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Physics
of Watchmen: Can Superheroes Exist Without Super Powers?
In
Watchmen, one of the many themes is what makes a hero? In order to answer this
question in a shallow but physical sense, the rules of physics in the Watchmen
universe will be compared to reality. As Watchmen is set in an alternative
reality, the rules of physics in this world are very similar to today’s world.
Though there are many similarities, there are instances in which certain rules
have a different set of rules. Some of these rules include the movement of
fluid, direction of force, and gravity. Many would argue that this is a film
about superheroes, however only one of the characters actually has super
powers. As many of the regular humans have super strength and speed in the movie,
it can be determined whether super strength and speed can exist in today’s
world through this comparison.
Among
the similarities between the Watchmen reality and today’s reality is movement
of fluid. Water behaves similarly in both realities and share the same rules.
The waves of water create complex pathways (see fig. 1 below), which are properly
shown when CGI is used to animate water in the movie. For example, in order to
tame a fire the Nite Owl uses his ship to shoot down a large water storage
tank. As the water spills out, the fluid hits one wall and quickly fills the
rooftop. As the waves collide with one another, they create several directions
of force within the water, similar to reality. Some contradictions to Watchmen’s
rules of fluid are the friction in water and Rorschach’s mask. In the film, water
seems to have no difference in friction than the friction in air. In one scene,
the Owl Ship dives into water, travels through it, then exits the water. During
this entire sequence it appears as though the ship moves with a constant
velocity. In reality, the ship should have slowed down upon impact of the water,
remained at a slower rate within the water, and then gained speed upon exit. Another
contradiction is Rorschach’s mask which has ink-like fluid. This fluid moves in
random patterns and at random speeds whether he is moving or is stationary. In
reality, the fluid should settle to the bottom when he is stationary, and should
compact then bounce depending on which direction force is applied (Garcia, L10_SquashStretch2,
Slide 30, 2012). One scene where his mask behaves realistically is during the
last fighting scene where he gets kicked in the face and the fluid compacts
accordingly to force (clip).
The film’s universe shares the same properties as fluid in reality, with only a
few contradictions.
Although
fluid has the same rules, the Watchmen universe does not share the rules of
inertia. More specifically, the Watchmen universe does not follow the inertia
and drag principle. In their universe, each character seems to have a small
gravitational field keeping objects toward them. This theory is shown to be
true in several scenes. For example, in the final fighting scene Ozymandias
jumps in the air, and at the apex of his jump his cape should go up due to
inertia, follow-through, drag, and air resistance (Garcia, L07_Action, slide 18,
2012). However, it stays down as if external force has no influence on it. One
more example of this is when the Comedian is thrown across the room in the
first fighting scene (clip).
His robe should have a drag, but it stays close to his body. An explanation is
that the characters have a field of gravity that overpowers the forces of
inertia. Dr. Manhattan’s super powers include a magnified gravitational field that
keeps electrons compacted to form his shape.
Another
difference from reality is that all of the Watchmen seem to have super strength
although the film clearly acknowledges none of them have super powers. This
means in the universe of Watchmen, humans are able to produce much more force
than in reality. Some examples of these include Silk Spectre kicking a person
in the back to send them back-flipping forward, the Comedian being tossed far
across the room (clip),
and the Nite Owl clothes lining criminals high into the air. Though they exhibit
exceptional strength, one moment is contradictory. Nite Owl punches Ozymandias
in the end of the movie several times. Based on seeing his strength in previous
scenes, Ozymandias should no longer have a face however Ozymandias only has a
few scars. Ozymandais seems to exhibit a large amount of force when he stops a
bullet. When he catches the bullet, he goes against the reality that an object
with large momentum cannot be stopped with a short amount of time and force (Garcia,
L09_SquashStretch, slide 46, 2012). In the gun shot scene (clip), he is able to
catch a bullet from gunpoint just inches away. In reality, the large momentum of
the bullet would need far more time in order to stop at his hand. This example
shows he has extraordinary force which he applied in a short amount of time.
Next
is the law of gravity which can explain how people can get tossed far
horizontal distances. In the universe of Watchmen, gravity is a force that
propels objects and organisms toward the center of the earth. The difference from
reality is the rate of acceleration of gravity. In Watchmen, their gravity has
random rates for different objects, and all the rates are less than that of
reality’s (9.8 m/s). The reason it is random for each object is because no
matter what size or weight of the object, all objects fall at different rates.
