Original subtitles

NARRATOR: Super strength.

MAN: Here's a normal guy, becomes incredibly powerful.

NARRATOR: Super speed.

SECOND MAN: He had very advanced capabilities.

NARRATOR: And supernatural abilities.

THIRD MAN: Suddenly he's a god with godlike powers.

NARRATOR: Throughout history,

humans have told tales of beings with incredible powers.

But could these ancient stories that continue to be retold today

have extraterrestrial origins?

FOURTH MAN: There's an intuitive knowing

that these stories are true, that beings did come

from other planets to save humankind.

NARRATOR: Millions of people around the world believe

we have been visited in the past by extraterrestrial beings.

What if it were true?

Did ancient aliens really help to shape our history?

And if so, could there be a connection

between aliens and today's superheroes?

NARRATOR: X-ray vision...

incredible strength...

the power of flight.

These are just a few of the superhuman abilities

of modern-day comic-book heroes.

But stories of beings with extraordinary powers

have been told throughout history,

dating all the way back to ancient times.

The most famous are those involving the Greek gods

known as the Olympians.

These powerful beings could create earthquakes...

become invisible...

[Thunderclap]

And even harness lightning.

But there is an important difference between

the Olympians and the fictional superheroes of today.

The ancient Greeks believed that the Olympians

were real.

A huge difference between the ancient world

and the modern world is we have developed

this very strict sense of real and not real...

which really didn't matter so much back then.

The ancients believed that these heroes had been there,

that they were real people.

We're always looking at mythology

as a basis for our storytelling.

A character like Wonder Woman

is immediately established in Greek mythology.

She's built on the story of the Amazons.

There's Hercules, there's Zeus.

The Olympian gods play every aspect of who she is.

NARRATOR: Could it be that today's superheroes

trace their origins back to the ancient gods?

And if the people who worshiped these gods

believed them to be real, is it possible

they actually were?

Perhaps the answer can be found

by more closely examining the stories

of gods and heroes in the ancient world.

The Dictean cave on the Greek island of Crete

is believed by some scholars to fit the location

and description given by the 8th-century B.C. poet Hesiod

for the childhood home of Zeus,

the leader of the Olympians.

Archaeologists have found remains

of religious offerings here

that date back 4,000 years

to the exact period when the stories

of the Olympians took place.

But could the ancient Greeks have left these offerings

to a powerful being they actually witnessed

with their own eyes?

MAN: We have these stories of these gods

that had these supernatural, magical powers.

Let's be honest.

Magical, supernatural powers don't really exist,

so what was it that was described?

In my opinion, it was people

who had access to advanced technology.

MAN: There is an old saying

that one man's magic is another man's engineering.

Magic is just some knowledge we don't understand.

It is, therefore, super or above our understanding.

It is transcendent. That's what "super" implies.

NARRATOR: Ancient astronaut theorists believe the notion

that our ancestors actually witnessed advanced technology

is supported by the fact that similar stories

of godlike beings can be found on every continent.

Historian and author Joseph Campbell found

that even cultures that had never had contact

with the outside world developed similar hero stories.

TSOUKALOS: So the fact that we have all of these

similar hero stories from all around the world,

from different types of ancient cultures,

to me suggests that they were visited

by the same teachers.

JONES: The myths came from ancient oral culture.

We don't know when, but you can see

almost identical gods showing up in ancient India,

ancient Greece, and ancient Norway.

So it was a long time ago

before these people started to spread out.

WOMAN: The power of flight...

magical objects which allowed a superhero

to always be victorious,

talismans that allow the superhero to change

from an ordinary human being to somebody

who can access those magical powers.

Those are part of a number of different stories

of superheroes that really span time and culture.

NARRATOR: But what ancient astronaut theorists find

most intriguing is how remarkably similar

the tales of ancient heroes are

to the superhero stories of today.

MAN: It's fascinating to me when you look

at the Superman stories and how Superman has come

from this other planet,

one that exploded.

