WEBVTT - The Monstrefact Omnibus: More Marvel Heroes

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of iHeartRadio.

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<v Speaker 2>Hi, my name is Robert Lamb, and I'm back with

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<v Speaker 2>another omnibus episode of The Monster Fact, collecting the four

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<v Speaker 2>most recent Marvel Comics themed episodes all rolled up into

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<v Speaker 2>a single convenient package. Up first, let's consider the terrifying

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<v Speaker 2>man Thing. Let us return to the pages of Marvel

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<v Speaker 2>Comics to consider a true monster. Man Thing. It's not

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<v Speaker 2>to be confused with DC's swamp Thing, but he stands

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<v Speaker 2>as something of his spiritual twin sibling. So both man

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<v Speaker 2>Thing and swamp Thing are hybrid swamp based humanoids created

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<v Speaker 2>through an explosive collision of humanity, mad science and swamp water.

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<v Speaker 2>Both characters hit the comics for the first time in

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<v Speaker 2>nineteen seventy one. However, most commentators seem to see it

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<v Speaker 2>merely as coincidence and point to various differences in the characters,

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<v Speaker 2>plus Marvel's walking swamp creature The Heap predates both of them,

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<v Speaker 2>dating back to the early nineteen forties, as does the

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<v Speaker 2>muck Monster It from Street and Smith Comics. Still, these

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<v Speaker 2>various swamp beings become linked. They have a kinship, and

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<v Speaker 2>you'll even find a panel in Alan Moore's swamp Thing run,

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<v Speaker 2>visually suggesting kinship between swamp Thing, man Thing, the Heap,

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<v Speaker 2>and others. But I've already talked about swamp Thing on

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<v Speaker 2>the Monster fact, so let's get serious about man Thing.

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<v Speaker 2>As pointed out by Kelly Knox in the book Monsters

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<v Speaker 2>Creatures of the Marvel Universe, man Thing started off as

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<v Speaker 2>a human scientist named Ted Sallus. Now, like a lot

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<v Speaker 2>of Marvel comic books, scientists, Ted worked on super soldier serums,

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<v Speaker 2>at least until enemies tried to take it from him.

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<v Speaker 2>Ted then injected himself with the serum and accidentally wrecked

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<v Speaker 2>his car in the Everglades, and was also exposed to

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<v Speaker 2>extra dimensional forces in the process. So what emerged from

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<v Speaker 2>the swamp was neither man nor Thing, but man Thing,

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<v Speaker 2>a humanoid swamp creature that would become the guardian of

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<v Speaker 2>the Nexus of Reality, where science and magic converge. Man

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<v Speaker 2>Thing boasts incredible strength and can throw down with the

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<v Speaker 2>toughest of physical opponents, but some of his most impressive

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<v Speaker 2>powers are due to his empathy. Manthaning is so empathic

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<v Speaker 2>that negative emotions in others can cause him physical pain

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<v Speaker 2>and distress, especially when he senses fear. This will also

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<v Speaker 2>cause him to lash out violently at individuals in the

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<v Speaker 2>throes of fear and lay his burning hands upon them.

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<v Speaker 2>Man Thing's burning hands are a fascinating superpower, brought to

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<v Speaker 2>life most wonderfully in the twenty twenty two MCU Werewolf

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<v Speaker 2>by Night special, which captures it as a kind of

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<v Speaker 2>holy fire than incinerates Ted's victims. On one level, this

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<v Speaker 2>seems to be just another version of various magical tales

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<v Speaker 2>in which creatures feed off of fear or sense fear

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<v Speaker 2>in others as if it is an actual energy or

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<v Speaker 2>a quantifiable substance. Man Thing's abilities, however, are frequently explained

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<v Speaker 2>in terms of chemistry. NOx attributes his burning touch to

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<v Speaker 2>chemicals in man Thing's body and sumeric and wallace in

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<v Speaker 2>marvel anatomy. The authors here presume that this chemical secretion

