The Science of Superheroes

As it turns out, getting my thoughts down on SUPERMAN RETURNS was exactly the motivation I needed to check out the superheroes exhibit going on at the California Science Center. This isn’t to say I haven’t been looking forward to seeing Marvel’s attempt at stimulating youngsters’ minds through comic books – an irony on par with big tobacco promoting lung health by doling out menthols – it’s just that I had a sinking feeling that buying a ticket would be like paying for my dreams to be crushed.

Now, I realize real-world science doesn’t have much footing in comics. I know that if I’m blinded by toxic waste, bitten by a radioactive spider or bombarded with gamma rays, there’s relatively little chance I’ll go on to develop superhuman powers. But that hasn’t stopped me from firmly believing there’s a chance – a fraction of a one percent chance – that a freak industrial accident wouldn’t put me in a hospital bed, fighting for my life but rather on the city’s rooftops, battling the forces of evil. Having that possibility categorically ruled out by a science exhibit aimed at grade-schoolers left me a little uneasy.

The exhibits were pretty much what you might expect – the Daredevil room challenges you to close your eyes and use your other senses to get to safety, the Doctor Octopus exhibit makes you ties shoelaces with metal tongs and the X-Men section has something to do with a lot of screaming. And then there’s a gift shop that takes up roughly 57% of the entire exhibit.

That last fact aside, I have to give the exhibit planners a lot of credit – I actually came out of the exhibit convinced more than ever that I can be a real-life superhero. True, my powers will be limited to wearing a blindfold while screaming at people about tying my shoelaces with metal tongs. But it’s a start.