, or velocity in physical space? The DC universe explains that The Flash's powers (amongst other "speedsters" in their universes) come from an energy force called the Speed Force. The Speed Force can be tapped by The Flash, and used for all of his purposes, thus, he can be a normal human at one point, operating at normal speeds, and when he wishes it, he can tap into this force without any repercussions on his body.

But that's the trick, isn't it? If you want to speed up your metabolism to heal quickly, you run the risk of aging quicker (see the article on Wolverine's healing ability). If you want to find a way to pass through walls, you need to find a stable way of vibrating your molecules at just the right frequency (see the article on Shadowcat's phasing ability). As for traveling at great speeds, we must resort to Einstein's good old formula:

E=mc²

{Nerd Alert!}

Check out the website for a brief explanation on the formula if you need a refresher.

In this website Bill Willis explains that matter and energy are pretty much different forms of the same thing. Mass and Energy can be interchanged, so to speak. E is "energy", and it equals the same thing as mass (m) times the constant (c) that represents speed of light, squared. This formula (rearranged) also helps us to understand that as we approach the speed of light, we require more and more energy to continue propelling an object at that speed. The problem lies in the limits of the universe. Simply put, there isn't enough energy in the universe to propel any single object that has mass as fast as light.

Light travels at 299,792,458 m/second, which is the absolute limit for our universe. Nothing can travel faster than light, for light is without mass.

So, why are we going through all of this? Well, technically speaking, in order to move an object (let alone a human) at speeds even a fraction of The Flash's, we would require a constant energy source equivalent to an atom bomb to propel it. Even if we could figure out a way to contain and control such energy, we've still only scratched the surface. How do we increase our dexterity, eye-hand coordination, and mental capacity to match the speeds we propel ourselves? The neurons in our brain, whether myelinated or unmyelinated, also have limits as to how fast their impulses (called action potentials) can be transmitted. With a lot of practice we can strengthen the pathways in our brains and force them to react faster. This is how one person can play a 16 beat per measure riff on a guitar flawlessly, while another person can barely strum in time with a standard 4/4 measure. But again, there are limits as to how fast the brain can work.

In our world we can't tap into a "Speed Force", because as far as we know, there isn't one. So for now, we are limited to our four dimensions (or 13 or whatever, depending on which quantum theorist you talk to) when it comes to speed and dexterity, and aside from drugs that manipulate the brain, we are pretty much limited to rocket fuel when it comes to speed.

Shadowcat's Phasing Ability

2008-08-03T13:39:00.000-07:00

NB: You'll have to forgive the atrocious grammar, as I couldn't sleep last night and wrote this at 2am in a half-sleeping state)

Shadowcat, one of the X-Men, has the ability to “phase” or walk through solid objects as though they weren’t even there. She can bring others along for the ride if they’re close enough, and for some reason phasing disrupts electrical systems. What a useful power when it comes to getting out of tight spots, but would physics in the real world allow for such an ability to exist?
Let us take a look through the layman’s eyes at some properties that may take precedence in this situation. To begin, we must look at objects or substances that allow other substances to pass through them. For instance, we should begin with a regular, run-of-the-mill coffee filter. To the naked eye, this paper is solid and whole, but like a sieve or strainer it contains tiny holes (or “pores”) in its surface. When water is poured through the filter, the molecules pass through the porous paper that would otherwise prevent larger objects from getting through. If we were to compare Shadowcat’s ability to a filter, we’d have to conclude that she can create small pores in her entire body that are large enough for any other molecule to pass through them. But this would never actually work. Solid objects are solid because their molecules are too densely packed together to move as a liquid. They would in essence be too large to pass through any size pore. Essentially, if she were the filter she would also need a lot of force to pass through another object, and like what happens to the water in a filter, she would be disrupting the molecules of the solid object in the process. Even if we took the approach that she was the water and the objects were the filter, she would be required to spread her molecules apart thinly enough to pass between the densely packed solid molecules of say, a brick wall, and then put them back together again in relatively the same order to become whole once more. It seems to me that the filter-water analogy is out of the question.
So what else passes through objects (solid ones only this time) without being disrupted? Well, the one thing that is least disrupted when hitting certain objects is light. When light hits a window or otherwise clear object (like water), it has the ability to pass through it... well, sort of. It is often refracted slightly and never escapes in the same form that it entered. What do I mean by this? Firstly, have you ever done that prism experiment in grade school where you shoot a beam of light into a triangular crystal, and it comes out looking like a rainbow? The prism has separated the wavelengths within the light ray into distinct colours. White light is light because it is made up of long wavelengths like violet to shorter wavelengths like red (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet). Immediately we see that Shadowcat’s ability differs from the properties of light in that it doesn’t always exit looking the same as it enters. Even when passing through water or a window, light is bent and distorted. Windows often block out heat and some of the invisible spectrums of light, such as Ultraviolet rays. If Shadowcat performed the same way light did, she would come out missing aspects of herself; never mind the fact that she wouldn’t be able to pass through anything that wasn’t transparent. Let us not forget that light is considered pure energy, without mass (or with infinite mass). According to the ever-famous Theory of Relativity, Albert Einstein stated that as an object approached the speed of light, its mass increased and the amount of energy required to move that object would increase. As it approaches infinity, the object becomes infinitely heavier and requires an infinite amount of energy to push. Yup, that is E=mc2 for you! So, for Shadowcat to surpass the properties of light and be able to phase through non-transparent solid objects, she would have to break the laws of physics and travel faster than the speed of light by increasing her mass beyond infinity. As far as we know, this is quite impossible. Besides, how does increasing your mass help you to pass through something that is solid and full of densely packed molecules?
So what is left? We’ve covered physical objects like coffee filters that appear solid, but are porous. We’ve covered non-physical things like light, and let’s not even try to jump to gas, because gas does not pass through solid objects; it merely finds any cracks in the structure and takes advantage of those to leak inside.
The only thing that remains is the hypothesized notion of parallel dimensions and universes. Although this is unproven, popular science fiction and inquisitive minds alike have considered the possibility that there are alternate Earths out there in some unseen space between space. It helps to explain ghosts and apparitions, as well as the concept of “choice” and infinite possibilities. Some say that with every decision made, another dimension is created. Therefore history branches off into new worlds with each choice made.
This of course, is all speculation, without any real theory to back it up. But if Shadowcat had the ability to travel between alternate dimensions, it may explain her phasing ability. To her, things would remain very solid, but she may (when activating her power) simply be transporting herself to an Earth where the particular barrier doesn’t exist. She would therefore be able to walk from one point to the next as though she were in an open field. She could then “solidify” (or return to our dimension) when she is clear of the obstacle. This doesn’t help to explain why she disrupts electronic equipment however, and the science behind her abilities holds no water in regards to the real world.
So there you have it. Unlike some of the more explainable super abilities discussed in this series, Shadowcat’s power seems completely unfeasible in the real world.