He comes here with superpowers, he can fly through the air,

and it's very much

like the ancient Sumerian stories and Hindu stories

of these extraterrestrial gods coming from other planets

to Earth in order to help us

and move our planet forward.

NARRATOR: Even the iconic "S" on Superman's chest

seems to have been adapted from legends told

thousands of years ago.

Heroes and gods from ancient Greek,

Buddhist, and Christian religions

are portrayed with symbols near their heart.

MAN: In Christian art, you will see Jesus wearing

a glowing robe with a glowing heart.

So we see this correspondence here of this imagery

of an archetypal figure

or a savior figure.

NARRATOR: Today, almost every superhero

has an icon on his chest.

Could this be inspired

by some piece of technology our ancestors witnessed

on an alien being, like the Arc Reactor

on Iron Man's chest that powers his suit?

And might these similarities mean the stories of Superman,

Batman, and Spider-Man are based

on our ancestors' experiences with extraterrestrials?

MAN: These are things that are common and symbolic

throughout these stories, and they, to me, imply

that we're talking about similar figures

or figures that are here for the same reason,

and that is to advance us forward.

What we may be seeing is, the reason why Superman

may resonate so much with us is not just because

we've heard this story before in other forms, but because

our ancient ancestors actually experienced the story

in a very, very real way in a very, very ancient time.

NARRATOR: Is it possible that the reason we continue

to be fascinated by superheroes today is that we're trying

to reconnect with similar beings that lived among us

thousands of years ago?

MAN: It is possible some deep part of us,

perhaps in our DNA or genetic memory,

is remembering that there was a time

in which the gods, the extraterrestrials,

did interact with us, and that may be because,

in the past, there were beings who were more advanced

than we here on Earth were, who were protecting us

from others who were very dangerous and harmful.

HENRY: There's an intuitive knowing

that these stories are true,

that these events actually happened,

that beings did come from other planets,

other worlds, to save humankind.

NARRATOR: Could our modern stories of superheroes

really be inspired by encounters

that early humans had with extraterrestrial beings?

Perhaps further clues can be found

by examining mankind's earliest stories,

in which superbeings waged war

not against humans, but against supervillains.

NARRATOR: May 4, 2012.

"The Avengers" opens in theaters across America.

This blockbuster film chronicles six superheroes

who ban together to battle extraterrestrial forces of evil.

Powerful superheroes have been popular

in comic books and movies for over half a century...

and nearly all have one very dark

and forbidding feature in common--

supervillains.

JONES: The archnemesis really defines the hero.

You can see how whatever is most interesting or powerful

about the hero, the best villains

are the opposite.

The archvillain is psychologically very powerful

because there's an echo of that archetype.

It's not just "me versus danger and chaos,"

but sort of "us versus them."

NARRATOR: Stories of superheroes fighting supervillains,

with the fate of the world at stake, are common

across many different cultures and time periods.

In the modern Avengers pantheon,

Thor does battle with his evil adoptive brother Loki

to prevent Loki from taking over the universe.

The story is inspired by ancient Norse mythology,

where Thor engages in a similar battle with Loki

and his children at Ragnarok.

The Greeks had their own epic battle of the gods,

which they believed created the world as we know it.

[Thunderclap]

[Men shouting]

NARRATOR: The Titanomachy was a conflict between the Titans,

who ruled the world,

and an upstart group of gods called the Olympians.

[Thunder]

Psychologists say these tales of good facing off against evil

have always been popular

because they allow people to project their hopes and fears

on the fictional characters in make-believe worlds.

[Sword clangs]

But could there be another reason that these stories

are told again and again around the world?

CHILDRESS: Joseph Campbell concluded that somehow

these hero myths had pervaded all cultures...

and you have to wonder if this isn't because

extraterrestrials came here to our planet

and were heroes all over the world,

and so the same story was repeated over and over again.

