{"id":7959,"date":"2019-10-04T16:08:31","date_gmt":"2019-10-04T20:08:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/?p=7959"},"modified":"2019-10-09T09:52:47","modified_gmt":"2019-10-09T13:52:47","slug":"the-science-of-superheroes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/the-science-of-superheroes\/","title":{"rendered":"The Science of Superheroes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/div>

The Science of Superheroes<\/h1>
A biological breakdown of your favorite comic book characters. <\/div>
By Breanne McCarthy
Illustrations by Jeff Carpenter<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/header>\n\n\n\n

Do wolverines have\nsupernatural healing abilities? Can poison ivy really kill you? These are the\ntypes of questions that Associate Professor Pedram Daneshgar and Kelly\nZimmerman \u201909 answer in their panel talk, \u201cWolverines Don\u2019t Howl: What Comics\nGet Wrong (And Right) about Animal and Plant Abilities.\u201d Since bonding over\ntheir shared interests in the natural world and comics, the ecologists have\nbecome a popular attraction at comic conventions, where they discuss what is\nbiologically accurate and inaccurate about some of the world\u2019s most beloved\nsuperheroes (and villains). Here, they share the science behind five plant- and\nanimal-inspired characters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Spider-Man<\/h2>\n\n\n

Accurate<\/strong><\/em>:<\/strong> Like Spidey, real spiders shoot different types of webs \u2014 seven to be exact \u2014 that are used for such tasks as catching prey and traveling from place to place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inaccurate<\/strong><\/em>:<\/strong> Spiders don’t shoot webbing out of their hands or wrists. It actually comes out of their, err, butts. <\/p>\n\n\n

Poison Ivy<\/h2>\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Accurate:<\/strong><\/em> Poison ivy can kill you, but it’s not “death by kiss” as portrayed in the comics. If burned and inhaled, the smoke will inflame the lungs, which could lead to suffocation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inaccurate: <\/strong><\/em>The DC Comics villain is often portrayed as a seductress, and while there is evidence that ingesting certain plants increases libido, poison ivy is not one of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Wolverine<\/h2>\n\n\n

Accurate:<\/strong><\/em> Similar to cheetahs, wolverines actually have semi-retractable claws that come out of their fingers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inaccurate:<\/em><\/strong> Wolverines do not heal faster than other mammals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Groot <\/h2>\n\n\n

Accurate:<\/em><\/strong> Similar to how Rocket grows a “baby Groot” from a small piece of twig, plants can regenerate from tiny fragments. An example: cogongrass can regrow from as little as one-tenth of a gram.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inaccurate:<\/strong><\/em> The regeneration timescale. So, while Groot can quickly grow limbs to protect his friends, a real tree would take much longer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Ant-Man<\/h2>\n\n\n

Accurate:<\/em><\/strong> Ant-Man controls fellow ants via his cybernetic helmet. Similarly, real ants communicate with\u2014and control\u2014one another via chemical cues that trigger various responses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inaccurate: <\/strong><\/em>Nearly everything else. Ants do not change size at will and cannot travel through time (that we know of). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Jeff Carpenter adapted these illustrations from his book, <\/em>Field Notes: An Ecological Journal of Nature’s Marvels. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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