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<v Speaker 2>is something akin to sulphuric acid, that it's excreted through

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<v Speaker 2>man Thing's pores. I suppose we might compare this ability

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<v Speaker 2>to these self defensive secretions of various natural world organisms,

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<v Speaker 2>and given man things plant based physiology, we have to

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<v Speaker 2>acknowledge that certain plants do secrete acidic substances. Through their roots,

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<v Speaker 2>in some cases to dissolve rocky soil and in other

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<v Speaker 2>cases to eradicate competition. But what about this notion that

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<v Speaker 2>a monster like man, thing, or even a natural world

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<v Speaker 2>organism can quote sense fear. It's a common trope, but

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<v Speaker 2>is there anything to it. Certainly there is no true

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<v Speaker 2>sixth sense for fear in which humans or other animals

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<v Speaker 2>can tap into an otherwise invisible video game fear meter. Fear,

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<v Speaker 2>like other human defined emotional states, is hard to quantify

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<v Speaker 2>in animals and subject to human testing bias, as Ralph

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<v Speaker 2>Adolf's discussed in the twenty thirteen Current Biology article The

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<v Speaker 2>Biology of Fear. Some argue that fear is a mere

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<v Speaker 2>psychological construct and something we can't apply to animals as

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<v Speaker 2>we cannot truly know their minds. On the other hand,

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<v Speaker 2>neuroimaging in rodents would seem to reveal a clear fear

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<v Speaker 2>network in their brains at all. Stressed a distinction to

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<v Speaker 2>be made between the conscious human feeling of being afraid

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<v Speaker 2>and fear as a functional state of an organism. This

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<v Speaker 2>state exists in relation to fear inducing stimuli, which for

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<v Speaker 2>humans at least can be in the present past or

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<v Speaker 2>in imagined future and induces fearful behavior. Fear in both

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<v Speaker 2>cognition and behavior is largely adaptive, and it's because fear

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<v Speaker 2>can help us survive, though of course, all of this

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<v Speaker 2>can become maladaptive as well. Now, man things relation to

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<v Speaker 2>fear is interesting in light of all this. He acutely

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<v Speaker 2>fears the effects of another organism's fear, but the source

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<v Speaker 2>of his own emotional distress in this scenario is not

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<v Speaker 2>the fear inducing stimuli that caused the original distress, but

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<v Speaker 2>the distressed organism itself, which he may then incinerate with

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<v Speaker 2>his burning hands due to a fear response chemical secretion

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<v Speaker 2>in his own body. So there's a lot to unpact there.

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<v Speaker 2>But hey, still a pretty great swamp monster, and I'm

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<v Speaker 2>always down for a cool swamp monster. All right, let's

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<v Speaker 2>insert a fresh quarter into the nineteen ninety two X

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<v Speaker 2>Men arcade machine and tag in Colossus. I've been plowing

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<v Speaker 2>through old episodes of The X Men, the animated series

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<v Speaker 2>from the nineties with my son in anticipation of eventually

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<v Speaker 2>diving into the X Men ninety seven series. This show

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<v Speaker 2>is a lot of fun, packs a lot of nostalgia

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<v Speaker 2>for me, and leads to some interesting conversations with my

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<v Speaker 2>son about the various themes. Some of our favorite characters

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<v Speaker 2>include Rogue and Wolverine, but Colossus is always a treat

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<v Speaker 2>as well. If you're not familiar with this particular mutant,

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<v Speaker 2>we're talking about Russian X men Peter Resputant, an already

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<v Speaker 2>intimidatingly muscular man who is able at will to assume

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<v Speaker 2>an impenetrable steel form. Sometimes, as in his Marvel dot

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<v Speaker 2>Com profile, Colossus's transformation is said to convert his entire

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<v Speaker 2>body into an organic steel like substance. Other times, the

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<v Speaker 2>transformation is interpreted as something that occurs only at the

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<v Speaker 2>dermal level, so only at the skin level. Either way,