NARRATOR: Is it possible that some of our ancient hero myths

recount specific events

involving extraterrestrial visitors

in the distant past?

Ancient astronaut theorists say yes,

and as evidence,

cite a Sanskrit epic that describes an enormous war

between gods that came from the stars.

MAN: In old India,

we have clear descriptions in the "Mahabharata"--

which is the fifth book, the so-called "Mausala Parva"--

a clear description of a war in heaven.

TSOUKALOS: I mean, it reads like modern-day science fiction,

this incredible battle between the gods.

Gigantic cities were said to have orbited the earth,

and when they came together at the firmament, they were

battling each other.

The city Dvaraka was right at the edge of the Arabian Sea.

Some of the explosion, it split the city

and then the half of the city fell in the sea.

VON DANIKEN: And it's described

how two of these cities were destroyed,

cities on heaven, and for the people on Earth,

it looked as if ten thousands of little stars would fall down.

They are describing what are extraterrestrial gods

with superpowers, with airships,

weapons, and it would seem that these ancient,

epic stories are the same

as these superhero stories that we're hearing today.

NARRATOR: Could it be that modern stories

in which superheroes battle archvillains for dominance

over the earth are actually based on ancient wars

between extraterrestrial forces?

Perhaps further clues can be found

in the Babylonian and Sumerian origin myths.

According to modern interpretations

of the cuneiform writing, the "Enuma Elish" describes

a celestial battle some 5,000 years ago

between two groups of gods that may have actually resulted

in the destruction of a planet in our solar system.

CHILDRESS: Sumerian texts make mysterious references

to these other planets called Marduk and Tiamat.

And within our solar system,

there was some destruction here where one of them blew up,

and this would be the theoretical planet

that was between Mars and Jupiter.

Astronomers have often said that there should be a planet there,

but instead, we have the asteroid belt.

NARRATOR: Could the asteroid belt that circles the sun

between Mars and Jupiter really be the remnants of a planet

that existed in the distant past...

a planet that was destroyed in an alien war?

And if so, are these ancient events echoed today

in the plots of modern superhero stories?

CHILDRESS: In many ways, these stories which are

so familiar to us in TV and movies and comic books

are really coming to us from these ancient Sumerian

and Hindu texts that are thousands of years old.

WILCOCK: Good versus evil is a longstanding theme

that we see in many ancient cultures

in which supernatural or extraterrestrial beings

are coming to our aid and helping us

against the greatest evil the world has ever known.

NARRATOR: Modern stories have superheroes fighting

supervillains, based on real extraterrestrial battles

that took place above the earth thousands of years ago.

Could it be true?

Ancient astronaut theorists believe the answer may be found

not with the stories of the gods themselves,

but with their technology.

NARRATOR: Lem nos, Greece,

3000 B.C.

This island in the Aegean Sea

is said to be the home of Hephaestus,

the Greek god of technology.

The son of Zeus and Hera, king and queen of the gods,

Hephaestus grew up on Mount Olympus,

but he was a small and physically deformed child.

Unhappy with her son's physical problems,

one Greek legend says Hera threw him off the mountain.

MAGLIOCCO: He fell for nine days and nine nights

and landed in the ocean.

There, he was rescued by sea nymphs,

who took him to the island of Lemnos.

Hephaestus became the blacksmith of the gods,

and he set up his forge on the island of Lemnos,

and volcanoes were said to be entrances to his forge.

NARRATOR: Working underneath an active volcano,

Hephaestus is said to have forged magical objects.

He eventually created the armor, weapons,

and other technology used by the Greek gods and heroes.

Hephaestus is the god of the great forge,

and he is the builder.

He creates the armor that is impenetrable for Achilles.

He creates chariots.

MAN: Magical spears, magical breastplates, and so forth,

which gave the gods all sorts of miraculous powers.

He's even said to have made the chariot

that the god Helios, the god of the sun,

rode across the skies.