Nope, not gonna do it.

2007-06-02T18:15:00.001-07:00

Yeah, I never went to the Superhero exhibit. I was always too busy or something. Real professional Jared.

The Science Centre of Superheroes

2006-10-17T19:45:00.000-07:00

The Toronto Star contained a section today called I.D. and the main article had something to do with The Science of Superheroes in a way. The Article "Superheroes Decoded" by Jen Gerson gives report of the new exhibit at the Ontario Science Centre. Designed to scientifically explain the powers given to super heroes of the Marvel Universe, the exhibit goes into depth regarding exo-skeletons (like Iron-Man's), spider-silk (spider-man), and magnetism (Magneto) among other things. Visitors can even put their arms into an exo suit, allowing them to lift incredible weights.

I'm going to visit the OSC soon, and report back regarding the exhibit.

Superman Returns

2006-07-12T22:12:00.000-07:00

I was watching this show on Superman called "The Science of Superman", yeah they're popping up everywhere. They picked apart each and every power he possessed, and used science to discuss whether such powers were plausible. Naturally I was intrigued, so I sat down and watched the hour long dissection of Superman.
They talked about his heat vision, and the incredible power reserve he would need to have in order to create such a power laser-like beam. His super strength would put incredible strain on his muscles and bones, and his flight power is simply gravity defying. They even delved into the ridiculous powers Superman displayed in the movies, such as disappearing and reappearing instantly from one spot to the next (Superman 2 near the end in the Fortress of Solitude). All in all I'd say the show was pretty interesting; not as it debunked Superman's powers, but because they were able to teach me about the world and the scientific rules we adhere to.
I managed to get the night off, so I went to see Superman Returns with Kathryn. Good movie, with a more realistic feel to unrealistic powers. An example would be how Superman tries to save the plane from crashing (it's in the preview, so I'm not ruining anything). He first tries to stop the plane by holding the wing, but he f*cks up as it is torn apart. His next attempt is to hold the plane by the nose, where it would be structurally sound.
Anyway, the movie was pretty good. I was satisfied; especially because the actor who played Superman looked very similar to Christopher Reeves. Plus they added parts from the original movie (like Jor'el's face and voice, played by Marlon Brando) to align this new movie with the previous ones. Furthermore, the bartender in the movie was played by Jack Larson, the man who played Jimmy Olsen in the old 50's rendition of Superman.
What I would have liked to see was a more final triumph over Lex. Though Superman struggled greatly while trying to thwart Lex’s plans, in the end he did nothing that could prevent Luthor from doing the exact same thing in the next movie.
That’s it for now folks, and incase you haven’t noticed, I’ve sorta’ turned this analytical study site into a blog about Super Hero related stuff. This may not be permanent; I may once again feel the urge to dissect someone’s powers!

X-Men 3: The Last Stand

2006-05-28T03:50:00.000-07:00

This post is more of a rant about the problems with the third X-men movie, rather than a scientific breakdown of powers.

Warning!: Most of the information in the following post is a Spoiler to the movie. If you haven't seen it yet, I strongly urge you NOT to read further.

The movie began with the usual cast members, add Angel and Beast into the fold while losing Nightcrawler. It isn't explained in the movie why Nightcrawler isn't with them, however I heard the video game tackles the issue.

Pretty quickly the storyline takes an unexpected turn when Cyclops finds Jean Grey alive near the lake she supposedly died in the previous movie. Jean Grey (a.k.a. the Phoenix at this point) goes on to kill Cyclops. That's right... they killed off Cyclops! Now, I've always hated Cyclops and wasn't totally opposed to the idea, but throughout the entire movie I was waiting for his miraculous return. Then the plot thickens when Jean next kills Xavier. Yeah... that's just wrong. You can't kill Xavier! He's a F*cking legend! So now I'm waiting for an explanation that will bring back two characters. But by the end I finally got the hint that they weren't coming back. Especially when Wolverine finally kills Jean Grey.

Is any of this making sense? By the end of the movie three of the original X-men are dead, and hardly any bad guys die! Of course some of the bad guys become powerless (including Magneto and Mystique) after being shot with an anti-mutant serum. The writers were really messing around with everyone by the end. Here's the deal:

Cyclops: Dead

Xavier: Dead. Was an asshole in this movie. Should be more powerful.

