At some point, everyone has fantasized about being a superhero. Sure, the tights may be snug in some awkward places, but that’s a small price to pay to wield amazing powers against the forces of evil. Well, luckily, those dreams may be close to becoming reality. Geneticists are tracking down specific mutations responsible for some truly incredible abilities. From immunity to electricity to Hulk-like strength, these tremendous talents may soon be as normal as eating and breathing.

10Unbreakable Bones

A broken bone is a fantastic way to ruin your entire day (your entire several months, really). Despite being the hardest substance in the human body, bone is definitely not invulnerable. Unless you find yourself with an extremely rare mutation of the LRP5 gene, that is.

LRP5 is responsible for the density of your bones. Researchers have known for a while that mutations in this gene can lead to lower bone density, or osteoporosis. However, it has recently been found that they can lead to the opposite effect as well. One Connecticut family has been discovered to have LRP5 mutations that give their bones such incredible density that they are nearly unbreakable. Not one of them has ever suffered a broken bone. Focused on the spine, skull, and pelvis, this increased strength gives members of the family the strongest known skeletons on Earth.

Researchers believe this mutation causes too many “bone-growth signals” to be sent, leading to beefier bones and a potential superhero. It is hoped that one day, a controlled form of the mutant gene could be used to end bone disease.

9Super Speed

We all have the natural ability to run, if not always the will. Yet some people seem naturally better at this incredibly basic skill. Sure, it could be down to training or steroids, but geneticists believe the answer is nowhere near that.

It turns out naturally gifted runners may be more fit for the X-Men than the Olympics. The gene ACTN3 is present within every human body, but a small percentage of them mutate to help us produce a very special substance. This protein, alpha-actinin-3, is responsible for controlling the fast-twitch muscle fibers that allow us to run. Increased amounts lead to more explosive bursts of muscle power, which translate into better performance in all kinds of sports, especially sprinting.

Interestingly, there are two versions of this mutant gene, and athletes with both have been found to perform consistently better than their conventionally chromosomed counterparts. We may be on the brink of a new age of performance enhancement.

8Poison Immunity

When it comes to poison, the human body gets very fragile very quickly; a single drop of something like cyanide or ricin, and it’s all over. Whether accidentally ingested or snuck into our food, these sinister substances are hard to defend against.

But for millennia, the villagers of San Antonio de los Cobres in Argentina have been sipping mountain water laced with 80 times the safe level of arsenic. And, surprisingly, there are still villagers in San Antonio de los Cobres. Despite extreme daily exposure to the deadly metal, residents carry on completely unaffected. This is all down to a mutant gene that has been honed by thousands of years of natural selection.

AS3MT is the name of this South American savior. It allows the body to process arsenic rather than let it build to dangerous levels, so owners of these microscopic mutants can chow down on as much of the stuff as they want. It is estimated that a total of 6,000 people now possess this gene.

7Short-Sleeping

The life of a superhero is not an easy one. Working your mundane cover job during the day and prowling the rooftops by night doesn’t leave a lot of time for sleep. But if you’re lucky, your host of mutant abilities includes short-sleeping.

The genes involved in the process of sleep are many and incredibly complex. One, however, stands out to researchers. DEC2 is responsible for regulating the amount of sleep we need each night to properly function. For most of us it demands a full eight hours or more, but about 5 percent of the population enjoy a slightly different mutant version.

Tests on a mother-daughter pair with the mutation have revealed an ability to sleep just 4–6 hours each night. Mere mortals would begin to experience negative effects after just a few days of this, but these mutants function completely normally. Researchers are hopefully working to replicate this mutation to allow crime fighters and the exceptionally busy to waste less time unconscious.

6Shock-Proof Skin

Electricity is one of the most dangerous things we encounter each day. We tend not to think much about it because we’re so used to it, but we are almost always surrounded by more than enough power to kill us in an instant. That’s never bothered Serbian man Slavisa Pajkic, though, whose unique genetic makeup makes him largely immune to electricity.

The typical human is covered with millions of sweat glands, which normally give electric shocks a nice wet path directly into our skin. Pajkic, on the other hand, has no sweat or salivary glands due to a rare genetic condition. This means electricity has no way of penetrating his body, so it skims harmlessly over his skin into whatever he happens to be holding.

This unique talent has earned Pajkic the title of “Battery Man.” Able to cook food, boil water, and even set things on fire by passing electricity over his body, he has set a handful of records and appeared on several TV shows. He also uses his gift to treat (or at least claim to treat them) various ailments like migraines and back pain in his native Serbia.

