Have a heart for the superheroes

Study reveals secrets of pop culture phenomenon

- BY DANNY DE VAAL

NOT all superheroes wear capes - in fact most don't and that's been proven by science.

Irish researchers teamed up with their counterparts from the US to answer the age-old pop culture conundrum.

Boffins analysed the top 25 highest-grossing superhero movies and meticulously scrunt-ised 97 major characters that included Superman, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, the Avengers, Iron Man and Aquaman.

The study has been published in the Irish Journal of Medical Science.

They said what truly makes a hero is “a good heart” and noted the single strongest predictor of superhero status was having an altruistic mission.

The study found 98% of “superheroes” demonstrated a commitment to helping others.

In addition, they made 97 observations of 68 characters over 25 movies from three film studios. Researchers revealed just 16% of superheroes wore capes, while 11% of non-superheroes did so.

ALIENS