Jean Grey: Dead. Phoenix was said to be an alternate personality she created in her head that posessed all her latent powers. Phoenix was really an alien inhabitant of Jean.

Magneto: Powerless (though the end teases that his powers may return)

Mystique: Powerless

Wolverine: Sometimes heals extremely fast, sometimes slow; depending on the plot.

Rogue: Powerless (by choice), and still never gained Ms. Marvel's powers.

Colossus: Somehow really strong without his armour, and only became metal at certain times. Had no Russian accent.

Shadowcat: Okay.

Iceman: Finally became a "man of ice" at the end of the third movie. Too young compared to original X-men team.

Angel: Too young compared to the other original X-men team.

Beast: Hardly a complaint. Good casting call. The only thing was his arms should've been longer.

Storm: Okay.

Juggernaught: Labeled as a mutant,and affected as such; though he really isn't.

Multiple Man: Bad guy in this movie, working for Magneto.

Pyro: Too strong compared to the comic version. No accent.

Nightcrawler: Absent.

Gambit: No where to be seen for such a popular character, though I can see why they left him out. Rogue has issues in this movie about not being able to touch her love interest (Iceman). If Gambit where in the movie, it would be a conflict with that story arch.

So there you have it. Though I thought it was quite amusing to watch, it certainly had room for improvement.

Venom's Camouflage

2006-02-11T10:22:00.000-08:00

Spider-man, while off fighting in the Secret Wars had torn his suit. Luckily, there was another one nearby. Strange! It looked awfully like his old one, except it was black and white. Soon, Peter Parker found that with a mere thought he could change the appearance of his costume into any matter of clothing. He also discovered an unlimited supply of webbing emanating from his suit.

Upon returning from the Secret Wars, Spider-man soon discovered that the suit was alive. Not only that, but it was trying to merge itself with Peter’s body. With the help of Reed Richards from the Fantastic Four, they found the “aliens” weakness (being sonics and fire) and forcively removed the suit. The suit later escaped to find another host. Seeing the hate for Peter Parker in Eddie Brock, the suit banded with the muscle bound photographer and became VENOM!

Venom shares the same attributes as Peter did when wearing the costume; however he can also blend into his background, rendering him invisible. He also negates Spider-man’s spider-sense, making him a deadly predator.

So Venom can blend into any background within seconds? Is that realistic? Let us find out.

It is common knowledge that chameleon’s have the ability to change the color of their skin. This is however, more of a hormonal controlled ability. The chameleon contains red and yellow pigments (called chromatophores) under a transparent skin layer. Below this layer is another layer that reflects blue and white light. Chameleons also have melanin (a brown pigment). There are internal chemical reactions involved that collaborate with external factors (such as heat), which help to distribute the pigments. Once certain pigments are distributed it emits a color, allowing the chameleon to somewhat blend into its background. This won’t make the animal invisible, so let’s move on.

Last month I was reading Scientific American Mind (Dec 2005 edition) and I came across an article regarding camouflage in fish that distorts visual perceptions. There was a photograph of a type of flounder (the Bothus ocellatus), that blends into some of the more complicated backgrounds in mere seconds. They wanted to test its abilities by placing it in vastly different surroundings. The flounder was placed in a tank with large black and white checkered squares. They found (and displayed photos in the magazine) that within seconds the flounder blended into the squares. It became sufficiently camouflaged in black and white squares. The flounder was then transferred into a tank lined with much smaller squares. Once again, the flounder’s pigments resembled its background in mere seconds. Finally, the flounder was placed in a tank of white background with black dots in uniform places. The dots were in specific locations on a grid. Low and behold, the flounder blended into the dotted background. It was white with a black dot in the place where the other should have been. The photos reveal that the fish is not transparent. The article suggests that the reaction change is too quick to be hormonal. They believe it is the result of a neural “reflex.¹” The fish’s eyes are mounted like turrets, allowing a wide and foreshortened scan of its surroundings. It – like the chameleon – contains melanin pigments (called melanophores) in its cells. The fish and the chameleon only have certain colors to choose from, but it wouldn’t be a large stretch to say that an animal could have more pigments to play with.

It is obvious that science currently has no jurisdiction over aliens. But if a simple flounder can change its color to resemble its background, is it too much of a stretch to say that beings of more complication could do the same? I think not. Therefore I deem Venom’s camouflaging capabilities entirely plausible (save for the fact that he is part alien in origin).

1. Scientific American Mind December 2005, page 17.

The Fantastic Four

2006-01-15T12:39:00.000-08:00

Mr. Fantastic, a.k.a. Dr. Reed Richards is considered one of the most intelligent human beings in the known Marvel Universe. The inventions he unveils to the world are nothing short of miraculous, and are often created on the fly while dealing with one criminal or another. Such inventions include alternate dimension gateways, the Fantastic Car, and unstable-molecule uniforms (though the movie explains that these suits were not his creation). If his raw intellect alone wasn’t a force to be reckoned with, Dr. Richards was also endowed with the power of elasticity through spatial cosmic rays. The original comic storyline indicates that he and three other passengers were on a mission in space when they were bombarded by cosmic rays, which fundamentally changed them into super beings with various powers. Deemed the Fantastic Four, they are dedicated to the sanctity of Earth. This seemingly weak superhero team often faces extremely powerful foes, including the malevolent Dr. Doom, and the evil races of aliens named the Skrulls. Let us indulge for a moment in the fantasy that there could be a man as smart as Reed Richards who also has the resources to bring his amazing gizmos to fruitation. The United States government sends him to space on a scientific mission due to his expertise in… well everything. Up to this point there is nothing obscene about the situation, however it is unlikely that the only other passengers would be his wife, brother-in-law, and good friend. Getting past that they are then hit with something called “cosmic rays” which seem to alter their genes somehow. This is where the story gets a little wonky.

