BECOMING BATMAN: Is it possible?
Image: Warner Bros.
-
The Best Science Writing Online 2012
Showcasing more than fifty of the most provocative, original, and significant online essays from 2011, The Best Science Writing Online 2012 will change the way...
Read More »
Batman is the most down-to-earth of all the superheroes. He has no special powers from being born on a distant world or bitten by a radioactive spider. All that protects him from the Joker and other Gotham City villains are his wits and a physique shaped by years of training—combined with the vast fortune to reach his maximum potential and augment himself with Batmobiles, Batcables and other Bat-goodies, of course. In the 2005 blockbuster Batman Begins, vengeful Bruce Wayne (played by Christian Bale) hones his killer instincts in the streets for seven years before landing himself in a Bhutanese prison, where he falls in with the mysterious League of Shadows, who teach him the way of the ninja. The Dark Knight, the next movie in the Batman franchise, opens in theaters Friday. To investigate whether someone like Bruce Wayne could physically transform himself into a one-man wrecking crew, ScientificAmerican.com turned to E. Paul Zehr, associate professor of kinesiology and neuroscience at the University of Victoria in British Columbia and a 26-year practitioner of Chito-Ryu karate-do. Zehr's book, Becoming Batman: The Possibility of a Superhero (The Johns Hopkins University Press), due out in October, tackles our very question. An edited transcript of the conversation follows.
What have comic books and movies told us about Batman's physical abilities?
There's a quote from Neal Adams, the great Batman illustrator, who said Batman would win, place or show in every event in the Olympics. Probably if I were Batman's handler, I'd put him in the decathlon. Although Batman is shown in the comics as being the fastest and the strongest and all these other things, in reality you can't actually be all of that at once. To be Batman properly, what you really need to do is be exceptionally good at many different things. It's when you take all the pieces and put them together that you get the Batman.
What's most plausible about portrayals of Batman's skills?
You could train somebody to be a tremendous athlete and to have a significant martial arts background, and also to use some of the gear that he has, which requires a lot of physical prowess. Most of what you see there is feasible to the extent that somebody could be trained to that extreme. We're seeing that kind of thing in less than a month in the Olympics.
What's less realistic?
A great example is in the movies where Batman is fighting multiple opponents and all of a sudden he's taking on 10 people. If you just estimate how fast somebody could punch and kick, and how many times you could hit one person in a second, you wind up with numbers like five or six. This doesn't mean you could fight four or five people. But it's also hard for four or five people to simultaneously attack somebody, because they get in each other's way. More realistic is a couple of attackers.
How long would Bruce Wayne have to train to become Batman?
In some of the timelines you see in the comics, the backstory is he goes away for five years—some it's three to five years, or eight years, or 12 years. In terms of the physical changes (strength and conditioning), that's happening fairly quickly. We're talking three to five years. In terms of the physical skills to be able to defend himself against all these opponents all the time, I would benchmark that at 10 to 12 years. Probably the most reality-based representation of Batman and his training was in Batman Begins.
See what we're tweeting about
63 Comments
Add CommentArticles like this are why many people have no respect for science.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisPerhaps. But are comments like candide08's why many kids think science is not cool?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt's a fluff piece, you know fun. Scientist do have fun, sure it's not like other folks, but I actually enjoy the humor involved with creating this article. Don't take yourself or your interests too seriously or you'll be perceived as a sphincter.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI think the estimates here are a little off. For the training, they may be correct. But suspect that a modern "Batman" would last much longer than just a few years. That is, he's not out EVERY night, and he's not ALWAYS taking on 4 or 5 "bad guys" in a fight. And of course, a bigger problem is evading the police, who'd likely frown on a costumed vigilante!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisTake a look at David Belle sometime... you will see someone who has been doing things that look like stunts from a batman film, and has been for the last twenty years. He is better every time I see him and shows no signs of slowing down. Mind you, there is only one David Belle, and he is by no means a billionaire.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhen science becomes elitist, it becomes largely irrelevant to the masses and we end up with policies that reflect a general disregard for rational thought and intellectualism. So every time another 'candide08' indicts an article like this for being a mark against science, it's tantamount to telling a number of kids "move along, there's nothing to see here."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDavid Belle is NOT one of a kind. The 'free running' movement seems to be ever-growing. It's all about tapping that vast human resource mentioned at the close of the article.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBeyond that, Batman's tools are all largely based on simple mechanics. A BS in Mechanical Engineering from a decent school would give you the expertise to make your own tools.
