STEM in Silver Age Comic Books: Marvel vs. DC and Chemistry vs. Physics.

The article examines the depiction of science, particularly chemistry and physics, in Silver Age comic books, focusing on the contrasting approaches of DC Comics and Marvel Comics. DC’s Silver Age narratives emphasized chemistry with a “scholarly” attitude, often incorporating detailed but sometimes outdated or inaccurate chemical facts, as exemplified in series like Metal Men and characters such as Batman and Metamorpho. Marvel, by contrast, favored a “physics-oriented” and more experimental approach, creating new characters and stories grounded in physics concepts, as seen in the Fantastic Four and X-Men, with occasional scientific accuracy and innovation. The article highlights how these portrayals influenced generations of readers’ engagement with STEM fields, while also noting the limitations and creative liberties taken by writers, and sets the stage for a subsequent analysis of physics in comics.