The Science of Supervillains
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Narrated by:
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Oliver Wyman
About this listen
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 true? In The Science of Supervillains, authors Lois Gresh and Bob Weinberg present a highly entertaining and informative look at the mind-boggling wizardry behind the comic book world's legendary baddies. Whether it's artificial intelligence, weapons systems, anti-matter, robotics, or magnetic flux theory, this fun, fact-filled book is a fascinating excursion into the real-world science animating the genius in the comic book world's pantheon of evil geniuses.
Lois Gresh (Scottsville, NY) and Bob Weinberg (Oak Forest, IL) are the authors of the popular Science of Superheroes.
NOTE: Some editorial changes to the original text have been made with the author’s approval.
©2005 Lois H. Gresh and Robert Weinberg. Introduction by Chris Claremont (P)2010 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Editorial reviews
The dynamic duo of comic book debunking has returned with the obvious choice of sequel following The Science of Superheroes. Also returning is that book’s voice artist, award-winning nonfiction narrator Oliver Wyman. Gresh and Weinberg have their methods firmly in hand, as does Wyman. This chapter by chapter analysis of the scientific plausibility of the comic book universe’s most famous bad guys flows logically and smoothly thanks to solid research and energetic delivery.
The examination of evil technological applications and superpower innovations escalates from simple biology and chemistry to more complicated physics and mathematics, and concludes with speculation on other dimensions and parallel universes. Giving equal time to the two juggernauts of the comic book industry, DC Comics and Marvel, Wyman does a terrific job of amusing with character quotations and then maintaining interest throughout the scientific explanations. Never glossing but always keeping the mainstream listener in mind, the book provides adequate analysis to satisfy curiosity without drowning the listener in facts.
The two largest chapters are naturally devoted to the most long-standing and heavy-weight supervillains: Lex Luthor of Superman for DC Comics and Magneto of X-Men for Marvel. Are Luthor’s mad scientist inventions possible? What are the limits of Magneto’s abilities? This is a book for pop culture lovers, but also for people with a general interest in science. Highlights include a laundry list of possible lethal agents for Poison Ivy’s lipstick in Batman, light speed calculations of the Silver Surfer’s travel time in The Fantastic Four, and nanotech revelations for The Lizard in Spiderman. Science geeks especially will appreciate the more complex treatments in the last two chapters: a discourse on anti-matter related to special series Crisis on Infinite Earths, then an explanation of parallel universes for the tag-team of Bat-Mite and Mr. Mxyzptlk related to special series World’s Finest Comics.
Comic books fans will be surprised to learn which supervillains are credible and which are not. Science fans will be glad to see some practical, although evil, applications of the most recent theories. No matter what part of the book is most of interest, Wyman’s reading is sure to capture both the attention and the imagination. —Megan Volpert
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Story
Beyond dares to imagine a fantastic future for humans in space - and then reminds us that we're already there. Human exploration has been an unceasing engine of technological progress, from the first homo sapiens to leave our African cradle to a future in which mankind promises to settle another world. Beyond tells the epic story of humanity leaving home - and how humans will soon thrive in the vast universe beyond the Earth.
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OTHER WORLDS
- By chetyarbrough.blog on 01-10-16
By: Chris Impey
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Life on the Edge
- The Coming of Age of Quantum Biology
- By: Johnjoe McFadden, Jim Al-Khalili
- Narrated by: Pete Cross
- Length: 12 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Life is the most extraordinary phenomenon in the known universe; but how did it come to be? Even in an age of cloning and artificial biology, the remarkable truth remains: Nobody has ever made anything living entirely out of dead material. Life remains the only way to make life. Are we still missing a vital ingredient in its creation?
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More woo than new
- By Gary on 09-09-15
By: Johnjoe McFadden, and others
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The Complete (Short) Guide to Absolutely Everything
- Adventures in Math and Science
- By: Adam Rutherford, Hannah Fry
- Narrated by: Hannah Fry, Adam Rutherford
- Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Geneticist Adam Rutherford and mathematician Hannah Fry guide listeners through time and space, through our bodies and brains, showing how emotions shape our view of reality, how our minds tell us lies, and why a mostly bald and curious ape decided to begin poking at the fabric of the universe.