NARRATOR: Some myths describe Hephaestus creating

even more fantastic devices,

including a bronze bull that breathed fire

and is said to have had voices coming out of its nostrils,

and a powerful robot named Talos

that defended the island of Crete.

HENRY: He made all these wondrous creations,

and when we look back at those stories, we have to ask,

"Is it possible that Hephaestus was

"an extraterrestrial being who brought

"some advanced extraterrestrial technology to Earth?"

TSOUKALOS: Our ancestors had no experience

with advanced technology, so they would have described

alien visitors as having superhuman powers

because of their frame of reference.

If they saw an extraterrestrial with access

to incredible "powers" which are due to advanced science,

they interpreted that as witnessing God,

and that was never the case.

NARRATOR: Magical weapons have been a key feature

of heroic myths for thousands of years,

but they play an even larger role

in the stories of modern superheroes.

1939.

With new "Superman" comic books flying off the shelves,

publishers rush to develop more heroes

to satisfy the public's demand.

The one that makes the biggest impression

is a hero of modern technology--

Batman.

Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger,

the Caped Crusader leaps onto the comic-book page

and immediately into the pantheon of pop-culture gods.

JONES: The idea of Batman is that he is a normal person.

Nothing has given him super strength,

but he's a normal person who depends on his technology.

MAN: He has a utility belt with all kinds of modern gadgets.

And he has a batmobile and he has a batcopter,

so he is a technological superhero in that sense.

DiDIO: Batman for us is probably one of the most identifiable

characters we have with all of our fans,

with all of our audience because he's a human.

He doesn't do something that pushes the imagination

beyond something that we don't believe people can actually do.

NARRATOR: In 1963,

the comics gave birth to another iconic character

that is completely dependent on science for his superpowers--

Iron Man.

YOUNG: In the Iron Man story,

there's this incredible suit that can make him virtually

into a superman, even though he's a mortal.

This is a great melding

of the human/machine interface.

This is how we use technology to do extraordinary things.

NARRATOR: Are Batman and Iron Man

modern representations

of what ancient astronaut theorists believe

the ancient gods really were...

[Thunder]

Mortal beings with advanced technology?

We see a similarity with modern-day superheroes

and some of the ancient texts of a god who wears a special ring

or holds a certain staff and can magically become

a creature of flight or can fly a magic carpet.

Many of the superheroes that we have today are

just normal human beings, but when they strap on

their technology--like Batman in his super suit

or Iron Man and his flying capabilities--

well, these are just normal mortals that are using

advanced technology and become superhuman or godlike.

NARRATOR: Could modern-day superheroes like Batman

and Iron Man be the true realization

of what our ancestors were describing when they wrote

about powerful gods and heroes?

Was Hercules' great strength the result

of a robotic exoskeleton?

Could Hermes' power of flight have been inspired

by something like a modern jet pack

or gliding suit?

And could Zeus' lightning bolts have used electrical coils

to generate extraordinarily large voltages?

The ancient people simply used the vernacular of the time

to express what they were seeing,

and as far as they were concerned, this could only be

the work of a supreme being.

NARRATOR: Superhumans using advanced technology,

gods at war,

and extraterrestrials coming from the heavens.

Could these ancient tales really be evidence

of an otherworldly presence on Earth?

Perhaps further clues can be found

in the stories of superheroes hiding

in plain sight.

NARRATOR: July 3, 2007.

After spending decades as larger-than-life toys

and animated television characters,

the Transformers hit the big screen,

with the American premiere of their first feature film.

The extraterrestrial storyline is a familiar one.

The Transformers, in a way, are like mechanical versions

of Superman.

They come from another planet...

they kind of adapt to being here...

and then, as in a lot of Superman stories,

the enemy is from that planet.

There's some evil that follows them, that chases them down,

and so they're having this ancient battle

from their homeland, but they're having it here.

NARRATOR: Unlike Batman or Iron Man,

the Transformers aren't humanoids that use technology.

