Theme: Invisibility

Invisibility is the ability or property of a person or object of not being able to be seen. There have been quite a body of works dealing with various invisible men (and women). The progenitor of these, although not the first work dealing with invisibility, was H.G. Wells’ novel The Invisible Man (1897). This was filmed as Universal’s classic The Invisible Man (1933), which led to a series of sequels, and has been variously remade over the years.

In the Wells novel and some of the films, the Invisible Man is driven mad as a side-effect of the formula he takes and is portrayed as a villain. Later films make the invisible man a hero or government agent. Other works about invisibility are played as comedies or children’s films, even works of erotica. There are also several superheroes with the power of invisibility.

Usually the invisibility process is created by taking a formula. In fantasy, there are a number of occasions where invisibility is created by magic rings and cloaks, or is a property of some magical creatures.

One form of invisibility is the cloaking device employed in the various Star Trek series, while it is also a property of some aliens.