We all know superheroes the Flash and Quicksilver are very, very fast. It’s their whole deal. Were you aware that, apparently, the rest of the Marvel universe is also absurdly flight of foot? That’s the supposition of a video from YouTube channel Data Ball. I’m not entirely sure how one can be certain of the groundspeed of a fictional character, but this video makes some very bold claims. For example, Daredevil can apparently run 84 km/hr. That’s just over 52 miles per hour. DAREDEVIL. Now he’s in good shape, and the radioactive accident that took away his eyesight heightened his existing sense. But is running a sense?!
Watch the video below and then we can discuss the wildly overpowered characters afterward.
I dunno, folks. I think some of these are out of hand. All of the speeds here are in km/hr but because I’m a dumb American who can’t visualize the metric system, I converted the speeds. Would I buy Captain America could run 56 miles per hour? Probably; super soldier serum has some incredible effects. But Spider-Man running 68.6 miles per hour? Only slightly slower than Thanos’ 72 miles per hour and well behind Thor’s 119 mph. I do like that the jump up to Thor flying is so much, at 767 mph.
For reference, a commercial airplane has a cruising speed of between 547 and 575 mph. Supersonic jets fly anywhere between 750 and 1500 mph. (767 is the speed of sound, aka “Mach 1.”) This is all to illustrate how frigging incredible it is that Iron Man Mark III armor can evidently fly at 2300 miles per hour, or nearly Mach 3. Quicksilver’s looking at Mach 10, and Iron Man Mark L suit cruises at Mach 50.
I don’t care how well you build a suit, a human being cannot withstand speeds that fast. The literal fastest vehicle in history, NASA X-43 experimental jet, clocked in at just under Mach 10. Five times that much, Mr. Stark?
Anyway, I know this is all fictional but it’s absurd. But in a fun way.
Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.
