Spider-Man the scientist

On the pages of Marvel Comics, millionaire industrialist Tony Stark becomes Iron Man when he dons an armored suit of his own invention, increasing his strength by a factor of 90. And Spider-Man, who has delighted generations with his ability to scale walls, stops villains in their tracks with thin strands of synthetic webbing shot from his wrists.

Sound impossible?

As Stan Lee, chairman emeritus of Marvel Enterprises, would say, “Worry not, true believers.” The “Marvel Super Heroes Science Exhibition,” which opened Sunday at the California Science Center in Exposition Park, makes the case that, scientifically speaking, superhero powers aren’t as far-fetched as they once seemed.

Using Marvel comic book characters as a jumping-off point, the exhibition explores achievements in science and technology via full-body, interactive experiences.

Although it’s not the first time that comic book characters have been featured in a science museum, organizers say the Marvel show is by far the most expansive.

Visitors enter the exhibition space by crossing a plexiglass-encased I-beam suspended 12 feet off the ground, then step down into a 9,000-square-foot world populated by some of Marvel’s best-known characters.

Among the highlights are a larger-than-life Doctor Octopus looming above the hall waving four prosthetic limbs, one of which can be manipulated from below with a joystick; a sextet of 1/8 -inch-thick Technora chords hanging from the ceiling like webbing, each able to handle the weight of seven people; and a life-size image of Iceman boasting two giant icy hands that constantly melt and reform by freezing moisture absorbed from the air.

The entire exhibition is surrounded by walls up to 15 feet tall featuring dynamic images of characters such as the X-Men and Fantastic Four, as rendered by some of Marvel Comics’ top artists, including Alex Ross and Chris Bachalo. Overhead, large screens display computer-generated video of the Hulk while the sounds of sirens and barking dogs emanate from Blind Alley. There, visitors are forced to rely on hearing and touch to navigate a winding corridor a la the blind crusader Daredevil.

“This is an exhibit that really immerses you in the Marvel universe to realize the science and technology that is inspired by these mythic superheroes,” says Diane Perlov, the Science Center’s senior vice president for exhibits. “In terms of size and scope, this exhibition rivals ‘Titanic.’ ”

Both the Marvel exhibition, as well as the “Titanic” show, which the center hosted three years ago, were designed and produced by Ontario, Canada-based Yellowbrick / Holman Exhibitions Inc. This time around, however, the Ontario Science Centre was also brought on board to lend scientific credibility and help market the project as it embarks on a 10-city worldwide tour. After Los Angeles, the show moves to the Ontario Centre in Toronto in October.

That the exhibition is opening in L.A. is no accident, given the city’s proximity to the film industry and the fact that such recent Marvel movies as “Spider-Man,” “X-Men” and “Fantastic Four” have been box office gold. According to Grant Troop, the Ontario Science Centre’s director of business planning and operations, that goodwill translates into “incredible brand recognition and marketing leverage.”

Troop acknowledged that some will question the validity of a Marvel-themed show, especially given that Marvel, through its licensing agreement, had a hand in virtually every aspect of the exhibition.

“We wanted to avoid the perception that this was a crass attempt to just take the Marvel brand and use it to sell tickets,” he says. “The exhibition had to speak to a level of scientific integrity and authenticity that we, as a science center, are used to being involved in.”

To that end, Troop and Yellowbrick / Holman President Nicola Lisus employed a team of researchers to consider the science, including biology, physics, neurology, chemistry and material science.

Lisus says she had one strict rule: the learning had to be built into the doing.

“When you’re climbing the spider wall and putting your fingers into the nooks and crannies, you’re acting like a spider who has little scopulae [tufts of tiny hairs] at the end of its feet that act like little bits of Velcro and allow it to attach to a wall,” Lisus says.

She adds that the creators looked to the characters for inspiration and then worked backward. Iron Man’s armored suit, which originated in 1960s comic books written by Stan Lee, is one example.

Lisus’ team discovered current U.S. Army research into Iron Man-like “exosuits” that allow men to carry 650-pound packs across the desert. “It’s amazing that the creators at Marvel thought this up 40 years before we started doing it,” she says.

In the exhibition, visitors will be able to stand in a stripped-down version of Iron Man’s suit, pull up on a deceptively light aluminum bar -- and lift a Toyota Scion off the ground.

“The exhibit gives you the real, visceral experience of lifting a heavy load, but at the same time it also teaches people about simple mechanics,” Perlov says.

Perlov spent hours on the phone with Hooley McLaughlin, the Ontario center’s science and technology advisor, about the need for hands-on experiences to clarify the principles introduced by the displays.

“There was this wonderful international exchange of ideas,” McLaughlin says, “in terms of having the California Science Center talk to us about the nature of the public in California and the degree in which they wanted the integration of a certain learning style incorporated into the process.”

Although the exhibition is geared largely to families with children ages 7 to 12, for older audiences and the nostalgia-minded, it concludes with a history of Marvel Comics showing its social-historical context and how the stories reflected their time.

In addition, there’s a gallery that showcases blowups of classic covers and character images, along with biographies of some of Marvel Comics’ hall-of-fame creators, including Steve Ditko, Jack Kirby, Gil Kane and John Byrne. A theater section screens a 20-minute interview with Lee, who created or co-created most of the characters in the exhibition.

Although Lee was not consulted, he says he’s thrilled that a science museum would have an exhibition focusing on his creations.

“I never realized it before, but I’m a scientific genius,” Lee says, laughing. “When I was coming up with these characters, I didn’t have time to do any research because I was writing 12 comics books a month -- I just knew things that anybody would know from reading the newspaper or reading books.

“With the Hulk, there was a gamma ray explosion that causes Bruce Banner to turn into a raging monster,” Lee adds. “I didn’t know what a gamma ray was -- I wouldn’t know one if I saw it -- but it sounds impressive, doesn’t it?”

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‘Marvel Super Heroes’

Where: California Science Center, 700 State Drive, Los Angeles

When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (last admission, 4 p.m.) daily

Ends: Sept. 4

Price: $7.75 to $9.75

Contact: (323) 724-3623; www.californiasciencecenter.org