When someone’s falling hundreds of feet and when they’re inches from the ground a super hero swoops in from the side to grab them.
Sure, they didn’t hit the ground but not only did you catching them slow down their vertical velocity just as fast as the ground would have, now you’ve accelerated them horizontally so fast that they’re now twice as dead as they would’ve been otherwise
I appreciated The Amazing Spider-Man 2 for that reason. Gwen was falling so fast that when she was caught I honestly thought her neck snapped and I didn’t notice her skull hitting the floor
In the original comic her neck was broken, and it’s not clear if it’s due to Spiderman’s failure at grasping physics or if the Green Goblin had already killed her before chucking her corpse off the bridge, but Peter Parker blames himself for it anyway.
I guess you could explain it like that, but I’d really prefer it if they just started writing Superman stories with a more realistic depiction of the world around Superman in mind. It would add more drama since, while Superman himself is invulnerable, the rest of the world isn’t, so Supes should have to be extremely careful with how he uses his powers if he’s actually going to save anyone.
yeah but it showed what you’re talking about. he’s a destructive force of nature that can cause great misery even when he’s trying to do the right thing
while Superman himself is invulnerable, the rest of the world isn’t
Larry Niven wrote a great essay many years ago about the physical realities of being Superman. My favorite bit was about how him having sex with Lois Lane would have resulted in her head being blown off.
Similarly- when a person is hanging off a building or cliff by one arm, and holding something heavy or another person with the other. It requires an INSANE amount of strength to hold that position, let alone actually haul them back up.
A proper way to handle this would be the hero catching them and then immediately rolling a ton of times while still in the air, turning the downward velocity into angular velocity and gradually reducing the momentum. The person may still pass out from the g forces, but they won’t be a pancake.
Another way that works is just to catch them on a downward tangent to their current fall trajectory, but rapidly slowing down and then turning back up. It means your scenario has to have enough vertical space to perform this maneuver, but not necessarily a lot–even a very small downward deceleration will turn death into bruises, because it’s like falling into padding.
Catching and rolling is physically similar to landing on a curved vertical ramp and sliding down it. The motion is not altogether stopped but instead redirected. Rolling is like hitting a tiny tiny ramp so your velocity is redirected at a very high rate, but it’s still better than just instantaneously stopping
Hey, as long as you’ve got three or four feet of slow down it’s probably not lethal. I always assume that when a superhero catches someone, they’re using the same magic they used to fly to cushion their body as they’re being slowed down during the last 5 to 10 ft. And being slowed from terminal velocity to a standstill over the course of 5 ft will still be quite strenuous, but if the acceleration is relatively consistent, you almost certainly make it out okay.
When someone’s falling hundreds of feet and when they’re inches from the ground a super hero swoops in from the side to grab them.
Sure, they didn’t hit the ground but not only did you catching them slow down their vertical velocity just as fast as the ground would have, now you’ve accelerated them horizontally so fast that they’re now twice as dead as they would’ve been otherwise
Every once in a while, it’s subverted. IIRC, that’s how Gwen dies in Spiderman comics.
I appreciated The Amazing Spider-Man 2 for that reason. Gwen was falling so fast that when she was caught I honestly thought her neck snapped and I didn’t notice her skull hitting the floor
In the original comic her neck was broken, and it’s not clear if it’s due to Spiderman’s failure at grasping physics or if the Green Goblin had already killed her before chucking her corpse off the bridge, but Peter Parker blames himself for it anyway.
My head canon, at least with Superman, is his powers. He doesn’t have multiple unrelated powers, but only 1 main one. Instinctive momentum control.
Flying - Momentum control
Bullet proof - Momentum stopped at the point of contact.
Heat beams - Changing the momentum of particles he’s focused on.
Holding a plane by a thin aluminium sheet - Adjusting the momentum of the plane directly.
No sonic booms, or massive wind - momentum nulling on the nearby air.
In this case, catching a falling person safely makes complete sense. He just nullifies their momentum before they hit.
I guess you could explain it like that, but I’d really prefer it if they just started writing Superman stories with a more realistic depiction of the world around Superman in mind. It would add more drama since, while Superman himself is invulnerable, the rest of the world isn’t, so Supes should have to be extremely careful with how he uses his powers if he’s actually going to save anyone.
“I live in a world made of cardboard, except for Lois’ bones and ligaments.”
this is what I liked about man of steel but last time I said I liked that movie online I got called an inbred lmao
The Superman in Man of Steel didn’t give a crap about the world around him.
yeah but it showed what you’re talking about. he’s a destructive force of nature that can cause great misery even when he’s trying to do the right thing
Larry Niven wrote a great essay many years ago about the physical realities of being Superman. My favorite bit was about how him having sex with Lois Lane would have resulted in her head being blown off.
You lazy b##stard!
[jk, enjoy!]
https://temp.larryniven.net/?q=man-of-steel-woman-of-kleenex-by-larry-niven
Go watch The Boys!
Actually not a bad rationale, especially given the era when Superman started - it reminds me of E.E. “Doc” Smith’s inertialess drive.
Similarly- when a person is hanging off a building or cliff by one arm, and holding something heavy or another person with the other. It requires an INSANE amount of strength to hold that position, let alone actually haul them back up.
That’s like even worse than being dead!
Could be that they’re only “mostly dead” - Miracle Max to the rescue!!
Maybe its faster?
And then there is specifically the night Gwen Stacy died.
A proper way to handle this would be the hero catching them and then immediately rolling a ton of times while still in the air, turning the downward velocity into angular velocity and gradually reducing the momentum. The person may still pass out from the g forces, but they won’t be a pancake.
Another way that works is just to catch them on a downward tangent to their current fall trajectory, but rapidly slowing down and then turning back up. It means your scenario has to have enough vertical space to perform this maneuver, but not necessarily a lot–even a very small downward deceleration will turn death into bruises, because it’s like falling into padding.
Wait how exactly does rolling help? I can understand catching the victim sooner to accelerate upwards over a longer time period.
Catching and rolling is physically similar to landing on a curved vertical ramp and sliding down it. The motion is not altogether stopped but instead redirected. Rolling is like hitting a tiny tiny ramp so your velocity is redirected at a very high rate, but it’s still better than just instantaneously stopping
No offense but why do you think it works that way at all?
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Only the “speed force” or maybe Pym Particles can counteract inertia like that
LOL in The Boys the supe would splatter through the falling character’s body, stop to pick up a dime off the ground and fly away.
There’s some kinda odd irony here when complaining about how unrealistic superhero movies/shows are… 🤔
Hey, as long as you’ve got three or four feet of slow down it’s probably not lethal. I always assume that when a superhero catches someone, they’re using the same magic they used to fly to cushion their body as they’re being slowed down during the last 5 to 10 ft. And being slowed from terminal velocity to a standstill over the course of 5 ft will still be quite strenuous, but if the acceleration is relatively consistent, you almost certainly make it out okay.
This is how Gwen Stacy died in the comics. I think in the movie they had her head hit the ground instead.