Back in the day when the Fantastic Four first appeared, such concepts as “cosmic rays” were completely unknown to the general public. People didn’t know what things like radioactivity, or exposure to certain chemicals would do to a person. Even during World War II there were heinous experiments being performed on men, with the idea that they would be mutated into super beings of a sort. Therefore it was completely feasible that these unknown cosmic rays would randomly mutate a person, and allow him to perform such feats as combusting himself on fire. As I said, Mr. Fantastic was endowed with as special elasticity power, that allows him to stretch himself as though he was made of rubber. With science the way it is today, radioactivity and things like “cosmic rays” is better understood. Let us go through a quick science lesson regarding the properties of rays.

First let us look at light, the “original energy source.” Light is not seen by the naked eye, however we could not see without it. Eminating from the sun, light comes in the form of rays traveling at (you guessed it) the speed of light. Such light rays are broken down into groups, depending on the spectrum. We can see “white light,” which lies somewhere in the middle of the entire spectrum. Beyond this type of light lies the “infrared” and the “ultraviolet” lights. These cannot be seen by the naked eye and are emitted at shorter or larger “wavelengths” or ‘frequencies.” Think of light coming in pulses with specific intervals. If the pulse is significantly slower, then the frequency is lower. These are just a few types of rays of light, however there are also categories other than Ultraviolet, Infrared, or White Light. Such categories are named X-Rays, Microwaves, or even (The Hulk’s) Gamma rays. In certain doses, these rays (or waves) can cause cancer in humans. The next time you go to microwave your leftovers, take a look at the door. It is lined with a type of mesh designed to block microwaves from escaping the unit. Without this mesh the waves have the potential to cause mutations in your genes, thus bringing the possibility of cancerous cells. Don’t worry about your dinner, you won’t be exposed to microwaves by eating the leftovers. Anyway… the point I’m trying to get across, is that exposure to any form of ray, beam, or wave of light will (in the worst case) cause errors in some of your genes, creating cancerous tumours. To gain the ability to stretch himself to the limit, would mean that the cosmic rays caused certain errors in all of Reed’s DNA that allow him to do so. This means that if replicated properly, any human has the potential to gain such power, but you’d have to change every piece of DNA in their body at the same time. Impossible? To our current understanding of genetics and spectronics: YES. But who knows? At one point it was thought impossible to fly. Furthermore, each astronaut in that mission was changed in a different way, and their powers are so different. Why didn’t Sue Storm gain the ability to spontaneously combust? Why doesn’t Reed Richards look like a giant rock of a man? Such observations indicate that there is another element involved in their transformation. Perhaps these “cosmic rays” were the invention of a race of aliens with the intent to change these humans the way they did. These artificially designed rays would have needed to have different properties within, and each astronaut must have been exposed to a different part of the ray. OR perhaps the rays bring out a certain personal quality from within the person. Maybe Sue Storm at the time wished she “wasn’t there” at that moment, or Ben Grimm was wishing he was tougher so that he could survive the experience. So what was Reed thinking? “Man, I wish I was more flexible during sex.”

Well, that was my long winded explanation to my “rays cause cancer, not super powers”
theory. But then again, they are called the Fantastic Four, and the origin of their powers is nothing short of fantastic.

Aww ©rap!

2005-12-29T19:12:00.000-08:00

Well, as it turns out, I'm guilty of copyright infringement. Through my good friend Vic, I discovered that there is already a book entitled The Science Of Superheroes.

Vic bought me The Science Of Supervillains, because he thought that (through my blog) I already knew about, and had purchased The Science Of Superheroes. In fact, I had no idea the book already existed. The idea is exactly the same, where the author attempts to disect a hero's (or villain's) power to determine whether such an ability would be plausible in the real world. I have already begun reading the Supervillain book, and can't put it down (except to write this blog).

I am still going to continue with this section of my blog, because I believe that it is different than the novel in that we can discuss the ideas brought forth through commenting. In addition, I am not restricting myself to comic book heroes (as you may have noticed).

The Science of Jared!?!

2005-11-17T16:55:00.000-08:00

Okay, so the title was my clever way of integrating biblical stories into this blog. It's kinda' cheating in the sense that it's not really "superheroes" per say. Allow me to explain:

In this article I will attempt to scientifically explain how biblical characters such as Adam, Eve, or Jared, could live for hundreds of years. Keep in mind that most of the references in this article are from the Bible, so let's keep this in context.

Jared was the great great great grandson of Adam, through his son Seth. He was also the great grandfather of Noah. You see, Mahalalel was sixty-five years of age when he had Jared. At one hundred sixty-two years of age Jared had Enoch, as well as other children. Enoch had Methuselah, who in turn had Lamech. Lamech was the father of Noah. Jared lived to be 962 years old, making him the second oldest living man, next to his grandson Methuselah. Confused? Don't worry about it... All I'm trying to point out is that these figures of history are all related in some way.

Now, you may be thinking, “how can someone live to be nine hundred years?” To answer this query you must take a few things into account. Adam was created as the perfect man, and Eve from him. In order to reproduce as a species there had to be many inter-family marriages. It was of course very commonplace in those times, and perfectly acceptable. The reason there are laws against such marriages today is that human genes are full of mutations. The further we get from Adam (through generations) the more genetic anomalies form within our DNA. These laws came into affect quite long after Noah's time. Noah and his family were the only survivors of the great flood, and thus had to reproduce from within the family in order to thrive as a species. It is documented that one of the long term side effects from inter-breeding is a shorter life span due to various illnesses. Any of the following links will allow you to see evidence supporting this theory:

It seems to make sense that with less genetic mutations, one could reach a longer lifespan. So there you have it. Today's lesson: Don't sleep with your cousin.

