super technology

Conclusion

In comic after comic, we see that the greatest discoveries come from alien sources, or are borrowed from others who got it from elsewhere. This is finally admitted in the Illuminati mini series. Thanks to Doc Shallot for pointing this out:

"The Illuminati mini-series suggests that Reed and Stark have been making a fortune using Skrull technology. Shortly after the first Kree-Skrull war the group escapes from the Skrulls using a stolen ship. By the time of the third issue(set between the first and second Secret War mini's), it is discovered that they are still in possession of it. When Namor accuses Reed and Stark of profiting from it Reed doesn't deny it."

How much clearer can it be? Reed Richards, and other superheroes, get their best ideas from alien tech. They would be crazy not to.

Superhero technology all comes from outer space! And here is the proof!

Superheroes always come after spaceships

It is no coincidence that superheroes follow spaceships. In the 1930s we got Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, and the brth of the science fiction pulp. Then in the 1940s we got the golden age of superheroes, using the technology they got from outer space. the most famous superhero, Superman, was himself an alien. Then in the 1950s we got another wave of comics recording alien invasions. Which was followed by the 1960s and superheroes who used the alien tech.

Take the greatest scientist of them all: Mr Fantastic, head of the Fantastic Four. Just before the Fantastic Four began, Reed discovered an alien spaceship (you can read all about it in Fantastic Four 271).

Click here for the origin of Reed Richards' greatest inventions

If Peter made all his own webbing, why was the early stuff much better tha the later stuff? it can only be because he was using up chamicals created by someone else. Almost certainly chemicals he discovered on a shelf at a local university, collected from one of the 1950s alien visits. When that was used up he had to synthesize it himself, and he never worked out how to do the super webbing, just the basic stuff.

Why did nobody else use the web fluid?

There were so many alien visits in the 1950s that there must be all kinds of strange artefacts left behind. Aliens still visited in the 1960s - Spider-man met the Tinkerer, remember? Some artifacts had obvious uses, but some must have been just perplexing. What use was a liquid that expands when you release pressure, shoots across the room, sticks to the wall, is super strong, then dissolves a few minutes later? That liquid would have been left on a science lab shelf and forgotten until Peter Parker remembered it.

Why don't regular people use more alien tech?

Alien tech is often highly dangerous (blasters, star ships, etc.) Governments will do all in their power to get hold of it and stop its unauthorized use. But governments are highly bureacratic, so alien tech is often stolen. The only people who can defend it are superheroes and supervillains. That's why superheroes have alien tech, and the rest of us don't.

Reed explores Gormuu's alien space ship, and begins to learn how it works. He then defeats the alien, who of course leaves his ship behind. Soon after, Reed completes his own experimental star ship (in Fantastic Four issue one). Coincidence? I don't think so.

The Fantasticar and unstable molecules: all Skrull technology

In the second issue of the Fantastic Four, the team gain access to air jet technology, a flaming suit, an antigravity pack (which Reed never figured out but the Wizard did), and of course unstable molecules. For the next few years all of Reed's greatest inventions were based on this tech.

Technology borrowed from the future

In Fantasic Four issue five we meet Dr Doom, who has an impressive collection of advanced technology. Where did he get it from? Well, he has a time machine, so where do you think he got it from? Later (in issue 271) we discover that Reed's father had the time machine first. But Reed's father is known for having secrets and not always telling the whole truth, so where did he get it from? Whatever the answer, he had access to all the advanced technology he could ever need, and never needed to invent a thing.

Do we know for sure that Reed copies the advanced technology he finds? Well look what happened to Dr Doom's time machine when Doom disappears - Reed takes it to the Baxter Building to study it (in issue 23). He later makes a copy, as for legal reasons he has to give the original back to Doom.

Again and again we see that Reed Richards gets hot new technology from aliens, or from the future. Then he later "invents" something with suspiciously similar properties. Read the comics for yourself, it's all there in glorious color. (Or in black and white if you're reading the reprints.)

The best technology that planet X can offer

In issue seven of the Fantastic Four, the team visits Planet X. This story is especially interesting for three reasons.

First, we see that aliens recognize Reed's special talent: he can see totally new alien technology, and within minutes he has a pretty good idea how to use it. Their planet only has 48 hours to survive, and they figure the best way to use the first 24 hours is to fetch Reed Richards and then show him all their technology. That is Reed's real skill, in using other people's technology in new and inventive ways. He is an explorer, not a researcher. he explores what is already there and finds new paths through it. He can stretch his mind far further than his body.

Second, we see that Reed obtains a flying saucer from planet X, and we later see it as a trophy in the Baxter Building. So there is absolutely no doubt that he stores alien technology. Seriously, I ask you, why would a scientist ever do slow and tedious primary research when he has fully developed advanced technology waiting to be explored in his lab? And he kenw the planet would blow up, so you can bet he filled the ship with their best equipment befiore he left.

