One Panel #383-384: Science Heroes or Magic Heroes?

From Starman: "The Adventure of the Earthquake Terror" by Gardner Fox and Jack Burnley, Adventure Comics #63 (June 1941)

Can you tell the difference? Above is a SCIENCE HERO who uses a scientific gadget and scientifically proven energies against... uhm... well...

And below is a MAGIC HERO, one who uses a magical artifact to achieve effects, like destroying the machine that turns a mad scientist into a shadow:

From Dr. Fate: "The Shadow Killers" by Garner Fox (superhero-writing machine) and Howard Sherman, More Fun Comics #69 (July 1941)

Plot-wise, are there ANY differences? There usually isn't. Whether driven by science or the mystic art, the superhero's shtick in the Golden Age was simply an EFFECT, and science another name for magic. And so the villains could be scientists in magic stories or mythical-looking monsters in scientific strips. Science just wasn't part of the public consciousness in the same way it would be in the Atomic Age. By then, while they didn't always get the science right, they were at least more consistent as to whether they were science-fiction or fantasy stories.