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<v Speaker 2>the transformation generally looks as if a segmented stainless steel

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<v Speaker 2>coating flows over his entire body. We're going to approach

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<v Speaker 2>it here as a dermal transformation because the idea of

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<v Speaker 2>a full body transformation leaves us less room to wonder

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<v Speaker 2>over the scientific details of the feet. But just the

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<v Speaker 2>idea alone has always been a captivating one, because here

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<v Speaker 2>is Peter Resputen, a powerful but peaceful man who would

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<v Speaker 2>far rather pursue art than conflict, but who for the

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<v Speaker 2>greater good can literally grow the thickest, most impenetrable skin

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<v Speaker 2>imaginable to throw down against adversity. For Colossus, this might

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<v Speaker 2>mean the grasping tentacles of Omega Red, always a favorite

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<v Speaker 2>of mine, or the machinations of the Shadow King. Once

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<v Speaker 2>the threat is dealt with, Peter reverts to his normal

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<v Speaker 2>form and continues on in his peaceful creative pursuits. Lynn

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<v Speaker 2>Ween and Dave Cockrum created Colossus back in nineteen seventy five,

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<v Speaker 2>and he remains a popular character to this day. So

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<v Speaker 2>how might we think about Colossus from a scientific and

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<v Speaker 2>biological standpoint? Turning once more to marvel Anatomy by Mark

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<v Speaker 2>Sumerac and Daniel Wallace, the authors here discuss his ability

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<v Speaker 2>in terms of a transmutation of his dermal layers or skin,

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<v Speaker 2>into an organic steel, with his underlying body retaining its

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<v Speaker 2>flesh and blood form. Their explanation details a process by

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<v Speaker 2>which each individual's skin cell draws on metallic extra dimensional

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<v Speaker 2>mass to become an activated organic steel cell. So, in

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<v Speaker 2>other words, each cell of Colossus's dermal layer coats itself

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<v Speaker 2>in biological metallic material, and this translates into the transformation

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<v Speaker 2>of the entire epidermis but at the cellular level. Thus

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<v Speaker 2>his mobility is not compromised, and his already incredible baseline

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<v Speaker 2>strength no doubt, helps out as well. Now, by this explanation,

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<v Speaker 2>we may not be dealing exactly with something like steel

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<v Speaker 2>shutters from nowhere flowing over his entire body, but that

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<v Speaker 2>metallic cellular coding has to come from somewhere if we're

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<v Speaker 2>to adhere to the law of conservation of mass. And

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<v Speaker 2>the answer they provide is that the ability draws on

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<v Speaker 2>another spatial dimension. That's where the metal comes from. And okay,

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<v Speaker 2>that works for me. Now. I also ran across an

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<v Speaker 2>excellent twenty eighteen paper in the journal Advances in Physiology

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<v Speaker 2>Education titled the Physiology of Impenetrable Skin Colossus of the

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<v Speaker 2>x Men by Barry W. Fitzgerald. His whole point is

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<v Speaker 2>the Colossus is a great example of how a fictional

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<v Speaker 2>character can promote multidisciplinary se scientific discussion in a classroom. Now,

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<v Speaker 2>I'm not going to summarize everything Fitzgerald has to say,

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<v Speaker 2>but he makes some great points about Colossus and thermoregulation. Basically,

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<v Speaker 2>we have to think about what human skin does for

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<v Speaker 2>the body and how that might be impacted by a

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<v Speaker 2>shift into a steel form. One key area of concern

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<v Speaker 2>is thermoregulation of body temperature, which the skin plays a

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<v Speaker 2>role in via such responses as vasodilation, vassal constriction, and

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<v Speaker 2>of course sweating. Can Colossus his steel skin do any

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<v Speaker 2>of this well? The author here contends that his body's

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<v Speaker 2>ability to thermo regulate would be severely impacted via this

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<v Speaker 2>steel or organic steel, or otherwise metal coating, and specifically,

