The Science of Supervillains

by Lois H. Gresh and Robert Weinberg

Book Overview

The authors of The Science of Superheroes now reveal the real genius of the most evil geniuses Ever wonder why comic book villains, such as Spiderman's bionic archenemy Dr. Octopus or the X-Men's eternal rival Magneto, are so scary and so much fun? It's not just their diabolical talent for confounding our heroes, it's their unrivalled techno-proficiency at creating global mayhem that keeps comic book fans captivated. But is any of the science actually...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0471482056
• ISBN13: 9780471482055
• Release Date: October 2004
• Publisher: Wiley (TP)
• Length: 212 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.1" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Very well written and entertaining book

If you ever wondered if superheroes and supervillains can exist and have superpowers, then this is the book for you. Highly entertaining, well written and informative. I highly recommend it.

Great book for both comic lovers and science lovers

For those of view who are interested in science and remember fondly the comic books that you have read as a child, this book follows in the great tradition of the science of superheroes, and discuss the ways in which the comic book can obtain their power using possible scientific explanations. This is great reading.

Awesome Superhero-Fantasy to Reality Science Book

I am a student of science and a big fan of sci-fi and comic book superheroes. This book is the link I have been looking for that ponders big questions as to how in reality can a comic book scenario come true if some one had the ability to make it happen. Science fiction and superheroes help stimulate our imaginations to create amazing new scientific and engineering marvels that can do allot to help mankind. Warp on Star Trekkies, fly on Supermen, mutate more X-Men, and flame on to the Fantastic Four!

Science Supervillains and Superteens

I am blessed with a superteen, a teenage son who is just coming into his superpowers! I am usually stumped by what to give him as a present but this book was a big hit, especially as he is deep in the City of Villains video game. The game is not related to this book, but I think I got bonus points for actually realising what he was playing! I'd recommend parents of teens to buy this book!

"An insightful look into the diabolical villains of comics."

Reviewer: Brian Wilkinson, for ComiX-Fan.com Overall Rating: Great! In a book that bills itself as the Science of the Supervillains readers have to feel right from the first page that this is an all-or-nothing kind of book. Thankfully writers Robert Weinberg and Lois H. Gresh have stepped up to the plate to deliver a funny and insightful look into the mind and heart(less?) of some of the greatest villains that have graced the pages of our beloved funny book medium for more than 70 years. This is a project that could have easily gone astray or been caught up in the many nuances of cunning and deceit that the countless villains have put our heroes through. Instead they take the cream of the crop, including baddies like Magneto, Lex Luthor, Doc Octopus and several others to show some of the more interesting attempts they've made to make the world a worse place to live. The Luthor chapter starts the book off with a decent look at the man who would become Superman's main villain. That's really saying a lot if you think about it considering how powerful and unstoppable the Man of Steel really is. Yet everything Luthor has tried has failed. Instead of really getting into why Luthor sucks or how Superman may have just gotten lucky, Gresh and Weinberg dissect the science the villains used in the books. Intentionally or not, this may be a bit of a nod in the direction of the writers and editors behind the book. Back in the day, the two major companies, Marvel and DC, both had their own approaches to how science was used in the comics. Julius Schwartz over at DC maintained that the science had to be believable no matter what. It didn't necessarily have to exist, but so long as an attempt was made to reveal how things were being done, that seemed enough. Enter Luthor's weather machine. Apparently Lex thought he'd be able to manipulate the weather over Smallville and sent the little town into a deep freeze. Rather than take the typical comic fan stance of disbelief, Gresh and Weinberg actually talk to top scientists and do the research behind whether or not such a contraption is possible. Not surprisingly, they find out it isn't something that Lex could have done in real life, but rather than take the typical fan standpoint of "look how smart I am because I know it can't be done" they take the extra step towards proving it. The diabolical nature of this book isn't so much in the characters that it discusses as it is in the clever methods the authors use to trick their audiences into reading a science textbook. It doesn't matter that subjects like magnetism, nuclear science and more are covered in very specific and scientific terms as the humour and subject matter work so brilliantly to disguise it. This is the kind of book kids across North America are liable to pick up in their local library for the fun colors and then shock their parents at the dinner table with a basic knowledge of nuclear fission. Heck, if I was a kid I'd read it just to look smart