Here the author makes a nested reference involving the blockbuster 2002 Marvel movie “Spiderman”. In “Spiderman” Peter Parker (Toby McGuire) is told by his Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson) that “with great power comes great responsibility.” This movie moment was so memorable that it has become perhaps the most popular quotable line of its decade in cinema.
The author takes it a step further, though by juxtaposing “power” with the scientific notion of power, alluding to Ohm’s Law which describes how much power (which is actual capacity for real work done, typically measured in “watts”) a typical circuit can facilitate. The specific forumula in question is: Power = C^2 * R, where C = (the total current across the circuit) and R = (the total resistance of the circuit). This particular expression of Ohm’s Law not necessarily the most useful formulation of the identity, but is frequently one of the first version described by college level textbooks.
Thusly, the punchline of this comic is the comic juxtaposition of ”power” (as in social power or physical strength) with the scientific notion of “power”–thus creating the absurd image of Ohm inheriting scientific wisdom from a fictitious uncle–to tie a popular scientific equation with the unlikely pairing of a popular piece of cinema.