They actually are technology.

But the most remarkable power the Transformers use

against their foes is one of the most important

in all of heroic myth--

the ability to change from ordinary beings

into superheroes when evil threatens.

LoCICERO: It's the archetype of metamorphosis

or transformation...

shape-shifting, if you will.

This comes down to us from the ancient mythologies.

MAGLIOCCO: Shape-shifting allows gods to interact with humans

in a way that they would not otherwise be recognized.

In fact, oftentimes, the god or goddess cannot appear

to the mortal in their full splendor

because such a thing would actually kill the mortal.

NARRATOR: Ancient astronaut theorists suggest

that stories of gods living anonymously among us

are common because they describe a time

when extraterrestrials did just that.

As evidence, they cite an ancient story.

They believe there's an uncanny resemblance

to the Transformers' shape-shifting myth--

a story about the Mayan god Kukulkan,

who is portrayed both as a flying serpent

and a man.

TSOUKALOS: We have descriptions of a winged serpent

that flew over our ancestors' heads,

but at the same time, we also know that Kukulkan

was also someone that gave instructions to the people

in pretty much humanoid form.

So does that mean that Kukulkan was, in fact, a shape-shifter?

NARRATOR: Ancient astronaut theorists propose

another possibility.

They contend that perhaps the ancient people,

being unfamiliar with advanced technology,

witnessed an alien being in a spacecraft.

TSOUKALOS: Imagine for a moment a craft lands, a hatch opens,

and then the pilot walks out and gives instruction.

There isn't really a differentiation between

the machine and the person coming out of it because

they didn't understand the technological concept behind it.

The instructor then went back into the craft

and took off.

All of a sudden, Kukulkan becomes

this winged serpent that flies across the sky.

NARRATOR: Is it possible that this scenario

may have actually played out in the distant past?

And if so, did it inspire the shape-shifting myths

that humans have told for millennia?

VON DANIKEN: We have the same stories.

The core of the stories worldwide

in most of the mythologies, they are all linked together.

They had different names, were different heroes,

different personalities, but at the end, it was

all the same extraterrestrials having contact

with the humans some thousands and thousands of years ago.

[Thunderclap]

NARRATOR: But could there be an even deeper meaning

behind the tales of otherworldly heroes,

like the Transformers and Kukulkan hiding among us?

Perhaps further clues can be found

by examining the stories of godlike beings

disguising themselves as ordinary humans.

Superman hides his identity by pretending to be

mild-mannered newspaper reporter Clark Kent.

Wonder Woman disguises herself

as a nurse named Diana Prince.

And Spider-Man's alter ego is Peter Parker.

JONES: Virtually every really popular superhero has

a clear and recognizable ordinary human identity.

It's an essential part of the superhero archetype

that they be able to look like us and feel like us

and live like us, but then be able to explode

into their super-powered self.

WILCOCK: We have a deep inner longing

to have that story retold,

perhaps through some sort of genetic memory written

right into our DNA.

We seem to be remembering on some deep level

a part of us that can come in contact

with extraterrestrial capabilities and actualize them,

as we ourselves reach the next level of human evolution

or what may have been a level that we had long ago

and was deliberately turned off in our DNA for some reason.

NARRATOR: Is it really possible that we tell stories

of superheroes disguised as humans

because it is written in our genetic memory,

that we have special abilities hidden within ourselves?

And if so, what could be the source

of those abilities?

WILCOCK: We may not have originated on Earth.

We may have been seeded on Earth by other humans

who are far older than we are

and who are far more genetically advanced than we are.

Perhaps some part of us remembers

that there is a way in which we could be exposed

to certain technologies that activate this dormant DNA

within us that propel us to the next level

of what it means to be a live, evolved human being.

NARRATOR: Could it be that stories of superheroes

hiding among us are so popular

because extraterrestrials have manipulated our DNA,

hiding extraordinary powers deep inside all of us?

