The Superman Virtual Reality Roller Coaster

When asked who my favorite superhero is I always answer Superman!  Not just Superman.  Superman!  See how I did that exclamation mark there?  That’s because I really, really, really like Superman.

I often work from home but when I go into the office I am one of many geeks and nerds.  Many of them have their own opinions about which superhero is the best.  Many of them have the wrong opinion that Batman is better than Superman.  Now this isn’t the time or the place to debate with all the Batman fanboys about why Superman is better (but if there was time I would say three words; Nipples, Ben and Affleck).

Regardless of whether our superhero of choice wears red underwear over his pants, or finds it necessary to decorate his armor with rubber nipples, there is one thing that the Batman fanboys and I can agree on.  Virtual reality is cool.  Another thing we can agree on is that virtual reality with Superman is downright awesome.  So you can understand my excitement when I found out there is a roller coaster at Six Flags in Maryland that is Superman plus virtual reality.  Thanks to the team at Verge I was able to get the scoop and see the ride in action!

The ride makes clever use of a Samsung Galaxy Gear synchronized with the roller coaster.  As the rider, you begin the ride and can choose to outfit your virtual self with a Batman or Wonder Woman T-shirt.  You find yourself riding in some sort of sky tram when Lex Luthor appears floating in the air before you.  He fires off an anti-gravity weapon and the city starts floating in the air around you.  To make matters worse, his robotic minions begin attacking and tearing everything to pieces.

While this is going on in the virtual world, in the real world the riders are slowly moving to the top of the track.  As they reach the top there is a brief pause before they are quickly thrown in to a free fall.  As they are falling through the virtual skies of Metropolis the Man of Steel appears and saves the day!  He then carries them through the falling debris and brings them to safety.  The movements that he takes you through in the virtual world correspond to the twist, turns, ups and downs of the roller coaster in the real world.

It probably won’t happen anytime soon but I am looking forward to the day I find myself in Maryland near Six Flags.  I will be dragging my family over to the roller coaster and I will be riding it!

Check out the video from Verge below to see the ride in action!