The Science of Superheroes by Lois Gresh and Robert Weinberg, Wiley, £14.99/$29.95, ISBN 0471024600 Reviewed by Simon Locke
SUPERHEROES are creatures of science. Yet many superheroes are rooted in science fiction, with its long tradition of using science speculatively to extrapolate from what is known. So where does science stop and fantasy begin? What superpowers might, according to “real” science, be possible? Superhero comics have long played the game of inventing “scientific” justifications for powers – bending science to comics’ needs. So should superheroes follow the rules of science, or vice versa?
To science fiction writers Lois Gresh and Robert Weinberg,…
