Outline for Second Term Paper

1. Introduction
1. Action/Reaction principle - for every force there's a simultaneous actionary and reactionary force of equal magnitude and opposite direction
2. Movies in the superhero genre break this law to demonstrate the superhuman abilities of their heroes
2. Superman Returns (2006)
1. Superman takes several bullets from an automatic weapon to the chest. Instead of suffering mortal wounds, they simply ricochet off of him.
2. More impressively, next Superman takes a bullet to the eye.  Superman's eye is able to not only stop the bullet, but crush it, rather than ricochet like the previous bullets
3. Superman's body should correctly be penetrated by bullets. Instead, his body exerts enough force to send bullets flying away and/or crush them.
3. Iron Man (2008)
1. Iron Man arrives to fight terrorist in Gulmira in a dramatic fashion, falling onto the ground at an incredible speed.  The ground should generate enough force to destroy Iron Man's body, but his body remains intact.
2. Iron Man flies away at a rapid speed when he's hit by a missile, sending him careening into the earth.  This time, he hits the earth with so much force that he creates a crater, yet Iron Man miraculously survives unharmed
3. Iron Man's suit can't protect him against the huge force the earth generates when he hits it at high speed, yet he survives.
4. The Avengers (2012)
1. Iron Man and Thor have a confrontation that escalates to a full blown fight. During this confrontation, they are able to exert powerful amounts of force with minimal effort
2. Iron Man and Thor both launch themselves very high off the ground, eventually flying, after barely exerting any force on the ground
3. Thor headbutts Iron Man, barely drawing his head back. Despite the lack of anticipation, Thor generates enough force to send Iron Man tumbling a great distance.
5. Conclusion
1. Superhero movies are notorious for breaking the laws of physics, especially the action/reaction principle
2. Reason: It's more fun, less violent, and establishes the magical/superhuman nature of the superheroes