Captain Universe explanation for power question

For Cap. Universe part of the write up on this site says:

Uni-Vision: The Uni-power enables the user to see the molecular structure of an object, Unearthly rank
see through walls (Penetravision)-Unearthly rank
see long distances away(telescopic vision)-Excellent rank

How?!

I can see having microscopic vision for seeing the molecular structure, but penetration and telescopic vision just don't make any sense with the explanation given.

I've also heard a writer at Marvel explaning Storm having penetration vision because she can do something like sensing the weather or seeing the molecules within the atmosphere or something.

Can someone explain this to me?

Penetration Vision -- you see between the molecules of the intervening substance (wall).

Telescopic Vision -- .....



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Penetration Vision -- you see between the molecules of the intervening substance (wall).

But, you still need some mechanism for light transmission

meh



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RileyV, have you ever seen a believable explanation of penetration vision. Even using super hero comic book physics?

But anyways: This guy can see molecular structures, right? That in itself implies some kind of clairvoyancy, rather than ordinary vision, since photon gathering (ordinary vision) isn't a very good way to form an image of a single molecule.

Hence, it is probable that he senses molecules rather than actually looks at them.

Looking at molecular structures also mean that you are in effect already looking inside stuff, rather than just looking a the surface. If you can look inside things, I see no reason why you shouldn't be able to look through them as well. He would be sensing the matter beyond the wall, rather than actually looking through the wall.

Telescopic vision is another problem though. How is this power working? I can understand how he could be able to sense details on everything within range for his ordinary Uni-Vision, by sensing their molecules. This could work similarily to a sort of Telescopic Vision. Things beyond range would still be impossible to see though.

But if the power works like a very strong lens, like Superman's telescopic vision, making things appear to be nearer, thing explanations bites the dust. Can't really find another one either.

Another explantion is of course that it's three different vision powers, like Superman's set of microscopic, telescopic and x-ray vision. They fit together cause this guy's schtick is to "see everything", right, but they're not dependant on each other.

Are you sure that the molecular vision thingie is really the primary power and not just one aspect out of three parallell aspects of Uni-Vision?

Are you sure that the molecular vision thingie is really the primary power and not just one aspect out of three parallell aspects of Uni-Vision?

That is something I was wondering about. The way it was written in the write up on this site, it would seem like it might have been a primary power explanation, but sometimes, I've seen write ups where an aspect was given it's own "category", as it were.

As far as other explanations for penetration vision, I've got a few of them.

1) X-rays may be used, as well as some kind of electromagnetic energy, but this may be dangerous to the organism. Sonar can be used, too. All of these give a form of pseudopenetration vision.

These I came up with.

2) It's not "seeing" molecular structures that let's the mutant see through stuff, but it's a version of clairvoyance. Where the difference between the mutant and where he wants to see doesn't change. He can determine how far he can see through an item, but he is limited to his normal, visual range.

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In some instances of penetration vision, because you run into the problem of there not being any kind of light available, like if you were to look inside a human body. What the mutant does is gather photonic energy (limited TK) in a specific place that he is focusing this power on. In some cases, there is plenty of light available.

3) Another method could involve the mutant using an attraction beam (a wave of telekinetic energy that's emitted in all directions that will "pull" anything caught in it back to the mutant. The mutant can also focus the wave on a single object, forming it into a beam).

What happens is he draws photons from the other side of an obstruction. It's doesn't move around the barrier, but is phased instinctually when this power is activated, so it can pass through matter and energy to prevent loss of energy (strong magnetic fields can effect the amount of light being drawn, [whichever is stronger the attraction beam or the other field is the one that directly efects the path of the phtotons, but this attraction beam is pretty strong to prevent this from occuring], it could bounce of matter, etc.). When it reaches the mutant's eyes, it unphases (which is also done instinctively), which causes a slight flicker of visible light to appear within his eye balls. But, unless you are really trying to see it, an outside observer won't really notice it.

Since photons carry images, what the mutant brings to his eyes is a series of snapshots, much like what is shown to people in movie theaters. Normally, these videos come at us with 23-30 frames per second to give the audience the feeling of actually being there. The mutant gets images at a speed faster than how long it takes a subliminal image to register in the brain once it has hit the receptors within the eye. Consciously, the eyes of humans are not able to register subliminal images received. Only the subconscious mind can register them. So, these photos need to be moving faster, to allow for the least amount of time lag. To overcome this, the mutant's brain has neural connections that work faster than those found in a regular human, working faster than subliminal message signals.

From the handbook itself, I took the section on the Uni-Vision part.

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The Uni-Power also grants each Captain Universe Uni-Vision which enables the user to see the molecular structure of an object, to see through walls, or to see long distances away. The Uni-Vision is emitted by Captain Universe's eyes and produces a visible beam of energy. This energy has certain hypnotic side-effects: a skillful wielder of the Uni-Vision can use it to hypnotize people into telling the truth.

