Inspired by the new box office hit
"Guardians of the Galaxy", writer Mark Peters in this article
ponders about super heroes, more specifically the explanations for their
superpowers. With this in mind Mark has compiled a list of explanations that
are just absurd or in his own words “some of the biggest scientific stretches.”
The first entry of the list is “Solar battery alien cells.” This is
a tribute to the first superhero, Superman that acquires his power from the Sun
which on Earth is yellow, unlike the uneventful red sun in his hometown, Krypton.
Second; “Alternate
universe brain download.” The story goes as follows; a scientist, Levy, began
to download the memories of his doppelgangers into his brain, with the hope
that he could teleport in between dimensions. In the middle of the gigantic download
an accident happened, due to a brawl, that gave Levy super-brain-powers and the
coveted dimension hoping. Third; “Alien
burgers.” Mr. Fantastic, stretchy form the Fantastic Four, convinced their
foe the shape-shifting green aliens the Skrulls, that they were cows. The
aliens then assumed the form of cows and lived their lives, until they were
butchered and made into burgers. People ate the burgers and gained the
shape-shifting powers along with a fear of Skrulls, according to Peters “Alien burgers.” Fourth; “Ill-advised blood transfusion.” Bruce Banner,
the Hulk, has a cousin Jenifer Walkers that was shot, Bruce then gave his blood
to his cousin so that she would survive. However she now had the powers of the
Hulk, with one clause, she could control her anger. Fifth; “Accidental ingestion of super-plastic fluid.”
Bouncing Boy, a character who had the ability to transform into a bouncing ball,
acquired such power when he accidentally drank a bottle of super-plastic-fluid.
Six; “Brain-swapping octobot.” Doc Ock, a nemesis to Spider Man, temporarily switched
brains with Spider Man, fulfilling Doc`s long term plan. Finally; “Pym
Particles.” The Pym Particle allowed for
Henry Pym to change his size, strength and durability. “Pym Particles are the Holy Grail
of comic book technobabble.” Writes Mark Peters.
With the recent hubbub of superheroes brought
on by the awesome “Guardians of the Galaxy” Peters takes the opportunity to revisit
the Superhero genre. He does so with a comical tone. One example is this exert
from the article; “Well,
if you lived in the Marvel Universe, that would be the least of your worries.
Stay with me on this one: It’s a doozy.” Writing for an audience with by would
be cracking up, or considering the article a waste of time Peters asks for the attention
of the audience with the guaranty that the explanations for superpowers that
follow will be a “doozy.” Altogether a fun text to read, were superhero fans
and civilians alike can laugh at the imagination of hero inventors.
No comments:
Post a Comment