Inverse - 🕸 Happy birthday Spider-Man

Good Morning

August 10 2022

To quote a once-great man: “You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”

In the early 1960s, Marvel was a struggling underdog in the nascent comic book industry. Then came a string of historic hits beginning with the Fantastic Four in 1961 and arguably peaking a year later with the introduction of Spider-Man in the summer of ’62. The world would never be the same.

Fast-forward 60 years and Marvel is perhaps the most successful brand in human history, but recent reports reveal the toll of that success — particularly on VFX artists working long hours to make superheroes like Spider-Man come to life. In today's Inverse Daily, we consider what Marvel needs to do to avoid becoming the villain of its own story, while also reflecting on one hero's amazing milestone.

What's New

News	Entertainment

Marvel has become a villain in the VFX industry

Three years ago, Marvel Studios brought the release date of Avengers: Infinity War up by a week. Fans celebrated at the prospect of getting to see the movie sooner, but those working on its visual effects felt their hearts sink.

In a damning story published by io9 (only the latest in a string of similar stories from Vulture, The Guardian, Defector, and as told in this viral Reddit thread), sources throughout Hollywood’s VFX industry sound off on how ruthless the blockbuster business has become. io9’s sourcing includes VFX artists who’ve worked on some of the biggest movies ever made.

Space Robots

Innovation

A small robot will practice performing surgery in space

Humans are traveling off our planet with increased frequency, and for better or for worse, governments are interested in sending them further distances from Earth.

This means NASA needs to come up with practical solutions to support humans in space by sending a small robotic surgical tool along with them.

Virtual Incision’s MIRA platform — which stands for “miniaturized in vivo robotic assistant” — will slice into different types of simulated skin and tissue on the ISS to study how to perform remote surgery for space-based medical emergencies.

Learn more

AWWW JEEZ!

Television

Watch a new trailer for Rick and Morty Season 6

Season 6 of Rick and Morty is upping the ante, and maybe even dialing back its signature nihilism.

Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon’s dark sci-fi comedy is headed back to our screens next month, and will hopefully continue to blow (and confuse) our minds. An official teaser, released this past week, teases what to expect next after Season 5's explosive and confusing finale.

Watch

Look up

Space

See Saturn at its closest and brightest this week

It’s that time of year again: Saturn will be in opposition on August 14, offering the best viewing opportunities for a number of the planet's best features.

Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, will also be visible with a telescope around this time, while the movements of some of the other moons may be observable with fancy scopes during the days around the opposition.

Here's our guide for where and when to look up.

Learn more

Happy Birthday

Comics

Entertainment

60 facts you didn’t know about Spider-Man

Sixty years ago, Spider-Man hit newsstands for the very first time.

Debuting in Amazing Fantasy #15, the two-part story recounts Spider-Man’s origins, from Peter Parker’s days as a nerdy kid in high school, to him being bitten by a radioactive spider, to Uncle Ben’s death and his ultimate realization that he must use his powers for a greater good.

While the story was just 12 pages long, the response to Spider-Man was immediate. Amazing Fantasy #15 flew off the shelves. A few months later, Spider-Man got his own ongoing series and, in short order, he became Marvel’s biggest hero.

To pay the proper respect to the hero who has such a momentous impact on popular culture, Inverse poured through old interviews, commentaries, documentaries, DVD extras, and comic-con panels to find 60 obscure facts you may not have known about the hero, beginning with how Stan Lee thought him up in the first place.

Meanwhile...

Hubble snaps a dazzling image of the Orion Nebula's rainbow clouds

How is nature connected to well-being? It's complicated, scientists say

Senior dogs could help us understand an incurable brain condition

'Ironheart' set photos reveal a shocking 'WandaVision' crossover

Today in history: The Louvre opened August 10, 1793 in Paris, France, later going on to become the most-visited museum in the world.

Song of the day: "Intro Theme," Spider-Man The Animated Series

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Inverse - 🕸 Happy birthday Spider-Man

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