Lastly, the time it takes to perfect skills, tool usage, talents, martial arts styles, or ANYTHING is dependent on intelligence. We can guess Bruce Wayne has an IQ of 180 and cut his training time to a quarter the estimates.
Erm, a final thought. A three year lifespan is absurd. Professional fighters and professional football players are all bashing their bodies against individuals as rigorously trained as themselves, Batman is almost always shown going against untrained thugs. If an NFL team went against middle school football teams for their career, they could go for decades.
candide80, would you mind explaining what you mean by that? For my part, I noticed a highly scientific viewpoint for the subject, incorporating many real-world disciplines and research. If you have a problem with the subject matter, consider that Batman is supposed to be a representation of the maximum a human being can achieve, in terms of physical abilities and training; would it help if you replaced the word "Batman" with "Green Beret" or "SEAL" or some other special forces organization?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisComic book characters, on the other hand, are just as valid a subject of analysis as any other idea. Consider that literature from ancient times are full to bursting with characters and stories that would fit nicely into todays superhero comic books: Gilgamesh, Beowulf, Hercules (who actually IS in several superhero comic books), and various others. We need heroes; that they sometimes appear in monthly magazines with pictures and sound effects does not change the fact that humanity still needs to be inspired to act and strive to become more than what we are.
In conclusion, consider this: Don't focus on the batsuit and the theatrics. Focus on the fact that, barring the ridiculous fortune and disturbingly high levels of self-motivation, Batman is a perfectly ordinary human who is doing his level best to protect his home town from criminals of every stripe. Does that make you wonder if you could help your community more in some way? It doesn't take superpowers to start up a neighborhood watch, nor does it take a vast fortune to keep an eye on corruption in local government or businesses. But it does take a desire to do what's right.
Way to expand the scientific creativity with this article. Thinking beyond the normal scheme of general scientific topics (outside the box), even if it may be far fetched, is a terrific way to cultivate new ideas. If there's bona fide research going into an idea I don't see why it can't be shared.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIf you dumped the concept of winning via non-lethal means and just went with winning with the least amount of force you see fit... your chances go up. The 2nd modification would be to take the cash from the bad guys... you get a few good drug dealers.. smack them up a bit... take their cash. If you start out with enough cash to live on via an inheritance or wise investments it probably wouldn't take too many of these type of stunts to get the cash flow going enough to get some "toys".
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe problem comes here... no matter who you are... getting rare hard to find materials or components is going to wind up putting you on some "government watch list" How many times you can you buy high caliber bullets (and yes he does have some... look at that motorcycle... those are not headlights.) before they say "hmm... what's he using these for? We saw that armored bank car that was robbed that bat man recovered it used the same caliber... wow... I BET THAT IS COINCIDENCE....
Now in the comic books there is some kind of "buy-in" from the government... at least locally... hence the "bat-signal" and the "bat-phone" but in a world where criminals have just as much rights if not more than the "good guys" like in today's society.... I highly doubt you could go a year before being shot or locked up by the police.
