#ComicBytes: Five comic technologies that exist in real life
What's the story
In our years of living, we have often seen life imitating art, wherein the fantastic things portrayed in works of art have been turned to reality, thanks to the visionary innovators.
Fiction inspires truth and science fiction and comics have often dreamt of better tomorrows where futuristic technology would create better standards of living.
Read about the five comic technologies that became a reality.
2-way video chat
See the ones you talk to
In 'Strange Tales #136', a comic from 1951, one of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents calls up the boss, Nick Fury during a mission.
As with many comics from the era, the caller shows up on the screen as he and Fury virtually converse face to face.
Today, this is part of our everyday life through Skype, WhatsApp and Messenger video calls to name a few.
Drones
Every breath you take, every move you make
The Batman comic in 1957, had a story titled 'The 1,001 Inventions of Batman' which followed a villain who replicated one of Batman's tech.
As he and Robin tried to find out which, it turned out to be a mobile drone with a camera, called 'Flying Eye'.
In today's age, drones are not just easily available, but more accurate and can even be armed!
Spider Man's climbing
Climb, climb you crazy spider
We have all envied Spider Man's wall-crawling skills especially for the terrific views of New York he gets.
Now, researchers are on the brink of perfecting a technology that will allow masses to do the same, without the radioactive spider bite.
University of Massachusetts Amherst scientists have developed fabric inspired by gecko skins, which can hold high loads of weight while suspended from surfaces.
Cloaking tech
The power of invisibility
Various comics characters have made use of cloaking tech, from Fantastic Four, Black Panther to Wonder Woman.
However, it might soon become a reality. In 2012, Mercedes Benz came up with 'active camouflage' where the vehicle was covered with fabric made of LED lights.
When a camera on the vehicle's opposite side was turned on, the image through these LED lights made it see-through.
Lie detector
The truth can only be spoken of
Wonder Woman's lasso of truth holds great power, where it forces people to reveal the truth.
While human tech does not force people to tell the truth, we can oust liars through lie detectors. The technology started off as a systolic blood pressure test, but has evolved into modern-day polygraphs.
Notably, the same person created the lie detector and Wonder Woman, William Moulton Marston.