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<v Speaker 2>during a heated battle, he would simply overheat. He wouldn't

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<v Speaker 2>be much good battling the Juggernaut if he passes out

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<v Speaker 2>from overheating just a few minutes into the struggle. Fitzgerald

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<v Speaker 2>isn't here to yuck everyone's young, though with science he

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<v Speaker 2>presents a possible path forward. Perhaps he says Colossus's organic

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<v Speaker 2>steel skin is actually graphene due to its protective capability

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<v Speaker 2>and its biocompatibility. It's carbon, after all, like we are,

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<v Speaker 2>and it's super thin, consisting of a single layer of

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<v Speaker 2>atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice nanostructure. This biographene honeycomb

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<v Speaker 2>lattice layer hypothesis would therefore solve a number of the

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<v Speaker 2>key problems with Peter's mutant power from thermoregulation to mass conservation,

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<v Speaker 2>the layer would swiftly form via protein folding and self assembly,

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<v Speaker 2>and bam, Colossus is ready for action. I highly recommend

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<v Speaker 2>checking out Fitzgerald's paper here of the topic interest you

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<v Speaker 2>in or out of the classroom, because hey, presumably Colossus

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<v Speaker 2>is headed back into theaters and back into action this

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<v Speaker 2>summer in the next Deadpool movie, so it's a perfect

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<v Speaker 2>time to embrace both sieians and mutant powers. Next, let's

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<v Speaker 2>consider a deeper cut with puff Adder. I recently picked

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<v Speaker 2>up a kind of ragged copy of the official Handbook

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<v Speaker 2>of the Marvel Universe Master Edition from I believe nineteen ninety,

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<v Speaker 2>though this also might have been a reprint from years later.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm not entirely certain, but it's filled with various Marvel

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<v Speaker 2>characters from the famous to the obscure, each with profile

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<v Speaker 2>data and standardized character illustrations in this kind of glorious

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<v Speaker 2>retro style. Amid all the capes and tights, and there

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<v Speaker 2>are a lot of tights, there are some gloriously weird

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<v Speaker 2>entries in the book. There's the spiky faced skeleton man

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<v Speaker 2>terror Ink, with his ability to steal limbs and attach

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<v Speaker 2>them to his own body. I was also fascinated by

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<v Speaker 2>Quasi Modo or quasi motivational destruct organism. He is a

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<v Speaker 2>superpowered cyborg hunchback, and presumably he's quite motivational. But in

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<v Speaker 2>this episode, I want to focus in on the villain

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<v Speaker 2>poff Adder real name Gordo Freeley and apparently a native

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<v Speaker 2>of Atlanta. Physically, he appears to be a very large,

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<v Speaker 2>muscular man in a snake costume. He is a mutant

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<v Speaker 2>in the Marvel comics, with the ability to engorge his

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<v Speaker 2>entire epidermis with blood, thus making himself appear more powerful

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<v Speaker 2>and menacing. Now, he's already a very capable fighter with

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<v Speaker 2>enhanced strength, but it's curious that his mutant ability doesn't

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<v Speaker 2>seem to actually boost his fighting power in the way

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<v Speaker 2>that many other mutant powers do. Instead, it just allows

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<v Speaker 2>him to better bluff and better intimidate. Oh and he

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<v Speaker 2>also has another weapon, a noxious gas canister in the

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<v Speaker 2>mouth like cowl of his snake man. His namesake is,

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<v Speaker 2>of course, the puff adder snake, consisting of several species

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<v Speaker 2>native to Africa in parts of the Saudi Arabian Peninsula.

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<v Speaker 2>The snake in question is able to puff itself up

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<v Speaker 2>to look larger as a predator deterrent, and it does

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<v Speaker 2>this by inflating its body with air and then hissing loudly.