The good news is crime in today's society is not nearly as organized, deep, and plentiful as in the comics... and most would run rather than fight so a "bat-r-rang" to the back of the head would probably do the job in most conflicts ;-p The motorcycle pictured in the article while exceptionally cool would probably never have to be used... an AK-47, lightly armored vehicle, and maybe some magnetic or "sticky" grenades would handle pretty much anything that could come up in real life (well.. and the cool armor w/ martial arts training)
You have not been exposed to the highly advanced Chinese martial training, such as Iron Vest, Iron Fist, Iron Buddha, Goun Gee Kuen, or the old style combat Tai Chi or Bagua zhang. At 54, I have been training for 40 years, and own a small chain of schools. These training sets maximize the human possibilities. I personally can hit harder than most people believe, and am extremely powerful, without touching a weight in years. I have certainly slowed down quite a bit, expecially past 48, but retain most of my strength and agility; my teacher is nearing 80 anc can still pack a real wallop and is very agile, rolling around on the floor (not the mat) daily. The telephone pole in his back yard that he trained on "inexplicably" broke two years ago, rendering his neighborhood powerless for a few hours.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMore to the point, several of my students are internationally ranked, two are US champions, and one has been the undefeated push hands champion for the last 12 years, with 6 Olympic AAU gold medals; it took him 6 years of admittedly concentrated training to come from a serious back injury in a car accident to best in the world. He is accepted as world champion by both Taiwan and mainland China.
The training actually helps the body produce extra testosterone, so anabolic steroids are not needed to produce superior results. This kind of training is now more common than before, so it is not impossible to find teachers in most big cities, I was both lucky and a very hardworking student to be taught in this manner.
But at heart I remain a 54 year old comics fanboy geek. My grandmother bought me my first Batman comic nearly 50 years ago.
There are also Chinese medicines that help the body heal much faster. Dit Da Jow, or iron hit wine, breaks up bruises and contusions, letting the body's healing factors come into play more than twice as fast. There are medicines for broken bones, gunshots, knife wounds, and concussions. Acupuncture and acupressure help this along, and there are mental activities--meditation is not the right word, but it is the closest we have in English, that also improve healing and pain, as well as overall health.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI make most of my money now as a therapist teaching this material to senior citizens. Iron vest and other strength training helps maintain bone density and strength, and also helps posture and body shape, which helps the way they are perceived by others--old, but not senile or weak, with a powerful voice and clear eyes. The same agility drills I teach to young men for fighting footwork help seniors navigate a crumbling sidewalk or cluttered floor. And the hormonal training helps them stay young. When they leave my class, they walk like forty year olds, and chatter like teenagers. I also have them work with canes for stickfighting, and even have a few dozen rubber knives that we play with occasionally.
My best younger students are world class, but I remain most proud of my work with seniors. But no, I am not about to mix it up with ten mutants. That's for comic books.
As a biomedical engineer and lifelong martial artist, I found the interview to be both entertaining and informative. Far from candide08's characterization, articles such as these can bring a broader array of young minds into science.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisZehr covered most of the bases that specialists in the field tend to consider. For instance he alluded to research performed by LeDoux et al which informs us about the dramatic psychological and physiological changes that come about (the survival stress reflex) when facing a life-threatening situation. That's far from fluff, or any other pejorative label that candide08 would have us believe. This is cutting edge neuroscience research which informs us about animal behavior under extreme conditions which over time have defined the gene pools we see today. And this information is important to the law enforcement community.
Zehr's book is definitely going on my summer reading list. And I am thankful that some of my fellow geeks have a life, and enjoy their science.
Batman's secret? Simple. He does the crosfit WOD religiously.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIn response to candide80: No, an article like this will likely receive a relatively high number of hits for a SciAm piece. It's also probable that it will be linked to by a wider variety of sites than many SciAm.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMany readers with a nonscientific background may be intrigued that some exploits of a fictional movie icon may be possible, and that the work necessary to reach such a level can be quantified. A smaller portion of these readers may also be intrigued that the knowledge and background Dr. Zehr uses to assess the possibility of a real Batman is achievable by a scholastic route. Some small portion of this population may take a 2nd look at the physiology course that they heard was too hard, and not worth it. And maybe 1 or 3 or 10 of these people may even enroll. If the piece has already been exported to an aggregator site like Digg, I think my prediction has at least a better chance of occurring than someone actually becoming the Batman.