5Super Partying

The lifestyle of rich and famous musicians is notorious for being pretty hard on the body. Countless lives have been snuffed out prematurely due to the stresses of constant drug and alcohol use. But bizarrely, one of the men associated most strongly with this life of dangerous excess has been going strong for decades.

Rocker Ozzy Osbourne’s ironically long life may be due to more than simple luck. Researchers analyzing the legendary musician’s genetic code have recently discovered a staggering number of mutant genes. Most of them have to do with the way the body breaks down alcohol and various other chemicals. For instance, a mutation of the ADH4 gene gives him increased amounts of proteins that remove alcohol from the body. Genetic variations like this help explain Osbourne’s continued existence despite the “swimming pools of booze . . . cocaine, morphine, sleeping pills, cough syrup, LSD, Rohypnol” he has admitted to indulging in over the years.

4Metal Munching

There comes a moment in every superhero’s career when defeat looks certain. The villain’s doomsday device is ticking away, and all hope seems lost. But luckily, the hero still has a genetic variation or two up his sleeve. He grabs it, adds a dash of salt, and crams it down his mighty throat. The day is saved.

But only if his name is Michel Lotito. This phenomenal French showman spent his life chowing down on absolutely everything as the amazing Monsieur Mangetout—Mr. Eats-All. Televisions, shopping carts, beds, and even an entire airplane made their way through his super-powered stomach. Swallowing shards of glass and twisted scraps of metal would of course kill most people, but Lotito survived his deadly eating habits for decades.

It is believed that Lotito’s stomach-turning talent was the result of a very specific genetic defect. Born with bizarrely thick lining in his stomach and intestines, his system was durable enough to avoid the inevitable shredding most people would experience. A few gulps of lubricating mineral oil were the only safety precaution he required.

3Super Flexibility

Inhuman flexibility has been a comic book staple for years. This is mostly because the ability to warp the body into bizarre and amazing shapes is dramatic and visually stunning. But its pop culture popularity may lead some to think of this talent as mere fiction. It isn’t.

For those born with the genetic condition known as Marfan Syndrome, tendons and ligaments may as well be rubber bands. Mutations in the gene responsible for producing the protein fibrillin-1 cause the body to create connective tissues with superhuman flexibility. Selectively dislocating joints to twist the body into shapes worthy of Mr. Fantastic is nothing for the typical Marfan sufferer.

Of course, this gift comes with a price. Sufferers may develop unnaturally long limbs and facial disfigurements. Problems with the skeleton, nervous system, and even the heart can also arise from the genetic defect, some of which can be fatal.

2Super Strength

Super strength is the quintessential super power; it has been the go-to ability for comic book writers since Superman first flew onto the scene. The raw power it represents is fascinating, leaving many yearning for rippling muscles and brute strength with absolutely no effort. Well good news: It’s possible. Bad news: You have to be born with it.

For a lucky few born with mutations of the gene responsible for producing the protein myostatin, the dream of effortless abs is a reality. Myostatin tells the body to stop producing muscle when enough has been created, but defective genes keep it from being made. This means muscles automatically grow to twice the average size, while fat deposits are halved.

A handful of people around the world have this condition, and scientists are trying to harness its power. It is believed that by studying these mutant genes, we may one day be able to cure muscle conditions like muscular dystrophy.

1Immunity To Pain

Pain. Whether by banging your toe on the corner of your bed, cutting yourself shaving, or walking into a door, we all experience this annoying sensation almost daily. Pharmaceutical companies make billions offering us ways to avoid it, but the secret to true painlessness may be hidden in the garbled genes of a very rare few.

The SCN11A gene determines the amount of sodium in the body’s cells. This might not sound terribly impressive, until you realize that nerve cells use sodium to decide when to send a pain signal. With the mutant gene lowering sodium levels, nerve cells never have enough to send those signals, rendering the body completely immune to pain.

Bizarrely, however, people with this seemingly enviable condition are prone to broken bones and accidental self-mutilation. Without pain to tell them not to do something, they have a tendency to injure themselves, especially as infants. Still, their mutant genes are incredibly rare and valuable, as they may be the key to revolutionary new pain medications.

We all love superhero movies, and every time we go to the theatres, we are excited to see them doing incredible feats as they fight against threats to their worlds. Yet, movies use computers to tell fictional stories that could never be repeated or replicated in real life. But, did you know that there are real-life superhumans living with us?

Some of these humans with incredible capabilities were born with gifts, but others chose to train and perfect their abilities. As scientists try to discover what makes these humans special, let’s see the superhuman abilities they have. Do you agree that they deserve the superhero tag?