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<v Speaker 2>And like the Marvel character, the snake can also back

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<v Speaker 2>up that threat. It packs a powerful venomous bite, and

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<v Speaker 2>the force of its strikes alone is enough to kill

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<v Speaker 2>small prey. Various natural world creatures make themselves look bigger

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<v Speaker 2>as a defensive or mating display. Some the imposturing or

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<v Speaker 2>the manipulation of fur or feathers, while others actually inflate

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<v Speaker 2>tissues with air, water, or blood. These actions also frequently

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<v Speaker 2>enhance the colors or patterns of such a display as well.

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<v Speaker 2>While Gordo's mutant nobility may appear at first to buck

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<v Speaker 2>the general theme we see in comic book Superpowers, it's

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<v Speaker 2>certainly in keeping with actual real world aptations. There is

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<v Speaker 2>a survival advantage in not actually having to fight a

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<v Speaker 2>predator or competitor, and the same holds true with not

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<v Speaker 2>having to fight every x Man or avenger you encounter

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<v Speaker 2>on the pages of Marvel comics. And finally, let's comb

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<v Speaker 2>the powerful scarlet locks of Medusa unstuffable your mind. We've

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<v Speaker 2>discussed the mythical gorgon Medusa at length, But today I

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<v Speaker 2>want to look at the character with the same name

0:15:35.480 --> 0:15:40.720
<v Speaker 2>from the Marvel Comics universe. This Medusa is an inhuman,

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<v Speaker 2>a branch of Homo sapiens descended from experiments conducted on

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<v Speaker 2>primitive humans by the alien Cree to give them various

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<v Speaker 2>emergent powers. While other inhumans boast devastating offensive powers or

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<v Speaker 2>highly augmented physiologies, Medusa's power is all about her long

0:15:59.720 --> 0:16:03.040
<v Speaker 2>red hair, which she can extend to double its normal

0:16:03.080 --> 0:16:06.840
<v Speaker 2>six foot length, and most remarkably, of all, control each

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<v Speaker 2>strand as if it were a highly prehensile arm or tentacle.

0:16:11.480 --> 0:16:14.440
<v Speaker 2>She can cause her scarlet locks to bundle together into

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<v Speaker 2>reinforcing strands and accomplish everything from minor tool manipulation to

0:16:19.360 --> 0:16:24.360
<v Speaker 2>intense physical combat with other superpowered individuals now As the

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<v Speaker 2>excellent book Marvel Anatomy by Mark Sumarak and Daniel Wallace

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<v Speaker 2>with illustrations by Jonah Loebe points out, Medusa's hair is

0:16:33.480 --> 0:16:36.680
<v Speaker 2>just normal hair. It's perhaps fuller and longer than most

0:16:36.760 --> 0:16:40.160
<v Speaker 2>human heads of hair, but its prehensile power stems not

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<v Speaker 2>from its internal structure, which is just the standard cross

0:16:43.600 --> 0:16:47.560
<v Speaker 2>link kerat and protein filament, but from her own powerful

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<v Speaker 2>psionic abilities. Yes, she has telekinesis, but can only control

0:16:52.640 --> 0:16:56.120
<v Speaker 2>her own hair, and that's no slight against Medusa here.

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<v Speaker 2>Think about it. The average human head, according to Harvard's

0:16:59.280 --> 0:17:03.040
<v Speaker 2>Bio Numbers website, consists of between ninety thousand and one

0:17:03.120 --> 0:17:06.840
<v Speaker 2>hundred and fifty thousand individual hairs, and we might position

0:17:06.960 --> 0:17:09.600
<v Speaker 2>her at the upper end of that spectrum, even allotting

0:17:09.640 --> 0:17:14.200
<v Speaker 2>for thicker hair shafts, as Sumac and Wallace suggest, even

0:17:14.280 --> 0:17:17.879
<v Speaker 2>being rather conservative, Let's say she's using her brain to

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<v Speaker 2>minutely control one hundred thousand strands of hair as if

0:17:22.560 --> 0:17:27.520
<v Speaker 2>they were one hundred thousand additional arms. Assuming that her