Perhaps the answer can be found

by exploring the stories of heroes

whose powers are the result of genetic mutation.

NARRATOR: New York City,

1962.

Marvel Comics editor Stan Lee

wants to create a new breed of superhero.

One of the masterminds behind the Fantastic Four

and the Avengers,

Lee invents a character literally born

out of modern science--

Spider-Man.

Radiation was very much in the news at the time,

and I figured, "Well, let's let him get his power

through radiation."

And I figured the spider would bite Peter Parker on the hand.

Since the spider was radioactive,

I assumed that his little spider sting would insert

some radioactivity into Peter's bloodstream.

Now, having radioactivity in your blood,

especially if it was spidery radioactivity,

that should give you some of the qualities of a spider.

CHILDRESS: Spider-Man's just a normal teenager

until he's bitten by a radioactive spider.

Suddenly, he's a combination of normal person,

but also a god with godlike powers.

LEE: I thought, "He'll have

the proportionate strength of a spider."

In other words, if a spider were as large

as a human being, that's how strong the spider would be,

which made Peter Parker very strong.

I also figured he could stick to walls,

like a spider or any insect.

NARRATOR: Although exposure to radiation

scrambles Spider-Man's genetic material,

there's a precedent for it in ancient mythology--

genetic manipulation through the mixing

of mortal and immortal blood.

Anjaneri, India.

Two miles outside this small village,

in a cave surrounded by forests and mountains

is where many believe one of Hindu mythology's

greatest heroes was born--

Hanuman.

SHIMKHADA: Hanuman was part god

because his father was the god of wind,

and his mother is a mortal human being,

so then obviously he has the qualities,

the power of wind god.

And he's able to fly

and he is able to multiply, you know, his size,

so because of that, he is definitely a demigod.

NARRATOR: Hanuman is often depicted

as half man and half monkey,

which underlines his mixed bloodline.

Is it possible that this is a non-scientific way

of describing genetically engineered superbeings,

as ancient astronaut theorists contend?

CHILDRESS: One of the common themes in ancient text

is ancient gods or extraterrestrials coming here

and then manipulating our DNA

and changing us

into more superior beings.

[Heart beating]

NARRATOR: As evidence of the genetic experiments

they believe took place in the prehistoric past,

ancient astronaut theorists cite depictions

of hybrid creatures found in cultures around the world:

winged horses in Assyrian and Sumerian myths;

the elephant-headed deity Ganesha in the Hindu pantheon;

and Khepri, the ancient Egyptian god of the morning sun.

HENRY: The Egyptian deity Khepri is shown as either a beetle

or as a human with the head of a beetle,

and you have to ask, "What are they trying to tell us here

"about Khepri? Could he have been half human, half insect?"

NARRATOR: Some ancient astronaut theorists believe

the hybrids depicted by the ancients may have actually been

the results of extraterrestrial genetic experiments

in the distant past.

MARTELL: These things aren't very far off from what we have

in our ancient tales of creation.

In the Sumerian epic of creation, we hear

about the Anunnaki literally putting

their genetic marker on us and creating us

in their image and after their likeness.

NARRATOR: Could genetic experiments long ago have been

part of an ancient alien effort to create the human race?

WILCOCK: Some very strange things happen in the course

of human evolution: we go from Neanderthals,

with no apparent missing link whatsoever,

and all of a sudden, our brain size doubles,

our thumbs become more usable,

we can walk erect more easily.

There's a large number of changes

that take place in a very short time.

NARRATOR: Might the entire human species have been created

by extraterrestrial genetic experiments in the past?

And could our genetic memory of this be the reason

we create genetically altered superheroes today,

including mutants like the X-Men

and the Incredible Hulk,

and hybrids like Hawkman,

Animal Man, and Spider-Man?

