When Technology Goes Too Far
The MCU has enough futuristic technology to make the newest phone feel outdated, and there’s no shortage of gadgets we’d love to try. Some could make travel easier, improve medical care, or finally make moving a couch into an apartment painless. But there are also gadgets that should never be used by the average Joe. Here are 10 gadgets we’d buy immediately, and 10 that would definitely cause a lawsuit.
1. Kimoyo Beads
In Black Panther, Wakandans wear the beads around their wrists and use them to communicate, display holograms, and access information. Our version could replace half the things we already keep on our phones. Plus, they’re small enough that you wouldn’t have to walk around carrying another bulky device.
2. Shuri’s Remote-Piloting System
During the final battle of Black Panther, Everett Ross uses Shuri’s technology to pilot a Royal Talon Fighter from inside her lab. IRL, rescue workers could send vehicles into dangerous areas without putting a person behind the wheel. You could also imagine the technology being used for specialized construction equipment or emergency vehicles.
3. The Black Panther Suit’s Kinetic Protection
Shuri’s updated Black Panther suit can absorb kinetic energy from hits and then release that stored energy in a powerful burst. We can probably leave the explosive part to superheroes, but the protection itself would be hard to turn down.
William Tung from USA on Wikimedia
4. Shuri’s Medical Technology
After Everett Ross is badly injured in Black Panther, Shuri treats him using Wakanda’s advanced medical technology. This isn’t the flashiest gadget on the list, but it could easily be one of the most valuable. Tools that help doctors examine injuries, monitor patients, and make precise repairs could improve modern medicine.
5. Hank Pym’s Portable Lab
In Ant-Man and the Wasp, Hank Pym can shrink his entire laboratory down until the building fits a rolling suitcase. Think about moving day. You’d never again have to angle a couch through a doorway. Plus, people living in small apartments would suddenly have storage space they never dreamed of having.
American Green Travel on Unsplash
6. Tony Stark’s Holographic Workstation
Tony Stark’s holographic workstation lets him move three-dimensional designs around in the air. Engineers and designers would have plenty of reasons to want one, but the rest of us could have fun with it too. You could see whether a couch actually fits in the living room before buying it or test different layouts without dragging furniture across the floor.
7. F.R.I.D.A.Y.
F.R.I.D.A.Y. helps Tony Stark manage his armor, sort through information, analyze threats, and keep track of whatever problem happens to be unfolding around him. A toned-down version would be akin to a more cohesive Alexa or Google Home.
8. DUM-E
DUM-E is Tony Stark’s robotic workshop arm, and although it isn’t exactly known for perfect judgment, it’s been useful around his lab for years. A home version could become the ultimate garage helper. It could hold tools, steady parts, move equipment, or grab something while your hands are full.
9. The Stark Jet Suit Fabricator
In Spider-Man: Far From Home, Peter Parker uses the fabrication system aboard a Stark jet to create his red-and-black Spider-Man suit. A consumer version would be a dream for designers, costume makers, and hobbyists, turning a design into a fully fleshed-out product in minutes.
The Conmunity - Pop Culture Geek from Los Angeles, CA, USA on Wikimedia
10. A Sling Ring
Sling rings allow trained sorcerers to open portals between locations, which would make them one of the greatest commuting tools ever invented. There’s one big problem, of course; Using a sling ring takes practice and concentration. Doctor Strange struggles when he first starts learning, so the average commuter probably shouldn’t expect perfect results immediately.
1. E.D.I.T.H. Glasses
The E.D.I.T.H. glasses Tony Stark leaves to Peter Parker connect the wearer to Stark satellites, surveillance technology, and armed drones. Peter nearly causes a serious disaster after giving the wrong command. Imagine them in the hands of everyday people. We already send messages to the wrong group chat and accidentally call someone while their phone is in our pocket.
2. Mysterio’s Drone-Illusion System
Quentin Beck and his team use drones and holograms to create realistic-looking Elemental attacks. The technology is impressive, but it’d be a major problem outside the MCU. If someone could create a believable collapsing building or giant monster in the middle of a city, people wouldn’t know whether an emergency was real.
3. Pym Particle Discs
Pym Particle discs can shrink or enlarge whatever they hit. The storage possibilities are appealing until you remember how easily someone could make a mistake. One wrong throw near a parked car could leave you searching the sidewalk for something the size of a toy. The opposite problem might be even worse. An ordinary household object suddenly becoming enormous would destroy whatever’s nearby.
https://www.flickr.com/people/28277470@N05/ on Wikimedia
4. B.A.R.F.
Tony Stark introduces B.A.R.F. in Captain America: Civil War as technology that can recreate memories. Tony presents it as a tool for working through traumatic experiences. The privacy issues, however, would get complicated. Who gets to view the memory? Who owns it? Can someone else demand that part of it be deleted?
5. The Hulkbuster Armor
The Hulkbuster armor was designed to give Tony Stark a fighting chance against the Hulk. During their brawl, the surrounding area takes an enormous amount of damage, and that happens while the suit is being controlled by someone who understands the technology. Now imagine letting a regular person use one because they want to remove a tree stump from the backyard.
6. The Iron Legion
Tony Stark’s House Party Protocol brings a collection of remotely controlled Iron Man suits into the final battle of Iron Man 3. That’s useful when you’re dealing with a superhero emergency, but a fleet of flying armored machines would be much harder to justify in a quiet neighborhood. One software mistake could send a very expensive piece of machinery straight through someone’s roof.
7. The Iron Spider Suit’s Instant Kill Mode
Peter Parker activates the Iron Spider suit’s Instant Kill mode while fighting Outriders in Avengers: Infinity War. In normal life, the name alone should get the suit banned. Nobody needs human error to mingle with a suit that has something literally called Instant Kill Mode.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/28277470@N05/ on Wikimedia
8. Vulture’s Chitauri-Tech Wings
Adrian Toomes builds his winged suit from salvaged advanced technology in Spider-Man: Homecoming. The suit is fast, powerful, and deadly. That said, even if you removed the weapons, giving ordinary people giant mechanical wings would create a whole new kind of traffic problem.
9. Black Widow’s Bites
Natasha Romanoff’s Widow’s Bites are electrical weapons worn around her wrists, and she uses them with the kind of control you’d expect from a highly trained operative. While Natasha knows what she’s doing, the average buyer would test the device before reading the safety warnings.
10. A TVA TemPad
A TVA TemPad can open time doors and send its user across different places and time periods. While it sounds like a great travel gadget, it would definitely cause some scheduling issues. One wrong setting could leave you arriving three decades too early for dinner.