- - -

Good call on the phasing photons. That's the best one I've heard so far.

But I didn't quite get the TK photon gathering TK to see inside stuff.

Do you mean that the person with penetration vision gathers photons from outside the dark spot and projects them inside the human body or whatever? And then projects the resulting excited photons back out again? That requires photon phasing as well (and quite a bit of it), but why not?

If the power is strong enough you could use that power to fry someones insides with electromagnetic energy. Yuck!

I anyone ever asks me HOW their character can see through walls, this is what I'll tell them. Much better than the silly x-ray stuff they still use on Superman. X-ray radar would make for pretty shitty x-ray vision. And give people radiation sickness.

Yeah, but isn't it long-term exposure to x-ray which would give radiation sickness? Superman at most uses it for seconds at a time. And it's not perfect, Superman can't see through things which x-rays can't pierce! :)

Who knows, if Superman ever turns evil, it could be a new attack... ;-)

Do you mean that the person with penetration vision gathers photons from outside the dark spot and projects them inside the human body or whatever? And then projects the resulting excited photons back out again? That requires photon phasing as well (and quite a bit of it), but why not?

There might be a chance that individual photons could enter a living organism through one of the orifices, but it still wouldn't be enough. So, yeah, the mutant would have to phase ambient photons, direct them into the area of the body he wants to look at, unphases them, then, phases them again to let them pass through the solid matter of the body and then, unphases them again when they are within the eyeballs. With this method, the acts of multiple phasing and unphasing occur so quickly, the mutant doesn't really realize it's happening, unless he actually sat down and thought about it.

If the power is strong enough you could use that power to fry someones insides with electromagnetic energy. Yuck!

I anyone ever asks me HOW their character can see through walls, this is what I'll tell them. Much better than the silly x-ray stuff they still use on Superman. X-ray radar would make for pretty shitty x-ray vision. And give people radiation sickness.

Yep, certain energies of the EM spectrum will cause damage. You could also go the "Star Trek sensors process", since they use electromagnetic energy. They send a pulse of EM energy and couple it with an "inverted" EM pulse to cancel out any negative effects the EM energy may have to any item being scanned. Both of these energies are put "on" a mass particles that travel faster-than-light, to prevent signal degredation when the EM energies return to the ship or tricorder. Usually, some subspace carrier wave is used. As far as RPG-ing, both EM energies could also be applied to tachyon energy. The mutant could be able to generate and project a faster-than-light particle, as well as the opposing EM energies.

But, with tachyon particles, the less there are within the mass of energy, the faster they travel. That also means that with less tachyons, the less you can send. I think, at least one communication system in Star Trek I've read about used this, but I can't remember. It's been awhile since I read it. I've even seen science people talk about this as a form of communication, with possible applications for communicating with other planets. All that I've read says that this might not be of much use since to send messages, there has to be a substantial amount. Real time communication is somthing I'm not sure of, using tachyons as the carrier wave. Even with multiple relay stations, there would still be some time lag, I think.

Superman has used his x-ray vision to ruin undeveloped film, implying that he actually emits hard radiation from his eyes when seeing through things.

This was pre-crisis though, so he got new powers whenever he needed them. The story about his Clark Kent-glasses giving him automatic, subconsciuos super-hypnotism still makes me feel cold at night. Luckily, no writer ever referred to that power ever again.

Heh, instead, his glasses live in a special pocket in Supe's cape (which Batman managed to pickpocket once). :)

but only after Superman saw through Batman's lead-lined mask and saw he was Bruce Wayne....



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Doth mine eyes deceive me?

X-rays...lead...x-rays...lead.

Did DC pick up some bad habits of Marvel's.

Yet, I will give DC credit. They did come up with that bridge thingamabob that let any crossover, from any time or place period, to happen.

What tha hell was that about?

Were they trying to outdo Marvel in the "what tha...?" category?

Bridge Thingamabob? What, the Cosmic Treadmill, or the Time-Travelling Themyscria?



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I haven't a clue. I read an article talking about once, I think in Wizard magazine.

Do you mean that Hypertime-thingie? That seems to be a lot like Marvel's alternative timelines. Timelines branch out from parent timelines at certain key points, such as "what if Reed Richards had become the Thing?".

Here's a link, but be warned, it's a bit... odd: [www.geocities.com].

Oh, and popups as well, since it's Geocities.

[shakes head after reading]

I never read the whole article, but I don't think this hypertime concept was it. Maybe I'm wrong, but it doesn't sound familiar. What I do remember reading was that the writers or someother big wigs at DC said that they liked the idea because they could do any corssover, even with characters in different time periods, because of this "bridge".

Does anyone know how fast it takes a subliminal message to reach the brain? Do we have any fonts of useless information here?