For almost as long as film has been around, scientists have been there, with some of the most iconic sci-fi movies of all time relying on them. Early films like 1927’s Metropolis and 1931’s Frankenstein feature mad scientists like Rotwang and Henry Frankenstein, while iconic movie franchises like Back to the Future and Jurassic Park star scientists like Doc Brown and Alan Grant. These movie scientists bring the fantastical and the terrifying to life, allowing for all kinds of unique stories that wouldn’t otherwise be possible. However, movie scientists in recent years have undergone a shift, moving away from lab coats and test tubes in favor of suits of armor and homemade web slingers.
Most popular movie scientists nowadays have become superheroes, with iconic characters like Tony Stark, Peter Parker, Reed Richards, and Hank McCoy leaving their laboratories in favor of fighting villains in the public eye. However, some movie scientists from decades past could easily be reimagined as modern-day superheroes, including these five iconic experimenters.
The original Ghostbusters team consists of four scientists, each of whom has similar skills. However, if any of them were to become a modern-day superhero, it would be Ray Stantz. Played by Dan Aykroyd, Stantz is the true believer of the team, with him being just as interested in the supernatural and occult as he is in the Ghostbusters’ technology. Stantz is a parapsychologist who has taken on some of the franchise’s most dangerous villains, including Gozer and Vigo the Carpathian.
Ray Stantz could easily be reimagined as a Marvel or DC superhero. The character already uses his incredibly powerful weapons to take on supernatural forces, and his interest in ghosts and demons makes him a perfect companion for characters like Doctor Strange and Doctor Fate. The Nickelodeon superhero series Danny Phantom is essentially a cross between Ghostbusters and Spider-Man, acting as a blueprint for how a super-Stantz could work.
One of the goofiest scientists of the 1980s made his debut at the very end of the decade, in 1989’s Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. Rich Moranis’ Wayne Szalinski is an absent-minded inventor who manages to build a device that can shrink and grow objects, only for him to discover that it works when he accidentally shrinks his own children. Szalinski’s inventions were expanded on in the film’s two sequels, proving that Szalinski is an incredible scientist, even if he is clumsy.
Scientists who can shrink and grow themselves are all over the superhero movie landscape, most notably in the Ant-Man franchise. Wayne Szalinski could easily be a goofier version of characters like Hank Pym, Scott Lang, Hope van Dyne, and the rest of the Ant-Family, if he could only figure out how not to accidentally use his invention on other people. A bumbling superhero could be a lot of fun in a world full of quippy, hyper-confident vigilantes, and a modern take on the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids franchise would be the perfect opportunity to explore this.
1997’s Flubber, a remake of 1961’s The Absent-Minded Professor, stars Robin Williams as Professor Philip Brainard, an experimenter who hopes to create a new energy source in order to keep his college from bankruptcy. In his research, Brainard invents a highly energetic being made of flying rubber, which he names Flubber. Flubber is near-indestructible, and Brainard uses it to easily subdue several goons that get sent after him throughout the course of the film.
Flubber already presents the crime-fighting potential of the titular substance, proving how great a superhero Brainard could be. By creating more Flubber, Brainard could have an army of green soldiers bouncing around, striking fear into the hearts of any villain. He could even make a suit of Flubber, allowing him to bounce and zip around skyscrapers as he fights crime. While the translucent green substance would make Brainard a bit sillier than characters like Iron Man, Flubber-Man feels ripped straight out of the Golden Age of Comics.
As the most modern scientist on the list, Flint Lockwood is one of the few popular cinematic inventors who isn’t a superhero. However, a writer could easily reshape him into one. Voiced by Bill Hader in the Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs movies, Lockwood is looked down upon by his peers. However, he has managed to make some incredible inventions, including the FLDSMDFR, a device that turns water molecules into food. On top of that, Lockwood’s smaller inventions are shockingly impressive, including the near-indestructible Wedgie-Proof Underwear, an animal thought translator, an invisible coffee table, portal guns, freeze rays, and more.
With all of these inventions, Lockwood is as capable of being a superhero as nearly any Marvel or DC superhero. He could form a superhero persona around any one of these devices, meaning that his potential with all of them is nearly limitless. Lockwood is a bit of a screw-up, which could lead him to some problems during his career of superheroics. Nevertheless, he has tons of potential in a world of superheroes.
David Cronenberg’s 1986 remake of The Fly features a much more terrifying use of a scientist than the other entries on this list, yet this character has the most potential to be a superhero in a modern reimagining. Jeff Goldblum stars as Seth Brundle, an eccentric scientist who successfully makes a teleportation device after years of experimenting. However, while testing the device on himself, a regular housefly makes its way into the chamber. Upon being teleported, the fly’s DNA is mixed with Brundle’s, beginning a series of changes in his body. While they initially manifest as increased strength and stamina, things take a turn for the worse, with Brundle eventually mutating to look and behave like a fly, causing him to name himself Brundlefly.
Scientists who accidentally mutate themselves while experimenting are all over superhero movies, with characters like the Incredible Hulk and Mister Fantastic being popular examples. A fly-themed superhero could easily fit in alongside these characters, especially if the failed experiment permanently gives Brundle increased strength, heightened senses, and the ability to fly. Interestingly, Baxter Stockman from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise is a direct parody of Brundle from The Fly, proving that the character can work as a supervillain. So, if Brundle’s motivations are more noble than Stockman’s, Brundlefly could easily be an incredibly popular superhero.
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