WILCOCK: Is it possible that when we are seeing

superhero movies, that on some level we are remembering

having been changed before,

that perhaps we were like the Neanderthals before,

and this already happened,

we already had some sort of genetic upgrade

that brought us to the next level of human evolution?

NARRATOR: Are modern comic-book stories of hybrids and mutants

actually inspired by an ancient alien intervention

thousands of years ago?

And might we create these stories because we are

subconsciously aware of something greater

within ourselves?

Ancient astronaut theorists say yes and believe

that our own recent technological advances

may be bringing us closer to a reconnection

with our alien past.

NARRATOR: Livingston, New Jersey...

May 2001.

Scientists at the Institute for Reproductive Medicine

made headlines when they revealed they had created

the world's first genetically modified baby.

Using a process called cytoplasmic transfer,

they implanted mitochondrial DNA from a second mother

into an egg to make it easier for it to bond

with sperm and form a viable fetus.

When scientists performed genetic tests

on the babies born out of this process,

they detected genetic material from a third parent.

WOMAN: The reason the cytoplasmic transfer is

controversial is because it's human manipulation

of the human germ cell line; in other words,

the cell line that is passed from parent to offspring.

We typically just inherit our genetic material from both

of our parents, so there's a direct line of descent.

With the introduction of cytoplasmic transfer,

suddenly you have humans manipulating that germ line,

that cell line or DNA line passed on

from parent to offspring.

NARRATOR: If perfected, genetic manipulation

could allow scientists to introduce DNA

from an unlimited number of people into a fetus.

This would allow them to rid babies of genetic disease...

but it could also theoretically let them tinker

with natural traits to create superhumans

that are much faster, stronger, and smarter

than those that have come before.

FISHER: You are altering the genetic future

of the human race, based on

your sort of current preferences, let's say,

for a person's traits; sort of, into perpetuity,

affecting the genetic line of descent in humans.

And so that's something very different than had ever been

performed before, and that's certainly controversial.

NARRATOR: The concept of altering genes,

whether these genes are in food,

animals, or humans

has always created a firestorm of protest.

In this case, the controversy forced

an American moratorium on cytoplasmic transfer.

Even so, scientists say the technology

may eventually be developed that will allow us to give

superpowers, including amazing strength,

eyesight, and intelligence to our children

while they're still in the womb.

HENRY: Today, more than ever, we're capable of playing God.

We have incredible superpowers at our fingertips

with genetic technology, and you have to ask,

"Are we trying to duplicate what we saw

"the gods possessing in the ancient world?

"Are we hardwired or programmed to develop

"these technologies so that we can equal our makers?"

NARRATOR: Do we yearn to become like the advanced beings

that ancient astronaut theorists believe created us

thousands of years ago?

And might this be why superhero stories

continue to fascinate us?

MARTELL: I think the reason why people like

these superhero stories that literally go back

thousands of years is because they're possibly explaining

our actual human origins.

Every culture around the world talks about

an intervention event where beings from the heavens

came down and gave us knowledge.

NARRATOR: If we really are the product

of alien genetic experimentation,

as ancient astronaut theorists believe,

might our own DNA resemble that of otherworldly beings?

And if so, are we becoming more and more like our makers,

through our own technological breakthroughs

and genetic advances?

CHILDRESS: In many ways, our society has come

full-circle, where, in ancient times,

we had extraterrestrials here manipulating our DNA,

and now we're the ones who are manipulating our own DNA

to also create a more advanced human species.

WILCOCK: Who knows what's possible?

It's a brave new world. Everything changes.

And we have abilities that are so different that it's as if

a quantum shift in human evolution has taken place.

NARRATOR: Are ancient stories of heroes and gods

with mythological powers really based

on encounters with extraterrestrials?

And might modern-day superheroes

be inspired by our desire to reconnect

with these powerful beings?

Could characters like Batman, Spider-Man,

and Superman be the humans of tomorrow?

Perhaps, as our technology continues to advance,

we are drawing closer to coming face-to-face

with our alien ancestors.