The Comic-Con Museum’s Science on Screen series returns on Saturday, February 21 from 2pm–5pm with a screening and conversation that proves there is real science behind the superpowers.

This weekend’s program pairs the 2025 film Fantastic Four: First Steps with an in-person discussion featuring astrophysicist and Marvel science advisor Clifford Johnson, moderated by science communicator Melissa T. Miller. Together, they’ll explore how grounded physics can help even the most cosmic Marvel stories feel fantastic.

Johnson, who consulted on the film and has advised across the Marvel Cinematic Universe, will share how real-world science helped shape the movie’s technology, visuals, and story logic. From the mechanics of teleportation and faster-than-light travel to the hazards of surfing a neutron star, the conversation will decode the physics hiding in Reed Richards’s chalkboard scribbles and examine how filmmakers stretch scientific ideas without snapping them entirely.

It’s a chance to see how imagination and equations can assemble into something greater than the sum of their parts.

The event is free with museum admission. A daily pass is available for $30 for adults, or annual membership starts at $75. You can also get half off with a free museum month pass.