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Humour and understandability.
- By Chris B on 09-08-24
By: Adam Rutherford, and others
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Creation
- How Science Is Reinventing Life Itself
- By: Adam Rutherford
- Narrated by: Walter Dixon
- Length: 6 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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What is life? Humans have been asking this question for thousands of years. But as technology has advanced and our understanding of biology has deepened, the answer has evolved. For decades, scientists have been exploring the limits of nature by modifying and manipulating DNA, cells, and whole organisms to create new ones that could never have previously existed on their own.
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The Goldilocks book on what is life
- By Gary on 07-11-13
By: Adam Rutherford
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Soonish
- Ten Emerging Technologies That'll Improve and/or Ruin Everything
- By: Kelly Weinersmith, Zach Weinersmith
- Narrated by: Kelly Weinersmith, Zach Weinersmith
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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In this smart and funny book, celebrated cartoonist Zach Weinersmith and noted researcher Dr. Kelly Weinersmith give us a snapshot of what's coming next - from robot swarms to nuclear fusion powered-toasters. By weaving their own research and interviews with the scientists who are making these advances happen, the Weinersmiths investigate why these technologies are needed, how they would work, and what is standing in their way.
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Really Good-ish!
- By See Reverse on 04-16-18
By: Kelly Weinersmith, and others
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A Short History of Nearly Everything
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Richard Matthews
- Length: 18 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Bill Bryson has been an enormously popular author both for his travel books and for his books on the English language. Now, this beloved comic genius turns his attention to science. Although he doesn't know anything about the subject (at first), he is eager to learn, and takes information that he gets from the world's leading experts and explains it to us in a way that makes it exciting and relevant.
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The Only Book I reread imediatley after reading
- By Andrew on 11-09-09
By: Bill Bryson
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How to Speak Science
- Gravity, Relativity, and Other Ideas That Were Crazy Until Proven Brilliant
- By: Bruce Benamran, Stephanie Delozier Strobel
- Narrated by: Braden Wright
- Length: 13 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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As smartphones, supercomputers, supercolliders, and AI propel us into an ever more unfamiliar future, How to Speak Science takes us on a rollicking historical tour of the greatest discoveries and ideas that make today's cutting-edge technologies possible. Wanting everyone to be able to "speak" science, YouTube science guru Bruce Benamran explains - as accessibly and wittily as in his acclaimed videos - the fundamental ideas of the physical world: matter, life, the solar system, light, electromagnetism, thermodynamics, special and general relativity, and much more.
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Wowzers!
- By Ralph Temblador on 02-15-21
By: Bruce Benamran, and others
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Life’s Ratchet
- How Molecular Machines Extract Order from Chaos
- By: Peter M. Hoffman
- Narrated by: Paul Hodgson
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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The cells in our bodies consist of molecules, made up of the same carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen atoms found in air and rocks. But molecules, such as water and sugar, are not alive. So how do our cells - assemblies of otherwise "dead" molecules - come to life, and together constitute a living being? In Life’s Ratchet, physicist Peter M. Hoffmann locates the answer to this age-old question at the nanoscale.
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For biologists to learn single molecule biophysics
- By A Synthetic Biologist on 09-04-14
By: Peter M. Hoffman
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The Upright Thinkers
- The Human Journey From Living in Trees to Understanding the Cosmos
- By: Leonard Mlodinow
- Narrated by: Leonard Mlodinow
- Length: 12 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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In this fascinating and illuminating work, Leonard Mlodinow guides us through the critical eras and events in the development of science, all of which, he demonstrates, were propelled forward by humankind's collective struggle to know. From the birth of reasoning and culture to the formation of the studies of physics, chemistry, biology, and modern-day quantum physics, we come to see that much of our progress can be attributed to simple questions - why? how? - bravely asked.
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10/10 Got What I Wanted.
- By Austin on 09-22-15
By: Leonard Mlodinow
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Space Chronicles
- Facing the Ultimate Frontier
- By: Neil deGrasse Tyson
- Narrated by: Mirron Willis
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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With his signature wit and thought-provoking insights, Neil deGrasse Tyson - one of our foremost thinkers on all things space - illuminates the past, present, and future of space exploration and brilliantly reminds us why NASA matters now as much as ever. As Tyson reveals, exploring the space frontier can profoundly enrich many aspects of our daily lives, from education systems and the economy to national security and morale.
