Superheros... fiction.. or real life possibilities in the near future using genetic engineering?

Question

Alright... theres alot to talk about here. Theres batman, spiderman, the hulk, wolverine, daredevil and of course superman.

if there was ever a brawl between these guys superman would come out on top for sure unless somebody had some kryptonite. between the other five i think its a toss up to who would win.

anyway, the question is. could anyone ever be a realife version of one of these superheros?

batman: get buff, get suit, car, gadgets, practice martial arts a decade or so and be a really good gymnast. ta da, your batman.

spiderman: spiderman would probably be the funnest superhero to be. once genetic engineering (if ever) becomes an everyday thing just like flying then say you were willing to have certain genes from a spider mixed with your own, a few things would be possible to make you more like a real life spiderman. this would be one for the die hard fanatics.

hulk: once again genetic engineering (and some steroids) might one day have you looking like the hulk.

wolverine: I don't see how you could ever be a real life wolverine. even with genetic engeneering.

daredevil: if you were blind, your other senses would get better on their own. and if you blindfold yourself for an hour or two a day then you can develop your other senses and still be able to see when the days over.



superman: he lived on krypton. which was said to be the size of jupiter. jupiter is 1,312 times the size of earth i think. give or take. so the gravity had to be far far greater. so if one day we travel to some enormous planet and colonize there for a generation or two, or three or four. and then come back to good ol' earth. then there wold be real life supermen (and women) all over the place. if the planet had 10 times more gravity than earth, then moving or picking somethin up would take ten times less the amount of effort. just like the astronauts on the moon were able to jump much higher there than they can here. and lift heavier things... the only thing is, we might have trouble standing up on that new planet.

so what do you guys think?

im not saying that we can be EXACTLY like the characters. i doubt we ever will be. and flying is out of the question. but to some extent we might be able to have some recognizable traits of theirs.... maybe.

Answer 1

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. In the future, SOME of us will have super powers.

God help those of us who don’t.

9 JAN 07, 0345 hrs, GMT

Answer 2

It is simply not possible. The idea is there, but the physics and science do not back up the idea. These characters are always just able to do what has to be done. Early stories of Superman gave him the strength of only 10 men. He could not fly. Later, his great leaps became flight. His great strength became unimaginable. If you realize how much the Earth's crust weighs, then you know that the Superman of the movies goes well beyond the strength of ten men.
There are already "supermen" of sorts. Just consider Ripley's Believe it or Not. There are accounts of a 90 pound woman lifting 4 tons. There are accounts of athletes and war heroes that are not reproducible.
Also, it would take too long, even for a natural, to gain all the knowledge and skill of Batman. The hours of practice would not allow for anything else. To be great at one thing takes so much work. To be that good at everything is impossible. Spiderman is another who defies physics. About as strong as an ape is going to be pushing it for humans. Spiderman regularly defies gravity and physics. His reaction times are not just superhuman, they are impossible in nature. Even the fastest animal is not that fast. The Hulk is another that fits the story. Each hero is as good as the writer needs at the moment. I just read where the Hulk moved a planet's crust. Sorry, but it's impossible.

Answer 3

Things like telekinesis and energy project will always be impossible. but through genetics and designer drugs physical performance by humans can be greatly increased.

A man with spinnerets like Spiderman is pretty unlikely but if it could happen he would still have to actually weave a web like a spider, none of that swinging though the city stuff. His 'spider sense' would of course be impossible.

Making super strong people is possible but not to the degree of the Hulk or Superman. Even if someone got really strong, say enough to lift a car over their head their bones would probably break under the strain (so that would kind of suck).

Side note, there is documented proof of a boy in china born with a genetic disorder the gave him increased muscle production making him the first 'Mutant'. However doctors predict he will have a life of ligament and skeletal problems. Same as a few stories of kids I have heard about who can't feel pain, but there bodies are still damaged by outside forces, they end up doing things like severely burning themselves without even knowing it.

So sometimes the things we dream about would be nightmares in real life.

I liked that question.

Answer 4

First off, the only answer to a Who Would Win question is The Writer. Aunt May could whip out a Krytonite cane if the writer so chooses and kick the crap outta Kal-El.

Secondly, genetics will initially make it possible to be MORE of something we already are. Longer-lived, healthier, faster, stronger, possibly even smarter, etc. Therefore the only real super-hero possibilities are characters such as Batman and Captain America.

Thirdly, well... there is no thirdly.

Answer 5

Even if you could use genetics to give people powers, there's no way their bodies could handle the extra pressure. Think of the injuries a person sustains by using a simple keyboard. The repetitive typing can cause problems over time. Now give someone super speed...yeah, they are fast but can they magically regenerate their now worn to breaking joints and bones? And if they can, then wouldn't everyone genetically alter themselves to regenerate, causing another huge headache as people live virtually forever and strain the planet even more?

Fun to think of but not realistic for a future where we can't even figure out how to use less gasoline.

Answer 6

you should add this 2 batman vigalantee