The Winter Olympics are here, and it made me think of how they are the closest to superheroes we will ever see, until we get some Weapon X/Super Soldier Serum/aliens of course.
But how do some of the human superheroes match up with Olympians? We hear all the time that these heroes are at Peak Human ____, or beyond Olympian levels of expertise, but what does that really mean? Lets take a look at some heroes!
Green Arrow
Oliver Queen claims he can shoot 29 arrows per minute, or about one arrow every two seconds! Real world Lars Andersen says he is able to shoot 10 arrows in 4.9 seconds, which is more two arrows every one second! It is unlikely he would be able to hold that pace for the whole 60 seconds, but overall, I’d say that Lars would give Oliver a run for his money!
Captain America
Though Captain America is aided by the Super Soldier Serum, lets match up his abilities with world records! According to Marvel.Wikia.com :
He is able to consistently lift up to 800 lbs, while the world record is 676, by Long Qingquan of China in the 2016 Olympics in Rio. This is clearly an instance of his superpowers being far greater than reality. However, he can leap 20′, vs 29′ 4.24″ by Mike Powell in 1991, so in that instance, real people win! Steve Rogers can run at 30 mph, just 2 mph faster than Usain Bolt! However, that is his distance run, and can sprint much faster. But that shows that people are getting very close to superhuman speeds!
The Punisher
Frank Castle is said to have a confirmed sniper kill at 4 km away, whereas the longest recorded confirmed sniper kill is 3,871 m, which is just 129 m short, or just over a football field. Comparatively, this is a .03% difference in length. As part of his Marine Force Recon training, Castle completed U.S. Navy SEAL (Sea Air Land), UDT (Underwater Demolition Team) and LRPA (Long Range Patrol) training, EOD (explosive ordnance disposal) training, graduated the Army’s Ranger School, completed the U.S. Army Airborne School (AKA “jump school”), graduated the U.S. Army Special Forces Qualification Course, and LRRP (Long Range Recon Patrol) training. He also took part in cross-training with the Australian Special Air Service Regiment. He’s also a qualified HALO (High Altitude Low Opening) jumper.
Martial Artists
What are superheroes if not combatants? The best hand-to-hand combatants in the world are MMA fighters, using a combination of multiple different forms of Martial Arts. Some of the main forms of Martial Arts in MMA include Boxing, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, Karate, and Capoeira.
| Heroes | Boxing | Muay Thai | Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu | Judo | Karate | Capoeira | Other |
| Batman | X | X | X | X | X | Dragon Style Kung Fu | |
| Nightwing | X | X | X | Escrima | |||
| Green Arrow | X | X | Kickboxing | ||||
| Daredevil | X | X | X | X | Krav Maga | ||
| Captain America | X | X | X | Kickboxing | |||
| Taskmaster | X | X | X | X | X | X | Everything |
Body Diversity
Comics Alliance had a great piece where they compared the difference in body type of superheroes vs the difference in body type of different Olympians, and it makes some great points! There should definitely be more distinct looks in superheroes.
Phoenix Jones
We can’t have an article about real life superheroes without including Phoenix Jones! If you don’t know who he is, you have some research ahead of you!
Benjamin Fodor is a professional MMA fighter and Seattle resident, who decided that he should become a real life superhero, so he put on a suit and mask, and began patrolling the streets of Seattle, and has broken up many fights, saved multiple people from assault, and has stopped many thefts. He is a successful real life superhero.
The Nerdd 