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The least helpful review of Space Chronicles.
- By Joshua Kring on 06-17-15
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Arrival of the Fittest
- Solving Evolution's Greatest Puzzle
- By: Andreas Wagner
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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In Arrival of the Fittest, renowned evolutionary biologist Andreas Wagner draws on over 15 years of research to present the missing piece in Darwin's theory. Using experimental and computational technologies that were heretofore unimagined, he has found that adaptations are not just driven by chance, but by a set of laws that allow nature to discover new molecules and mechanisms in a fraction of the time that random variation would take.
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Robustness makes for an interesting life and book
- By Gary on 11-29-14
By: Andreas Wagner
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Sun in a Bottle
- The Strange History of Fusion and the Science of Wishful Thinking
- By: Charles Seife
- Narrated by: Bill Weideman
- Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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For the past 50 years, governments and research teams have tried to bottle the sun with lasers, magnets, sound waves, and particle beams, struggling to harness the power of fusion. Again and again, they have failed, disgracing generations of scientists. Throughout this fascinating journey, Charles Seife introduces us to the daring geniuses, villains, and victims of fusion science.
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Focused on the Lone Wolves
- By Robert Goldston on 11-14-08
By: Charles Seife
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Sync
- How Order Emerges from Chaos in the Universe, Nature, and Daily Life
- By: Steven Strogatz
- Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins
- Length: 13 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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At once elegant and riveting, Sync tells the story of the dawn of a new science. Steven Strogatz, a leading mathematician in the fields of chaos and complexity theory, explains how enormous systems can synchronize themselves, from the electrons in a superconductor to the pacemaker cells in our hearts. He shows that although these phenomena might seem unrelated on the surface, at a deeper level there is a connection, forged by the unifying power of mathematics.
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Engaging, but maybe better suited for non-audio
- By Ryan on 05-26-12
By: Steven Strogatz
What listeners say about The Science of Supervillains
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
- Harry
- 05-19-11
A Decent Follow-Up But...
The Science of Supervillains is a decent follow-up to The Science of Superheroes. I was happy that this time they decided to stick only to comics in the superhero genre and left Disney characters out of it.
It only got three stars because at times I felt like the authors were really stretching in order to fill space. For instance the Batman villain Poison Ivy does not have and never claimed to have the powers of the plant Poison Ivy. It is merely her supervillain name. I don't think a 10+ minute discussion on the dangers of the plant poison ivy was at all necessary. The worst part is I kept thinking with all the supervillain questions this is taking up valuable space in the book and making it so another villain was left on the cutting room floor.
Also some of the book, much like the first one is now out-of-date. This however is not the fault of the authors as science changes all the time and when you put something about technology in a book, it is bound to be out-dated quickly. I would love to have an update version though.
Also if a third book is to be made, perhaps they could ask fans of superheroes what their questions are and cover those.
All-in-all not a bad book, but coul have used a lot of editing for relevancy.
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- Danny
- 08-19-15
A-MA-ZING
this book does my head in, but I love it so much - same with science of superheroes. thank you for your work+
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- M. Pack
- 04-02-12
Outdated / Lazy Science / Attacks on Religion
What would have made The Science of Supervillains better?
It was just out of date. Science has changed so much since this book was released. It is now irrelevant. Plus, it has some strong attacks against religion that I personally found insulting.
What was most disappointing about Lois H. Gresh and Robert H. Weinberg ’s story?
It felt like a book that anybody could have written with a little help from Wikipedia. No new ideas were presented, and far too often the authors went off on irrelevant tangents.
Would you be willing to try another one of Oliver Wyman’s performances?
Yes. He did a passable job. Maybe a little too much emphasis and enunciation.
You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?
It had a great deal of potential. Maybe uber-fans or scientists would find it enjoyable.
Any additional comments?
Authors: leave politics and personal beliefs out of your books, and you will be better off in the long run. Alienating your fan base is not a recipe for success.
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1 person found this helpful