In fact, his studies are so impressive that Kakalios was brought on as a consultant on the Mark Webb Spider-Man reboot sequel The Amazing Spider-Man 2, a movie which adapted the legendary “The Night Gwen Stacy Died” story to strong emotional effect. Kakalios assesses whether Gwen Stacy would really have died the way she did after Spidey caught her. Topics range from the Flash and friction caused by his intense superhuman speeding to whether Ant-Man could really shrink down to his microscopic size. The book analyzes the famous powers and feats of popular superheroes via physics concepts and humorous observations.

The Physics of Superheroes, a book by author and physicist James Kakalios, delves into the scientific probability of superhero comic books. Related: Spider-Man & Gwen Stacy’s Love Story Almost Didn’t Happen The guilt and the heartbreak took its toll on Peter Parker, and some, including Mary Jane Watson, Peter’s later love interest, believe he never got over Gwen's death. Now not only was our hero already plagued by the memory of the burglar he allowed to escape who later killed his Uncle Ben, but he had just unintentionally caused the death of the woman he loved.

At the time, readers were unsure of what exactly happened: was it the whiplash that caused it? Had the Green Goblin already killed her before the fall? Or was it the shock of the fall itself that led to her demise? A few issues later, in Amazing Spider-Man #125, Marvel editors clarified: Spider-Man had been responsible.

In a panic, Spider-Man quickly shot a thin strand of web to catch Gwen by the leg, saving her from plunging to her death, but as many writers have suggested, the ill-judged move accidentally snapped her neck. Yes, the Green Goblin killed Gwen by dropping her from the George Washington Bridge, but was Spider-Man's intervention the thing that actually took her life? It turns out the death as depicted has its roots in real-world science. One of the biggest tragedies in Spider-Man’s career as a friendly, neighborhood superhero was the heart-shattering classic Amazing Spider-Man #122, which famously depicted the death of his longtime love interest Gwen Stacy.

Does snapping a neck kill instantly