On another note, I decided to do the math regarding Jared's lifespan. It occurred to me that he may have died during the great flood. As it turned out, even though Jared lived to be more than nine centuries old, he still passed on before the flood washed the world away. My calculations also told me {NERD ALERT!} that Noah’s family boarded the Ark when Noah was about one hundred seventy years of age, and that the flood lasted for less than two years.

Wolverine's Healing Factor

2005-11-02T22:26:00.000-08:00

First off, I’d like to say a few things about Logan (a.k.a. Wolverine). This Marvel superhero is a well thought out character, with great powers and a great look. He’s savage, he’s mysterious, and is rough around the edges; he’s a loose cannon. Maybe that’s why everyone likes him so much. I however, feel over saturated with Wolverine. He’s become so popular that he makes appearances in almost every Marvel video game, television show, or toy line up. It’s kind of driving me bonkers. What’s more, I was disappointed when they removed his adamantium, and somehow gave him bone claws. I just never got over that. Then they decided to de-age him, or something ridiculous like that. He’s like, a 20 year old now. And this last point is what seems to grind my gears: All this time I thought Wolverine was Canadian. He was found in a Weapon X facility in Canada, and joined the Canadian team Alpha-Flight for a while. For like, 20 years they never said anything about it. Now they’re saying he’s not Canadian. They said, “We never said he was Canadian!” WTF!?! Just give us Canucks something!!! I mean geez. What do we have… Alpha Flight; a group of heroes with powers that marginally rival the Morlocks. One guy (Puck) is a midget acrobat; another (Sasquatch) is a, well Sasquatch! Then there are these twins who share powers, and this girl who can change into any animal found in Canada. Ooooo, not Alpha-Flight. Please don’t send Alpha-Flight to stop us! Anyone but them… Okay, I’m off topic. Let’s get back to Wolverine (THE CANADIAN).

His mutant power; called his “healing factor,” allows him to rapidly counteract toxins, disease, and irritants. His body heals quickly from physical injury, and he is seldom afflicted by poisons. What a power to have! But what would have to happen on the cellular level for such healing abilities to occur?

Let us start with the physical injuries. Wolverine battles it out with Deadpool (whom by the way, also has a healing factor) in an abandoned factory. As they exchange blows, Deadpool initiates a cunning attack forcing Wolverine to expose his chest. Deadpool ceases the opportunity to lunge his dagger between Wolverine’s ribcage. After withdrawing the dagger Deadpool ducks away in the shadows, assuming his enemy is incapacitated. Now this is where the healing factor kicks in. Within minutes, the wound is nowhere to be seen. It’s as though Wolverine was never stabbed in the first place. For this to occur, all of the surrounding cells would have to multiply at an alarming rate. Any organs, skin, or tissue severed would go into a state of hyper-mitosis. There would need to be a trigger in the body telling the cells to quickly make up for any loss of structure. It’s not like his cells are normally in a state of hyper-mitosis, or he would age way too rapidly. Aging is generally a process that takes place after many generations of mitosis. Wolverine would look 50 when he’s 15 if his cells were always in such a state. So these cells divide at extreme speeds when needed. Cell bodies travel through the cytoplasm at incredible rates, and DNA is read and copied without error at similar speeds. After all is said and done, Wolverine shows no sign of scarring, meaning that he heals differently than normal humans do. Scarring is a result of tissue overlap as the wound heals. Wolverine must have an internal mechanism that coordinates all cell structures to lay identical to the original layout of his body.

Let us move on to his immune system. Wolverine walks into a room, and sees a glass of wine on the table. A letter beside the glass says “drink me.” As Wolverine lifts the glass from the table, he inadvertently springs a trap that releases a vapour containing viral and bacterial organisms into the room. The organisms are lethal to humans in few numbers. Furthermore, the wine glass contained a poison strong enough to kill Sasquatch (Because he sucks). After a few minutes of torturous pain coming from his lungs and stomach, Wolverine slashes the door with his (adamantium) claws; freeing him of the death trap. Another minute is all he needs for the pain to subside. His body has completely fought off both the poison and the infectious disease. How did he do this? Let’s find out.

Poisons are varied from those that simply eat away at bio-matter, to those that shut down integral cellular functions; forcing the cell to become incapacitated. Toxins are similar in its destruction. It is possible to explain the healing process with the hyper-mitosis theory, where the cells just keep dividing until the entire toxin or poison is used up. Once there is no more poison or antigen, the body can return to its normal state. But what will become of the viruses or bacteria? Such organisms multiply endlessly until expunged by the immune system. A normal humans immune system takes anywhere from 5 days to weeks when responding to foreign bodies. By the time the immune system recognizes the foreign body and makes the proper antibodies, the person can be in serious trouble. Wolverine’s immune system would not only need to recognize foreign bodies really quickly, but it would need to replicate the proper amount of antibodies almost instantaneously. Such antibodies would also need to circulate through the body at an incredible rate. So does Wolverine have some kind of speed-up mechanism throughout his body? Does the Flash from DC comics have the same ability?

