The question could debate comic book fans for hours. Which of their favorite superheroes is the strongest, Batman or Iron Man? In this period of containment conducive to reflection, the astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson has just shared his opinion on Twitter.
Read also: Stephen Hawking: "I like people who don't care too much about the rules"
"After thinking about the matter for a long time, I concluded that among the superheroes without superpowers, Iron Man defeated Batman in a cage fight, but Bruce Wayne defeated Tony Stark," he said in a series of tweets posted Thursday afternoon. A draw therefore, according to the scientist, who specifies however that neither of them would make the weight against Black Widow ...
In addition, Neil deGrasse Tyson does not hesitate to deliver some scientific inconsistencies on his favorite characters, including Hulk. "If Bruce Banner keeps his original mass when he gains volume to become the Hulk, then his body must become less dense. In this case, it should have the density of a cork from a bottle of champagne when it is in its Hulk state , "he noted.
A visit from Superman
Another grievance of the Cosmos presenter: an odyssey through the universe, the middle of Thor. The version of the Nordic god embodied by Chris Hemsworth in the Marvel cinematic universe would be too muscular according to him. "It seems to me that if Thor is a god with divine powers, he doesn't need to have big muscles," he remarked.
Tyson knows what he's talking about. And the aesthetic considerations of this big fan of superheroes, seen in the movie Batman vs. Superman in 2016 is not to be taken lightly. "I don't want to brag, but Superman visited me in my office at the Hayden Planetarium in Metropolis. When I met him, he was very nice to my team and to me, ” says the astrophysicist, sharing a comic box in which he appears next to Clark Kent.
If his heart tilts for the hero of DC, which stable does he prefer between that of the Kryptonian and Marvel? "As a scientist, I lean more towards the Avengers universe, because many of their superheroes are scientists, or draw their powers from original scientific concepts (rather than magic)," he concluded.