In Episode 37 of Rabbit Hole of Research, hosts Joe, Nick, and Georgia are joined by writer and cultural critic Nick Ulanowski to kick off their Fantastic Four series with a deep dive into one of the most mysterious superpowers in comics: invisibility. Centering on Sue Storm—the Invisible Woman—they explore the speculative biology, comic book origins, and strange science behind what it would take for a human to vanish from sight.
From chameleon chromatophores to light-bending metamaterials, they unravel what makes invisibility work across nature, fiction, and theoretical physics. The conversation touches on early mythological artifacts like the Helm of Hades and the Ring of Gyges, jumps into the metabolic cost of photonic cloaking (spoiler: it’s wild), and even explores infant psychology and the observer effect.
Visit Nick Ulanowski at:
Substack: https://starvingauthor.substack.com
Books: https://starvingauthorpress.etsy.com
It’s Science for Weirdos
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We want to Hear From You (leave a comment):
What comic, myth, or sci-fi invisibility story stuck with you the most?
Could invisibility ever work biologically in a human-sized organism?
Which is cooler—full-spectrum cloaking or psychic perceptual stealth?
Is Sue Storm underutilized as a science fiction concept?
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