Lastly, his aging. Aging is often due to errors in DNA replication, causing wrinkles, liver spots, disease, and lack of pigment (gray hair). But it is almost as if there is an internal countdown in our cells. DNA has a tail end with many added proteins (aka Guanine, Tyrosine, Adenine, Cytosine) that do absolutely nothing; however each time a cell replicates, one of those proteins is lost {NERD ALERT!}. This means that eventually (after so much replication) the cells will stop cutting out useless proteins that don't code for anything, and will begin to cut out useful proteins that are important to our genetic makeup. Remember what I said about Logan's aging? I mentioned that he would look 50 when he was 15, because his cells divide much more rapidly than that of a normal human's cells. But in order for Wolverine's age to be slowed to a crawl (because I think he does still age, if only at a third of the rate of everyone else), he must have some kind of internal mechanism that either replenishes those proteins at the tail of the DNA strand, or he has way more unused proteins than the average man.

Well, this article was mostly dedicated to trying to make Wolvey’s powers of healing plausible, rather than seeing if it could actually be possible in the real world. Though the perspective was off, it still pretty much proves that a “healing factor” is not currently explainable with real world science. Sorry Logan.

X-Glitches!

2005-09-27T21:14:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I was trying out the new game; X-Men Legends 2. It was at that time I was wondering about certain little discrepancies within the Comic Book Universe. We’re not talking about things like “why hasn’t anyone aged since they were created in the 60’s?” or “Doesn’t anyone ever sleep or go to the bathroom?”

There are a number of issues that reside within the comics that are seemingly resolvable, yet are overlooked. I would like to take the time to point out a few of these “flaws” in comics, and leave it as an open ended discussion. Feel free to comment on any subject, or add to the list. Remember that I am not anti-comic book; I merely find joy in picking apart the heroes and villains we’ve grown up with.

Charles Xavier (leader of the X-Men) is considered the most powerful telepath on the planet. When it comes to mind reading, manipulation, memory-retrieval, or memory-wiping, Xavier is the man. His major weakness: He’s a paraplegic. He lost the use of his legs (some say when he developed his mutant powers). There is also and X-Man who goes by the alias “Forge.” Forge’s mutant power is the perfect understanding of any type of machinery. He can create nearly anything mechanic from scratch, and has a fundamental understanding of even the most alien technology. He even created a cybernetic leg to replace the one he lost. So why hasn’t he been able to get old Charles to dance? It’s not like they aren’t friends or anything. With Xavier’s knowledge of the mind and Forge’s technological wizardry, you’d think they could get to the bottom of what’s preventing Charles from walking.
Beast is a blue-furred, beast-like mutant of the X-Men. He’s a skilled acrobat, and is even more skilled in the sciences. In fact at one point he looked quite humanoid, with the exception of extended arms and humungous feet. It was one of his own experiments that “accidentally” turned him into the fur-ball that he is today. Now, I understand that the writers did this to make him look cooler, and be more… beast-like. You’d think that Beast would be working day and night to return himself to his original state. Unless he actually liked looking that way from the start.
At one point Magneto was the “master of magnetism” with the mutant ability to control the magnetic effects found in things such as metals. When did he instead become Magneto the “master of metals” with the ability to bend and reshape metal, whether it be magnetic or not? Fine, I understand that he can fly by counteracting the gravitational effects from the planet. I even understand the magnetic shield he creates that is so strong that it stops bullets (but seemingly has no residual effect on his brain like cell-phone waves do). But not all metals are magnetic. You learn that in grade 6. I suppose Adamantium is, since he ripped it out of Wolverine (though Wolvie never stuck to the refrigerator).
How does Iceman keep his stream of ice from falling? Is the ice THAT solid that he can go long distances and it never falls over, or does he create support columns underneath his stream (‘cause I never see them)? And if it is really hard, wouldn’t that totally destroy public property? Okay, so it’s a quick-desolving, gravity-defying ice rink. Does it just evaporate into vapor when he’s done with it? If you think he’s ruining the city, just imagine what Spider-Man’s webbing looks like all over town!

Well, that’s it for now. I’ll likely update the list when I have more to say, so check back every once in a while. If anyone has something to add, please do!

Megatron: Size Matters!

2005-09-21T23:34:00.000-07:00

Megatron! Leader of the Decepticons; sworn to the destruction of every Autobot on Cybertron. Okay, some of you may not know what I’m talking about, and for that, I forgive you. But don’t worry; I’ll give you a little bit of foreknowledge so that you can piece everything together.

((This section for the layman only))
Megatron is a 20 foot robot called a “Transformer.” A Transformer can “transform” from a robot into another object; in this case a Walther P38 pistol gun. These Transformers are separated into two groups: the good hearted Autobots and the evil minded Decepticons. Both groups have been at war in space with each other for centuries.

Hundreds of years ago a handful of Autobots and Decepticons crash landed on Earth, only to awaken in the 80’s. As masters of disguise, the robots were modified to resemble Earthly machines such as cars, planes, and even stereo systems. As mentioned earlier, Megatron became a pistol with the ability to shoot immense energy blasts that can do great damage.

The part to which I’d like to analyze in this discussion is Megatron’s ability to defy laws of proportion. For those of you who either read the comic books or watch the show, you’d know that the objects the Transformers change into are exact replicas of known vehicles and such. If they weren’t, they’d become subject to analysis by the humans that see them. Megatron doesn’t apply to this rule. When he transforms into a gun, Megatron is only small enough to be carried by another robot (such as Starscream, his second in command). That’s still bigger than any human gun, yet he doesn’t decrease to the size of a real Walther P38 pistol. Imagine you, a human being who could transform into something the size of something that would fit in your hand. Where would you cramp all of your boy parts? So if that is unrealistic, then why not go all the way and make him small enough to be held by a human? Well the answers are quite obvious for story-telling purposes. It is clear however, that unless he has a “shrink-me” power that we are unaware of, Megatron could not possibly turn himself into a gun that size. A cannon maybe, but not a gun. Megatron isn’t even the worst offender of the proportion rule. Soundwave (one of his loyal henchmen) turns from a full sized Decepticon into a HUMAN sized ghetto-blaster. Plus he carries several Transformers inside of him disguised as cassette tapes. They can be ejected from his chest whether he’s a robot or a stereo system, yet in both instances the ejected robots are proportioned to him. This means that when he ejects Rumble (one of his cassettes) when Soundwave is a robot, Rumble will be larger than when he ejects him as a stereo system.

