Students investigate how pushes, pulls, friction, and mass affect motion by designing and testing Marvel-inspired action scenes as evidence-based physics cases. They launch the work through a storyboard workshop with a comic book store owner or graphic novelist, then refine testable questions about how different forces change the motion of a superhero or villain. With support from a university physics department or engineering club, teams run simple experiments, analyze data, and prepare for a Marvel scene investigation conference where they defend their claims. The project builds science understanding alongside collaboration and critical thinking, culminating in Hero Lab Live, where students lead interactive stations and present evidence to visitors.

Students will investigate how the sum of forces and an object’s mass affect changes in motion by designing and testing superhero-themed experiments connected to Marvel action scenes. They will plan fair investigations, collect and analyze motion data, and build evidence-based claims that answer how different forces change the motion of a superhero or villain in a scene. Students will collaborate in teams to create storyboards, revise ideas with feedback from a comic artist or store owner and physics or engineering mentors, and prepare for a scene investigation conference. They will communicate their reasoning clearly during Hero Lab Live by presenting their storyboard, test question, data, and claim, then defending their conclusions in response to peer and mentor questions.

Students create a Marvel action storyboard, a testable investigation question, and a team experiment plan during the launch workshop with a comic book store owner or graphic novelist. Throughout the project, teams produce force-and-motion data tables, trial videos, revised scene diagrams, and evidence-based claim posters showing how changes in force and mass affected motion. For the assessment, each team prepares a Marvel scene investigation conference deck or display with their storyboard, test question, data, and claim, plus responses to likely peer and mentor questions. By the end, teams present an interactive Hero Lab Live station where visitors run the superhero-themed test, compare results to student findings, and examine a final visual explanation of the scene’s physics.

Kick off with “Storyboard Squad Launch,” where a comic book store owner or graphic novelist co-leads a rapid Marvel scene-building workshop using action panels that feature collisions, pushes, pulls, and sudden stops. In teams, students choose a superhero or villain scene, sketch a short storyboard, and identify one testable question about how force and mass could change the character’s motion. Then teams do a quick demo with simple materials like toy cars, marbles, ramps, and added weights to predict what will happen in their scene and compare first results. Close with a gallery walk where teams share their scene, question, and first claim, building momentum for the full scene investigation conference and Hero Lab Live exhibition.

Host a Hero Lab Live event where teams run interactive stations featuring their Marvel-inspired force investigations and invite families, peers, and community guests to test the same motion challenges. Each team presents a short conference-style storyboard talk that explains the scene, the test question, their data, and their claim about how force and mass changed motion, then responds to questions from visitors, mentors, and classmates. Invite the comic book store owner or graphic novelist and university physics or engineering partners to serve as expert audience members who give feedback on both the science reasoning and the scene design. Display student storyboards, data tables, and evidence-based conclusions so guests can compare results across teams and see how different force sums affected motion.