10 Real Samurai: Slicing Projectiles In Two

In the past, samurais were warriors whose skills in combat were legendary and feared by both friends and enemies. Isao Machii is a talented superhuman whose skills could rival those of any samurai from ancient stories. Machii can slice anything in two with his sword — even a pellet shot from a gun at 200 mph!

While most people might know how to use a sword, Isao Machii is different because of his great speed and accuracy that helps him break one incredible feat after another. In the Guinness World Book of record, Machii is credited for the fastest 1,000 martial arts sword cuts, most martial arts katana cuts, and the fastest tennis ball cuts with a sword. His skills are often compared to a robot since machines are the only things that can come close to his abilities.

Yet, Isao Machii was not born with the talent since it’s a product of hard work and training. For many years, the Japanese Iaido Master has honed his skills with the sword, and every day, he picks his favorite weapon and trains. Isao Machii gives a new meaning to the phrase, “Practice makes perfect.”

9 Real-Life Batman: Blind Man Sees With His Tongue

If you lost your eyes today, how would you move around? Daniel Kish is technically blind, but he has a superpower that enables him to move around and see objects around him. Using echolocation, the same ability that bats have, Kish can drive a bike in heavy traffic, camp in the wild, and even climb trees.

So, how does he do it? After losing his eyes to retina cancer when he was a kid, Daniel Kish taught himself how to use his tongue as a navigational technique. By clicking his tongue, Kish listens to the sound that bounces off objects in the surrounding environment. When the sound returns in different volumes, he estimates the size of the obstacle and how far it is.

Daniel Kish is just like “Daredevil,” the blind superhero from the comics who uses “radar sense” to perceive objects around him. Over time, Kish got so good in his ability that other blind people hire him to help them get around.

As an expert in human echolocation, Kish can describe places he has never seen before to prove that the human body is capable of magical feats. Truly, disability is not inability!

8 Photographic Memory: No Camera, No Problem!

Ever wished you could remember everything that you ever saw? Stephen Wiltshire is a superhuman with a photographic memory, with the ability to memorize and draw anything he sees in intricate details.

Stephen Wiltshire was born autistic and didn’t speak until age five. But when he finally did, his first words were “Pen” and “Paper.” As an adult, Wiltshire uses his powers for good, making impressions of skylines and street scenes with just one helicopter ride across.

One of the best achievements by Stephen Wiltshire was his “London Skyline in 360” painting, which was a panorama of major landmarks in London. The most astounding fact is that he did the painting without any sketches, photos, or notes. Every detail he captured was on point!

We might carry our cameras around, but they come nowhere close to matching Wiltshire’s superhuman abilities.

7 Head Balancer: My Head Can Carry Anything!

John Evans earned his fame as a strongman who can balance anything on his head, and for many, his talents are both astounding and entertaining. Evans’ achievements require no introduction, and from lifting pints of beer to a 352-pound (159.6 kg) car for 33 seconds, the superhuman can support anything with his head and neck.

John Evans, who holds 33 Guinness World Records for balancing items on his head, is not your everyday weightlifter, and he admits that he never goes to the gym! While working as a laborer in construction, Evans realized that balancing bricks on his head made him haul more bricks than he would with his hands. Over time, he developed a strong neck as the daily work kept him in shape.

Years later, Evans tested his capabilities only to discover that his bone density was just like that of a 20-year-old! While many people get weaker as they age, Evans’ body keeps getting stronger, an ability that makes it possible for him to support weights with his skeleton alone.

Other notable achievements by this superhuman include balancing motorcycles, two cyclists on their bikes, washing machines, and bunk beds. It is very probable that John Evans could carry the weight of the world on his head if he was big enough to hold it. 

6 Human Lightning Conductor: Lightning 7, Man 0

They say that lightning never strikes the same place twice, but one man from the US is an exception to this rule. Roy Cleveland Sullivan, a former US park ranger, earned the title of the “Spark Ranger” after being struck by lightning seven times in his life!

Roy, who holds the record for most lightning strikes for any human in history, was exposed to risks of lightning strikes in his job as a park ranger. By working out in the open, the ranger was at more risk of being hit by lightning, but the surprising thing was that with each incident, he survived exceptionally.

The first time he was hit, Roy walked away with a hole in his shoe, the second burned off his eyebrows and eyelashes, and the third time, it seared his left shoulder. Defying statistics that show that 10% of people who get struck by lightning die while 90% are left with disabilities, Roy never saw an emergency room after a lightning strike.

Yet, because Roy was a lightning magnet, many people avoided him for fear that they would also get struck if a storm hit. At the end of his life, Roy took his own life by suicide for unknown reasons that had many theorizing that he was tired of watching out for storm clouds.