Now, I absolutely love the Transformers, and wouldn’t want to disillusion myself about their authenticity, so hopefully someone (A3?) out there can give a sound explanation to this enigma of proportion.

Iron Man’s Armor

2005-07-23T14:55:00.000-07:00

*I know we Canadians spell “Armor” with an added “u” in there, however I was sick of my friggin’ spell check and auto-corrector busting my balls for each word.

Tony Stark, a brilliant inventor, was in the business of arms development and sales. His career thrived, making him rich and well known throughout the world. It was in his thirties that Stark developed a heart condition that he knew would eventually lead to heart failure. In retaliation he created a suit of iron, with the purpose of keeping his heart beating. The iron suit also contained some of his own personal modifications including weaponry, shielding, and flight boots. Keeping his identity secret, Tony Stark became The Invincible Iron Man. Even after heart surgery, Stark continued to wear the suit as a means to protect the innocent. At one point Tony lost the use of his legs, but the Iron Man suit’s implants allowed him to walk once more.

Over the years the suit became more sophisticated, allowing him to do more than any hero could. His suit could even function without him in it, by way of remote control.

Is such a suit of armor feasible in the modern world (though the idea was created in the early 60’s)? Could armor so thin contain weaponry and enough protection to make a replica of Iron Man? Let’s take a look:

Only in recent issues of various computer magazines, have I seen technology small enough to hug around a suit of armor. As we all know, technology is growing at an exponential rate. Just take the newer laptop models, and you’ll see that with such little space, they can work wonders! So there is no doubt that the suit can contain its own CPU, memory, and any other type of hardware require for things like targeting scanners, or a database. But what about the flight boots; or the energy cannons that burst from his hands? Such systems would require a large fuel or energy pack (which cannot be seen on any of the Iron Man suits). Granted, we have developed pretty small battery packs for things like cell phones or laptops, but powering friggin’ flight boots would require quite a large battery.

So the boots and bolts are out… Let’s move on to the shielding. As far as I know, energy shields are a thing of fiction. The only thing remotely close to a force hat repels objects would be the properties of magnetism. If you’ve never done this in 3rd grade, try putting two north ends of two magnets together. You’ll be able to feel a force push them apart.

So the shields are out too… but the armor itself could be extremely durable. As we discussed in the Superman’s Skin chapter, it is totally acceptable to assume his armor is made of the toughest stuff known to man (like finely woven spider silk). Such substances layered on top of itself could be quite unbreakable.

Let’s move on to the various other peripherals:

Once in a while you’ll see things popping out of Iron Man’s arms or legs; things like missiles or grapple guns. Where in the world are those things stored when not in use? Are they INSIDE is skin? Unless his suit is extremely thick, there isn’t any room for pop-out accessories. War Machine (an Iron Man variant) carried such items outside if the suit at all times, making it more feasible to comprehend.

What about the oxygen supply? Occasionally Iron Man journeys under water or in space. Even at high altitudes, the pressure in his suit must be kept balanced. Where does he keep his oxygen supply? You guessed it: the same place he keeps his fuel supply! There are obviously perfectly explainable reasons for Iron Man’s abilities in the comic universe (like, maybe he developed a matter converter that takes molecules from water and converts it into breathable air). Remember, we are trying to decide whether or not it would be feasible to create an Iron Man suit in the real world. So far it isn’t looking good.

What about his super strength? It is mostly attributed to hydraulics, which is totally conceivable, however the suit would require pistons on rods to operate his arms (which are not shown in any of his costumes).

So no propulsion, no blasters, no shielding, no missiles, no hydraulics, no oxygen supply, and no pressure gauge. What are we left with? A colourful (stupid American spell check, I will NOT concede!) suit of armor with a memory core. Well I guess that answers the original question. It’s too bad, too. I think Iron Man is really cool!

Spider-Man's Origin

2005-07-18T16:25:00.000-07:00

First off, I'd like to say that Spider-Man was one of my favorite childhood superheroes. Between the good storylines, and the drama in Peter Parker's life, it made for a great comic series. Unfortunately I feel I can safely say that there's no way on Earth, that anyone would gain powers like Peter Parker did. This discussion will focus more on Spider-Man's origin, rather than the powers themselves. Here we go...

Before tackling this debate we must re-create the circumstances involved. Peter Parker was visiting a research lab that was experimenting with radioactive rays (this is not the movie origin, but the comic book origin). Without the knowledge of any of the scientists, a spider slipped into one of the radioactive particle streams, and became irradiated. The spider then found its way onto Peter Parker’s skin, biting him on the hand. After a short time Peter realized that he had somehow changed; that he could scale walls and leap great distances. He was stronger than before, and seemed to be aware of danger just before it happened (spider-sense). From then on in Peter Parker became the Amazing Spider-Man! Though the comic idea was thought up years ago, we now live in an age where even fantasy must be somewhat believable. So let’s see if science can prove or disprove the plausibility of arachnid mutation.

