Relative Veolocity - Why science and continuity matter in comics
By Timandm 14 Comments
In the movie The Navigator, Howard Hughes (played by Leonardo Dicaprio), is trying to make a film which has fighter planes doing aerial battle... While viewing a clip from the film, Howard notes that the planes in the air (on-screen of course) look like toys. They ARE real but don't LOOK real. The problem? RELATIVE VELOCITY.
The planes on screen have only a clear blue sky in the background. There are no stationary objects for them to fly by, so one cannot get a sense of how fast the planes are actually going. There has to be some object FIXED in space, a thing that does not move, so that one can get a sense of how fast the plane is going compared to the stationary object.
Consider the times you've flown in a plane and could not see outside the plane, how fast did it FEEL like you were going? How fast did it APPEAR you were going? How about during the takeoff? If you're looking out the window and watching the runway go by, and all the objects by the runway, you feel like you're going VERY fast. However, you get up into the clear blue sky and... You're simply sitting still...
So what's the point? How does this relate to comics? I'm so glad you ask...
Science. Real World Science. The laws of physics as WE understand them. They are important to comics and the stories within... However, enjoying a comic book requires a certain amount of 'suspension of belief.' Comics are not real... They're fiction...Make believe... But, we can't simply ignore all the laws of physics, and chalk up everything we don't understand with the old, "It's just a comic! It's make believe! Get over it!" attitude... Why not? Relative Velocity.....
Think on it... Why is the idea of a man sticking to walls, leaping in a 60 foot parabolic arch, swinging through the sky scrapers of New York city amazing? Well, because it IS!!!
- it's NEAT to think of someone being able to walk on walls.
- It's FUN to imagine someone swinging from building to building.
- It's KEWL that a man could avoid danger with a per-cognizant sense...
How about the idea of a guy who is nearly completely invulnerable? A guy who can fly into space? Move faster than a speeding bullet? Lift... um.. Really big, heavy things... It's FUN.... Now, as far as we know, none of these things are actually possible, but they are simply fun to imagine...
However, Geeks like me (and geeks who aren't like me) LOVE to discuss the science and physics behind certain powers and feats... We like to try and figure out who could defeat who, and how they could do it, based on what we know about their powers and the laws of physics... However, it inevitably happens that someone will come in with a comment like:
- It's comics. Why bother using real would science. That's just stupid.
- Seriously? You're talking about a universe when a man can fly into a star, and you're debating how another could break a diamond with his claw
- The science doesn't matter. It's just comics so it's all make believe. It doesn't matter HOW it happens, it just DOES...
Well, when we chalk everything up to 'it's just make believe so it doesn't matter" we lose all sense of RELATIVE VELOCITY.
- So what if a guy can stick to walls... It's just make believe. It just happens. In fiction, ANYONE can do it.... There are no limits...
- Big freaking deal! So, he's faster than a speeding bullet. In the comics, who isn't?
- Controls minds/reads minds.. Whatever... it just happens.. Doesn't matter how... So it could easily be overcome... Anyone could do it...
I will readily admit that.. um.. OTHERS often take conversations/discussions/debates about comic book feats and powers to seriously or into too much detail... But it IS appropriate to think about it, dream about, talk about it, and yes, even debate it with lesser mortals who don't agree with everything we say...
The powers and feats in comic books HAVE to have at least SOME grounding in the reality that we readers live in.... Else, how can we relate to them? Why would we find awe in them if we can't get some fixed point of reference for the things they do.
So, the next time you see two morons debating whether or not Wolverine could shatter Emma Frost's diamond form (Yes, I was one of those two morons... I was the one that was RIGHT dangit! :-) ) or perhaps you see a group of nerds trying to understand how Legion rewrites reality, or a trio of geeks trying to understand why Gravity doesn't use his powers to distort time and space (what a freaking goob!), do try to be patient with them... They are geeking out and enjoying comics... They have a sense of RELATIVE VELOCITY...
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