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 (how many BigMacs) of biological cloaking (spoiler: it’s wild), and they even explores infant psychology and revisit the observer effect.
Visit Nick Ulanowski at:
Books: https://starvingauthorpress.etsy.com
Book Nick U. mentioned: Cyrus Perkins and the Haunted Taxi Cab
“Action Comics #1 is One of the Great Works of Anti-Fascist Art Ever Made”:
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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Images from Guest/Recording
Show Notes & Fun facts
Sue Storm’s powers likely involve control of light at a cellular or quantum scale—possibly involving zero-point energy fields
Transparent fish and cephalopods offer real-world models for invisibility, from index-matching tissues to dynamic muscle-controlled color shifts
The observer effect is more than physics—it’s built into how infants develop object permanence
Mythic roots of invisibility include the Cap of Hades and Gyges’ Ring—all foreshadowing the ethics of disappearing
Characters like Tygra (ThunderCats) and ships like the Romulan Warbird and S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Helicarrier show different types of narrative cloaking
Real stealth tech like the B-21 Raider, adaptive IR camouflage, and DARPA’s metamaterials blur fiction and military R&D
Episode Highlights:
00:00 – Welcome and Introductions
“Welcome back to the basement studio—today we’re asking what it really means to disappear.”
00:39 – Why Start with Invisibility?
“Sue Storm’s powers seem simple—but they’re packed with speculative biology.”
01:12 – Chameleons vs Cephalopods
“They’re both masters of disguise, but only one can shift in milliseconds.”
04:25 – How Many Calories to Stay Invisible?
“Short answer: it’s metabolic madness.”
06:03 – Transparent Fish and Evolutionary Camouflage
“We talk X-ray fish, icefish, and why blood needs to disappear too.”
08:15 – Mythic Invisibility: From Hades to Harry Potter
“The Ring of Gyges are old school cool.”
11:50 – Ships, Cloaks, and Comics
“From Wonder Woman’s jet to Star Trek’s cloaking devices—we go full nerd.”
15:03 – Observer Effect and Infant Psychology
“When we stop looking… do things really vanish?”
17:44 – Tygra, Violet Parr, and Invisible Tropes
“Partial cloaking, invisibility belts, and why emotion messes with stealth.”
21:15 – Real World Cloaking Tech
“From DARPA to BAE’s ADAPTIV, science is catching up—slowly.”
27:00 – Invisibility as Narrative Device
“It’s not just hiding—it’s transformation, silence, erasure, and power.”
31:55 – Wrap-Up and What’s Next in the Series
“The rest of the Fantastic 4 with amazing guests: Human Torch (David Pincus PhD), Tge Thing (Jonathan Maberry), Mr. Fantastic (Maria Dowell MD)!”
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