A heroic undertaking: The latest exhibit at Madame Tussauds – one of London’s most famous visitor attractions – is a specially created 4D experience featuring superheroes from Marvel Comics. Paddy Baker takes his seat

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The Marvel Superheroes 4D exhibit at Madame Tussauds in London is not the largest 4D install that Kraftwerk Living Technologies has been involved in, but it’s arguably the most prestigious. While the Austrian company has installed an attraction in Jakarta with marginally more seats than the 278 at Tussauds, there are two factors that single out this project: the auditorium is topped by a massive dome – it’s the former London Planetarium; and, as project manager Jens Pfennig observes: “I don’t think you can find a person anywhere in Europe who hasn’t heard of Madame Tussauds.”

While much of what’s on display at the iconic venue is still centred around the waxworks of the kind created by its eponymous founder, interactivity is everywhere, and visitors are encouraged to pose with the exhibits. Also part of the Tussauds experience are a ‘dark ride’ through London’s history in a black taxicab, live actors in the Chamber of Horrors, and, since May of this year, the Marvel 4D exhibit.

Overall, the aim is to provide “a rollercoaster of emotions”, according to Tussauds marketing manager Richard Orr. He explains: “We’ve had interactive shows with actors and a film in the auditorium, we’ve had a full 360º animation, but we wanted to take it to the next level and create the ultimate 4D experience.”

Visitors to Marvel Superheroes enter the secret Superhero Command Centre, where they can see numerous exhibits before entering the auditorium. These include a giant Hulk; an upside-down room featuring a lifesize Spider-Man on the ‘ceiling’, whom visitors can pose alongside; lifesize models from Iron Man; and more besides.

Created by Threshold Animation Studios, the 4D movie is set in London. A number of superheroes battle to save the capital from destruction by a giant robot and other evil creations. Beginning at Buckingham Palace, the action moves to outside – and then inside – the Command Centre in Madame Tussauds. All of this involves realistic recreations of numerous London landmarks, which were photographed in exhaustive detail to be recreated within the nine-minute movie.