0:17:27.520 --> 0:17:31.959
<v Speaker 2>sonic powers emerged primarily through neural tissue, her brain is

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<v Speaker 2>putting in quite a lot of work here, in addition

0:17:34.880 --> 0:17:38.679
<v Speaker 2>to controlling her human limbs. Of course, remember that an octopus,

0:17:38.720 --> 0:17:42.159
<v Speaker 2>in order to control its own sophisticated system of grasping arms,

0:17:42.440 --> 0:17:46.120
<v Speaker 2>depends in part on intramuscular nerve cords that act as

0:17:46.160 --> 0:17:50.639
<v Speaker 2>sort of many brains to provide partially independent action. So

0:17:50.720 --> 0:17:54.240
<v Speaker 2>perhaps Medusa as well benefits from something akin to this.

0:17:54.880 --> 0:17:58.119
<v Speaker 2>We might well assume her telekinetic powers rival those of

0:17:58.240 --> 0:18:00.840
<v Speaker 2>century or even those of the mighty e gene gray,

0:18:01.280 --> 0:18:05.760
<v Speaker 2>only much more localized in range. But if telekinetic hair

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<v Speaker 2>strand control is a heavy lift, what about the actual

0:18:08.920 --> 0:18:13.040
<v Speaker 2>physical lift of picking up various objects and even superheroes

0:18:13.240 --> 0:18:16.960
<v Speaker 2>with her telekinetically manipulated hair. This question is a good

0:18:16.960 --> 0:18:19.520
<v Speaker 2>bit easier to nail down, as we know exactly how

0:18:19.560 --> 0:18:23.040
<v Speaker 2>strong human hair is. As Tim Radford pointed out in

0:18:23.080 --> 0:18:25.479
<v Speaker 2>a two thousand and four article for The Guardian Secrets

0:18:25.480 --> 0:18:28.320
<v Speaker 2>of Human Hair Unlocked at Natural History Museum in London,

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<v Speaker 2>a single human hair strand can only sustain a weight

0:18:31.880 --> 0:18:35.359
<v Speaker 2>of one hundred grams or three ounces, but when hair

0:18:35.440 --> 0:18:39.440
<v Speaker 2>is woven together, it can sustain much more, a fact

0:18:39.600 --> 0:18:43.760
<v Speaker 2>that hair hangar aerialists have long exploited. In fact, if

0:18:43.800 --> 0:18:46.120
<v Speaker 2>all the strands of hair on a typical human head

0:18:46.160 --> 0:18:52.000
<v Speaker 2>were woven together, the resulting megabraid could hold twelve metric tons,

0:18:52.119 --> 0:18:55.520
<v Speaker 2>or the weight of two elephants. So the idea of

0:18:55.600 --> 0:18:59.359
<v Speaker 2>Medusa coiling her braids and holding say iron Man in place,

0:18:59.840 --> 0:19:04.160
<v Speaker 2>is isn't that far fetched, at least from a material standpoint.

0:19:04.200 --> 0:19:07.840
<v Speaker 2>Interestingly enough, in the comics, as Queen of the Inhumans,

0:19:08.359 --> 0:19:13.360
<v Speaker 2>Medusa's greatest strength is perhaps her diplomatic abilities. A reminder

0:19:13.400 --> 0:19:17.880
<v Speaker 2>that while superpowered hair can move around superheroes, a well

0:19:17.920 --> 0:19:24.639
<v Speaker 2>placed word can move mountains. Tune in for additional episodes

0:19:24.680 --> 0:19:28.480
<v Speaker 2>of The Monster Fact, The Artifact, or Automalius Dupendium each week.

0:19:28.800 --> 0:19:31.560
<v Speaker 2>As always, you can email us at contact at stuff

0:19:31.560 --> 0:19:38.040
<v Speaker 2>to Blow your Mind dot com.

0:19:38.119 --> 0:19:41.080
<v Speaker 1>Stuff to Blow Your Mind is production of iHeartRadio. For

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