For example, when the Comedian gets thrown out of the building in the first
scene, he falls before his pin does. In reality, the pin should have fallen
first since they fell from the same height (Garcia, L10_SquashStretch2, slide
34, 2012). Another example of this is when the building on Mars crashes down. Random
sizes of shards fall at random moments. The gravity on Mars is different from
Earth, but all shards were affected by the same rate of gravity. Gravity is
also shown to be less in their universe in several scenes. First is the Comedian’s
fight scene and second is Rorschach’s. Both of them get easily tossed across
the room by a human with no powers. For this to happen a human would need
superhuman strength (already explained above), and the amount of force gravity
has on an object needs to be less. Gravity also seems to be at earth’s standard
force on all planets. When Silk Spectre is teleported to Mars, she is suffocating
due to a lack of oxygen, however she walks as if she is still on Earth. Mar’s
gravity should be 38% that of earth’s so Silk Spectre should appear to be
gently gliding along with every step (Ask an Astronomer for Kids, 2012).
Now
with those laws of physics explained, can those superhero attributes (super
strength and speed) be possible in reality? Perhaps looking at the examples can
explain if superhuman powers can exist in reality. One argument for superhuman
strength might be the character’s uses of long motions. For example, during the
fighting scenes every character uses dynamic poses before an action. Upon
throwing a punch kick or toss, each character squashes and contorts their body
then uses a long distance to generate large force. In this sense, a lot of
momentum and force can be generated from the torque of their core area. This
can generate enough force to break bones, punch through walls, and potentially
throw a body across the room if an individual is in great physical shape. Obviously
one area aspect that restricts this in reality is Earth’s relative high gravity
compared to that of the Watchmen’s. Of course in order to generate those
forces, planning and prediction of each movement must be made, rather than
reacting to the opponents blows. As for Ozymandias catching the bullet, it
should be humanly impossible since the average reaction time is .215
milliseconds, far less than the speed of a bullet being shot within inches
(Reaction Time Statistics, 2012). Furthermore, his hand does not have enough
force to stop the bullet on impact. The comics had explained that it was his
intelligence that enabled him to catch the bullet (fig. 2 below). First, he
calculated Silk Spectre’s reaction time for the trigger, the speed of the
bullet, and the reaction time he needed in order to catch the bullet. Second, he
put his hand out, but moved toward the direction of the bullet. As previously
explained, momentum can be safely stopped if there is small force within a
relatively long length of time. By doing so he was able to “catch” the bullet,
although he did end up bloodied due to minor penetration. His super speed was
actually a representation of his enormous intelligence and logic. Though the
rules such as gravity and fluid were different in this universe, it seems as
though super human strength and speed are possible through the knowledge of
physics, a strong body, and an amazing ability to process information.
In
conclusion, Watchmen has many rules of physics that follow reality’s rules, but
some that slightly differ. The film portrays the same rules with fluids, but the
rules that differ are force and gravity. Each of their principles are different
with many examples to prove so. Since there are similarities as well, it can be
studied if super powers can exist in reality. By understanding physics and
being in excellent physical shape, the super powers that the Watchmen exhibit
can be obtained to a certain degree in real life. Perhaps in the near future a
super physics man will society’s hero.
figure 1:
figure 2:
References
Ask
an Astronomer for Kids (2012). Cool
Cosmos. Retrieved from: http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/cosmic_kids/AskKids/mars_gravity.shtml
Garcia,
A. (2012). L07_Action [PDF document].
Retrieved from Lecture Notes Online Website: https://canvas.instructure.com/courses/595872/files#Physics%20of%20Animation
Garcia,
A. (2012). L09_SquashStretch [PDF
document]. Retrieved from Lecture Notes Online Website:https://canvas.instructure.com/courses/595872/files#Physics%20of%20Animation
Garcia,
A. (2012). L10_SquashStretch2 [PDF
document]. Retrieved from Lecture Notes Online Website:https://canvas.instructure.com/courses/595872/files#Physics%20of%20Animation
Reaction
Time Statistics. (2012). Human Benchmark. Retrieved from: http://www.humanbenchmark.com/tests/reactiontime/stats.php
I have made changes from the outline. The outline was based on what the movie did wrong, however my essay defines actual rules I have observed. The outline for this essay was essentially an introduction, how fluid is similar to reality with minor contradictions, regular people are far more stronger in Watchmen, There is less gravity in Watchmen, if it is possible to exhibit super speed and strength in reality, and a conclusion. I was able to use the same examples presented in the outline in a more orderly fashion.
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