First off, the research facility would have to be low budget if a spider could get in and make a home right in the center of all the action. Don’t they have cleaners, or inspectors who look for cracks in the walls? Okay, so a spider got through…

The spider webs its way down, and accidentally falls into the path of a radioactive particle stream. Assuming the radiation beam was low enough not to immediately kill the spider, it would likely die after a time. This could give it ample time to bite someone. This isn’t where I have trouble believing the story. Let’s assume that the radiation coursed through every cell of the spider’s body. What does radiation normally do to humans? It usually creates tumorous cells (mutated cells due to fragmented DNA, or improper inner workings). Granted, it is hard to tell exactly what would happen to a cell once it’s irradiated; the effects are totally random. But when have you ever heard of a jolt of radiation doing something good for the cells (even chemotherapy isn’t always a good thing)?

So the spider bites Peter, sending its irradiated venom into his system. Normally the human defense system would sense a foreign body and set off an immune response as a form of protection. The only way I can see this not happening is if the radiation altered the spider DNA, or cell structure into a form that is recognized by the immune system as not foreign. This means that the one in a million bizarre circumstance had to happen to change the shape of the cells. Furthermore, the spider cells would have to invade the human cells like a virus, injecting its DNA into the host cell; that or go through Meiosis (which only occurs in the womb). A recall for any non-science personnel, Meiosis is the creation of two cells from two separate pieces of DNA in one cell (mommy + daddy = you) {NERD ALERT!}. Mitosis is what occurs regularly in your body, where one cell divides into two daughter cells. Therefore, to mix itself into Peter Parker’s DNA, the spider cells must combine with his cells. The virus approach is more plausible.

Let’s assume that the DNA did find its way into the human cells by one form or another. The DNA must now battle the cells defense systems, such as DNAse (an enzyme that breaks apart DNA into its base components). Let’s also assume it got past the defenses in some form AND found its way into the nucleus (where human DNA is kept). If you’re having trouble following, this portion regards what would happen if somehow the spider DNA combined with human DNA. Allow me to make this very easy to understand: It would be a one in ten billion chance that the new DNA strand created, would be one where Peter would still look the way he does, but have altered abilities.

There are further complications:

Do you ever wonder why a person who lost their finger wouldn’t regrow it? Well that same principle would prevent Peter from suddenly developing miniature suction cups (or talons) on his fingertips.

Do you ever wonder how cells which are all identical after conception become specifically different (ie: liver cells are different from skin cells, are different from fingernail cells)? This would prevent the idea that one cell after replication, could create a whole new being who has super strength. The only way for Spider-Man to be Spider-Man is if ALL his cells contained the exact same DNA alteration. This means that a virus-type infection that was specific enough to alter his DNA in every cell the exact same way, had to bypass his immune system and infect every different cell type he had.

As for the spider-sense… I’ve never heard of any documented evidence to suggest that spiders have any precognitive abilities. But if they did, I suppose we don’t know enough about the human brain to say whether a spider-sense is possible or not.

Well there you have it! My unfortunate debunking of my favorite superhero has been put forth. There is much room for debate here, and I’d love to hear from you.

Superman's Invulnerability

2005-07-17T14:03:00.000-07:00

Superman has a number of super powers that we can dissect and analyze, however I believe that his invulnerability is what makes him, well ... Superman. The other powers are perks.

His skin is such that it can withstand punches, bullets, explosives, and most radiation; yet it is as flexible as human skin, and contains pores (assumption) to which hair can grow from. Even his hair is nearly invulnerable (or you’d see Clark Kent without eyebrows every time there was a mass explosion). Can it be that such an impenetrable substance can exist, while still portraying the properties of normal skin (such as pigment, warmth, and flexibility)?

In my last semester at Centennial College, I studied some relatively new discoveries in biotechnology pertaining to cloning. I took a liking to Nexia’s projects involving the hybridization of silk spiders and goats. The experiment created transgenic clones, allowing goats to produce the proteins required to make spider silk. The milk would contain the proteins, which would be mass produced, opening up many possibilities.

The reason I bring this into the conversation is because I discovered that the properties of spider silk is such that it is extremely strong (when tightly woven it is stronger than steel), it is very flexible, and is light weight. The army has funded Nexia’s research, because they believe that if spider silk can be mass produced, it can be an inexpensive way of making bullet-proof vests that are light and very flexible. Such a substance was only fairytale until the late 90’s.

If Superman’s skin was similar to that of spider’s silk, it could indeed withstand such trauma. There is however, the aspect of cell growth and regeneration. If he is similar to humans in that he has cells that divide, and eventually die, than these cells themselves must be invincible. The idea that Superman ages, and heals when actually cut, indicates that he does indeed have a cell structure. For humans, once cells die, they are either eaten by cell mites on the skin, flake off, or callous up. Can you imagine the clogging in Superman’s sink or shower as his skin cells or hair goes down the drain?

Well, that’s all for this episode. Please input on anything that peaked your interests, and remember to follow the rules of this forum.

The Forward, The Rules.

2005-07-17T13:40:00.000-07:00

Okay, first off let make one thing clear about this discussion. Most of the information given is my own thoughts and ideas regarding the particular hero / villain. I don't claim to be an expert or authority on the universe of heroes; I just endeavor to discuss semi-useless issues in order to debunk my childhood desires of one day inheriting super powers. {NERD ALERT!} ...sorry. That goes off every once in a while, after I say something apparently quasi-neuron stimulating {NERD ALERT!}. You see!

Anyway, I'd like anyone who is comfortable with such discussions to share their input. Please, no insulting one another. Just because you are the master of the DC universe doesn't mean you can bash people for making any mistakes in the details. Other than that, let's have some fun!!