5 Baby Superman: Strongest Toddler Ever

Liam Hoekstra shot to fame when he was just 5 years old, earning the title of the “world’s strongest toddler.” When he was 6 years old, his parents got curious about what made their special son strong and after a study, it became clear that Liam was stronger than 85% of other 6-year-old kids.

The condition that made Liam special was his myostatin deficiency, which led to a massive increase in body mass and double muscling. The lack of myostatin meant that Liam developed muscles easily, as they grew at a faster than normal rate without any exercise. Also, his body is completely unable to store body fat, no matter how much he ate.

After his biological mom gave up out of fear that she couldn’t take adequate care of him, Liam stood out from his peers from a young age. While other kids struggled with chin-ups, he could easily hold himself up for minutes, impressing many and shocking others.

The only side effect of Liam’s superpower was that he consumed more food than other kids since his body needed more energy to grow. In the end, with great power came great and delicious responsibilities.  

4 Spider-Man: Climbs Any Building With No Equipment!

Alain Robert, aka ‘The French Spiderman,’ is a professional rock climber, but mountains aren’t the only things he can scale! Name the tallest buildings in the world, and Roberts has likely climbed a few of them!

Alain Robert takes pride in being the most famous free climber in the world and he’s climbed over 100 buildings and he’s still going. In 2011, Robert proved why he’s the best when he climbed Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. In the 828-meter climb, Robert took just six hours, using nothing but his hands, feet, and an indomitable spirit.

What makes Alain Robert special? His technique, training, and physical conditioning enable him to scale buildings by latching on to small outcrops. Robert is a daredevil who believes that fear should not control our lives.

In the past, Robert has been arrested on multiple occasions for scaling buildings while wearing a spiderman outfit! For the athlete, being great has more to do with sacrifice and concentration, qualities he has mastered over many years.

3 Metal Bender: World’s Strongest Granny

Sakinat Khanapiyeva is not your average grandma and while she hasn’t entered any weight lifting event, she’s easily the strongest in her age group. When she was 10 years, Sakinat discovered that she was a superhuman when she moved a 661-pound (299 kg) grain container. For a scale, 661 pounds is equal to the weight of four grown men!

As she got older, Sakinat Khanapiyeva realized that she could still do some amazing things like twisting 2-inch steel rods and rip a phone-book in half! Think that is standard? In her 70s, Sakinat shocked everyone by lifting a 52-pound dumbbell while standing on nails!

What else can she do? She can also break a horseshoe in two like a cookie! Even Schwarzenegger couldn’t beat that! Truly, Sakinat Khanapiyeva from Daghestan, Russia, deserves her Guinness World Book record as the strongest grandma in the world.

2 The Flash: Legs that can’t stop running!

How many marathons can you run in a year? Dean Karnazes is an ultramarathon runner, but his greatest accomplishment was running 50 marathons in 50 days, back-to-back.

In 2005, Karzanes showed the world why he’s better than ‘Flash’ from the comics when he ran 350 miles (560 km) in 80 hours and 44 minutes across North Carolina! In the incredible display of both stamina and endurance, Karzanes didn’t stop to eat or sleep and for over 3 days, his legs just couldn’t stop running.

Other achievements by this legend include running a marathon to the South Pole in 2002 and a 199-mile (320 km) relay from Calistoga to Santa Cruz. According to ‘Men’s Fitness’, Dean Karzanes is one of the fittest men on the planet, and from his impressive resume, it’s clear why he deserves the title.

Like all the great runners, Karzanes has trained himself never to give up even when his body tells him to stop. But, as a superhuman, Karzanes’ muscles don’t ever get tired, an ability that makes it possible to keep moving where many would quit!

1 The Iceman: Real Life Snowman?

How much cold is too cold for you? Wim Hof entered the Guinness World Record for his unique ability to sit in an ice bath for 1 hour, 53 minutes, and 2 seconds!

Hof, famous for his ability to withstand freezing temperatures, is a daredevil who is always chasing the next world record. With over 26 records under his belt, Hof is always pushing the limits of the human body, and his accolades are even more impressive.

Some of the most notable achievements by “The Iceman” include running the fastest half marathon barefoot on ice/snow and attempting to climb Mt Everest wearing nothing but shorts and shoes! It seems that there’s nothing this real-life snowman won’t try. If it involves shocking acts of cold endurance, you can bet that Wim Hof has tried it.

As a fitness guru, Wim Hof credits his achievements to techniques such as the Buddhist Tummo meditation technique. The practice that was perfected by monks literally translates to ‘inner fire,’ a deep state of meditation achieved through breathing and visualization. Also, using his very own ‘Wim Hof Method’, the unstoppable man aims to change the world through breathing, meditation, and cold exposure.