Justice League
Physics
Few things have captured the
imagination quite like super heroes, and some of the most popular heroes are a
part of The Justice League, made by DC comics. Super powers have been portrayed
in comic-book format for years, but when they move to live action and
animation, subtle physics effects need to be taken into account in order to
make what is being seen more believable. Physics are invented and broken in the
movie Justice League: War for theatrical effect and to give the heroes and
villain more visual gravitas, especially during combat. One of the main
invented elements that require its own set of physics is a character’s ability
to fly. Since humans cannot fly, and nothing known to man can fly without the
use of wings, a completely new element needed to be invented. Sometimes the
element that allows characters to fly is visible, and that often ties into the
character’s own unique abilities that tend to be energy-based. However, when a
character possesses these powers, they appear to be able to bend a law of
motion that would otherwise force them to take a cinematically long time to
start or stop moving. The use and abuse of this law is frequent with characters
that seem to possess natural enhanced speed, allowing inhuman speed to come
easily to them.
Almost all of the
heroes in the Justice League possess the ability to fly, and appear to require
some sort of energy field that exerts an invisible force around them. The best,
most dramatic example of this in the entire movie is when the villain Darkseid
comes to Earth and floats above the water. When he’s attacked and thrown
towards the water, it ripples around him while he regains his footing in the
air. When Darkseid is preparing to take off with a great amount of force, the
water boils under his hand due to the intensity of the energy field increasing.
Heroes also exert a field of energy during flight, and Green Lantern’s ring
exerts enough energy to make the water ripple bellow him while he flies. The
energy field also appears to affect the air surrounding the user, as seen when
Superman clears smoke around him without even having to move.
Unlike most heroes
that can fly, Shazam’s energy field and Green Lanterns energy field are
visible, and they are able to clearly manipulate their energy fields to use
tools or fight. Both heroes’ energy fields are visible whenever they are on
screen, and both of them extend their energy fields to use them in combat. For
Shazam, he is able to align electrons in the air and adjust positive and
negative charges to create lightning wherever he needs, as seen when he calls
down lightning to transform. His energy trail also has secondary motion, as
seen when Darkseid uses him to fling lightning bolts at his teammates. Shazam’s
control over his energy field is also apparent in the scene where he creates a
sustained lightning strike on him and Cyborg. Alternatively, Green Lantern’s
energy field is visible by a light-emitting green halo that constantly covers
his entire body. His energy field is generated by the ring worn on his finger,
and he can project it into solid constructs of his own choosing. This ‘energy-crafting’
is seen as he seals Batman into a box, and as he creates a giant robot to
destroy Darksied’s evil minions. Unlike Shazam, Green Lantern’s energy field
guidance requires a lot of mental focus because he is using a tool, while
Shazam’s energy field is a natural part of himself. The need for mental focus
is clear due to some exposition by Batman, further implying that the use of the
energy-field gifted by the ring requires practice and training.
Finally, the DC universe
appears to grant any hero with super-powers the ability to completely bypass
needing to slow in or slow out after they’ve been moving at super speed. This
law is broken multiple times by Superman and The Flash on screen. Ideally, in
order to move quickly they would need to steadily gain speed from a still
position. Like-wise, to stop quickly they would need to steadily decrease in
speed before coming to a still position. An example of this is used when The
Flash skids dramatically to a halt after running really fast. But this same
character can bolt at inhuman speeds immediately and stop immediately without
have to skid to a halt. This is visible in several scenes were he approaches
Batman, stops after arriving at STAR Labs, and stops behind Green Lantern.
During all of his take offs he also does not have a visible ‘slow out’.
Superman also does not appear to require slowing out, instead stopping
instantly in front of Batman and allowing his wake to blow by him.
In conclusion, the
invention and use of strong or enhanced energy fields and their physics
absolutely adds to the gravitas of super heroic power, as well as looking
incredibly appealing on screen. When the energy fields affect the surroundings
of the hero, it increases how intimidating they are, and gives the viewer some
hint about how massive their energies are. Even artificial energy fields, like
the one created by Green Lantern, affect the environment and give a visible
representation of the energy being emitted. The use of visible energy fields
also adds to a character’s visible abilities, explaining their energy-based
attacks and often including exposition about how their powers work, or through
hints in the effects on screen. More than simply inventing an element that
requires its own physics, the DC universe frequently disregards the slow-in and
slow-out requirement of movement. It is a very effective and selective choice
to break or modify the use of this law in a universe with amazing and fantastic
powers. This not only gives a hero more perceived power and control over their
own bodies, but extra animation is not required to show them dealing with the
laws of motion.