The third reason why issue seven is important is the ending: Reed lies to an entire world, for their greater good. In issue 271, referred to earlier, he also reveals that he lied to Ben Grimm about Ben's ability to change state. So we see that Reed is quite happy to tell lies if he thinks it is for the greater good. You still think he does primary research himself? That he reinvents the wheel? He lets people think he does, but the evidence says otherwise.

Ever wonder why Reed never flies that saucer any more, and why you don't see Gormuu's ship in the Baxter Building? Because he's cannibalised them for parts, that's why!

How much is original and how much is borrowed?

I'm not suggesting that Reed does no research at all. But to what extent does he perform his own research, and to what extent does he simply build on alien tech? Issue nine may hold the answers.

FF 9 begins when Reed tries primary research into curing the Thing ... and fails. This is a good example of real world science. Real world science needs many failed attempts for every tentative success. Time and again Reed tried to cure The Thing by his own efforts. (The alien tech is generally physics based, and Ben's problem is biological). And look where it gets him: disappointment and failure every time. meanwhile, while he's busy spending long hours in the lab, the other areas of his life are neglected. The Fantastic Four end up going bankrupt! We see Reed's own inventions being sold (note that he does not sell the flying saucer). This really tears him up inside. Reed tortures himself for his failure.

No doubt he vows that he will do whatever it takes to ensure they are never again in this humiliating financial position. And sure enough, in later years when the team has financial problems Reed is never too worried and seems able to produce new patents whenever he needed extra cash. An ordinary scientist, even a super genius, could not do this. But someone with a collection of alien technology could do it easily.

Where Doctor Doom gets his scientific marvels

Reed is not the only one who borrows alien tech. In issue ten, Dr Doom reveals that many of the marvels he possesses come from an alien race. Faced with enemies who use alien technology, it is not laziness for Reed to also use alien tech. It is a matter of survival for the Fantastic Four... and the human race!

Later in that story, Dr Doom uses one of his new devices: a shrinking ray. At the time he is disguised as Reed Richards, and of course leaves the ray in the Baxter Building when he is accidentally shrunk. It is no coincidence that in a later issue Reed has a shrinking ray at his disposal (for entering the microverse).

And so it goes on. They see the technology in action, and later they "invent" something similar.

How can Reed Richards patent stuff he "stole?"

Reed Richards and the Fantastic Four live from the income derived by patents. How can they do that if the inventions were just borrowed from somewhere else? Simple. Earth patents only apply on earth.

Besides, it takes considerable intelligence to make alien technology work. How do you reverse engineer a flying saucer? Most people couldn't do it, but Reed can, so he deserves his money. Whenever you see Reed tinkering in his lab he's just thinking of new ways of applying the stuff he developed from the flying saucer, the time machine, and so on.

And Reed did not steal the technology. Some was given to him (e.g. the flying saucer from planet X) and other stuff was left here by invading enemies, or obtained legitimately (e.g. it was nothing special when he picked it up in the future). Reed is no thief.

How does this technology work?

All this technology may seem diverse and complicated, but it's all a variation on the same thing: smart atoms, as discussed elsewhere on this web site. Super power, super speed, super intelligence, it's all the same basic principle, whether you have it in human body, a mechanical suit, or a space ship.

This also explains how such advanced technology can exist in a world that otherwise resembles our own, and how superhero scientists can combine amazingly advanced technology with very mundane stuff, and how superhero scientists can invent things so quickly. They simply don't know how these things work, just as most people don't know how a computer or a car works, but we find new and interesting uses for them.

How do other superheroes get alien tech?

In these examples I've followed Reed Richards, but similar observations could be made regarding Iron Man, or The Leader, or any other character who uses extremely advanced technology. They meet aliens, and a few issues later their own technology has a radical upgrade. Where do they get the technology? It's not rocket science. It's alien science.

What about heroes who never meet aliens? Superheroes are constantly teaming up, or bumping into each other. And most of them have come into contact with aliens at some time or other. It's perfectly natural for the alien technology to diffuse far and wide.

Spider-man had limited supplies of super-web fluid

Where did Spider-man get his amazing webbing? In the comics it looked like he just dreamed it up, but look closer: First, Peter Parker was a nerd who would be familiar with all the local universities. Universities that are the repositary for all the artefacts collected during the 1950s alien invasions. Second, his early webbing was much better than his later stuff. Just look at these examples from the very early days:

They don't know how their own technology works!

One final example: In FF issue 37 we see Reed Richards using a power amplifier, which draws power from "an unknown source from somewhere beyond the confines of the solar system" - even Reed does not know how it works! Clearly he is developing alien tech. later in that issue he uses the same power amplifying technology in a prototype starship. When they return, at the start of issue 38, we learn that Reed's ship took automated photos at extremely high resolution, and Reed studies them to learn more about alien technology.