But candide80's comment does capture the likely attitude of a certain segment of the population toward the piece, although a smaller segment than the simple 'people' candide80 suggests. Physiology professionals, especially scientists, likely will have their respect for _popular science writing_ diminished as a result of 'articles like this'. Such articles contain little to nothing in the way of data, rely heavily on anecdotes, and waste 4 pages on a study of a person who exists only in pop culture--and they're going to be read by a far larger audience than will ever see the lead research article in the latest Journal of Kinesiology. This resentment is unfortunate. Publications such as SciAm served a different purpose than publications such as 'Nature'. Not better, or worse, or restricted for the ignorant, or guilty of loose standards--but different.
Of course, I may be wrong about candide80's views in the particular, but as a young neurophysiologist, I can attest that my the opinions I rightly or wrongly attribute to candide80 are most certainly held by many practicing research biologists and graduate students.
Lets not forget that this Zehr guy is a Chito-Ryu karate-do black belt plus a neuroscientist. I think we might stand to put some faith in his knowledge base.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI think we're all blithely missing THE point here. With Batman one is asked to suspend judgment and imagine a superathlete and superwarrior, who though not with the powers of a Spiderman or Hancock, is still head and shoulders above a Bruce Jenner or Mohammed Ali or even a combo of these two or even five. This isn't about Science. Watch the film and try to imagine ANY athlete today even remotely coming close to duplicating what Batman could do even with a century of training.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNot only are most of his opponents inferior physically/technically, to them Batman is a relative unknown. Game film and fight highlights provide potential opponents the opportunity to search for a warrior's tendencies and weaknesses, but Batman doesn't fight in front of an audience and rarely do those defeated see exactly how they were beat. Likewise, if the Gracies fought in private and every defeated opponent were arrested it would have taken much longer for someone to come along and develop a way to beat them.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIts about the imagination, its all in the mind, minds get tired then it is impossible, great article, why not, stimulate the imagination and have a laugh.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNot only are most of Batman's opponents inferior physically/technically, they are mostly ignorant of his fighting style. Game film and fight highlights provide potential opponents an opportunity to discover exploitable tendencies and weaknesses, but Batman doesn't fight in front of an audience and his opponents rarely see how exactly they were beat. Likewise, if the Gracies fought behind closed doors and every defeated opponent were arrested, their reign would have lasted much much longer.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisRegarding candide08, I think he/she is right in a way because most people regard science as the study of certain things rather than a general idea for how things should be studied. People who aren't scientifically inclined could look at this article and see the subject as fluff and therefore lose respect for 'science', while the scientifically inclined take joy in thinking about things--anything--as long as it's in a scientific manner.
My bad... I didn't see that the first one went through...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAll excellent points, however you are forgetting one thing. The Penguin's umbrella that shoots bullets. Checkmate.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThose are all valid points, however you are forgetting one very important fact - The Penguin had a umbrella that shot bullets. Checkmate.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI agree with thausgt wholeheartedly! Superheroes (starting with Jesus Christ in my own life, before I got to Batman, Superman and Spiderman, and now, Hancock) are what drove me to do the relief and development work I now do in the Middle East and the work I did for a decade in the ghettoes of Los Angeles. We don't end up wearing hero suits or gain superpowers, but the role models do inspire us to think about the contributions we can make. And it was an obsession with comic book heroes that led me into science and into my Ph.D., so I have to agree that having Scientific American take hero myths seriously IS good science, for good science is as much about inspiration as it is perspiration!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI agree with Cuneiformist, The Batman would last longer. First, he is not all about fighting - he is supposed to be the world's greatest detective. Batman is about solving crimes, and putting criminals behind bars, not getting into brawls with punks every night. Second, real martial arts training, which almost no one does anymore, involves toughening your skin, joints, bones, tendons and muscles; it is not simply about punching and kicking, but about having massive stamina, being able to react quicker to situations, evade being damaged while destroying an attacker any way you can. To put an opponent down without killing them, you do not actually have to strike them - you can use pressure points and joint locks, and incapacitate them. After all, Batman is not boxing or wrestling or doing any martial arts where a set of rules exists. He is fighting.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisLastly, Batman is not fighting opponents at his level for the most part. The majority of us would not last 5 seconds against a professional fighter, and neither would any common thug last that long against Batman. So, most of his fights would not be overly challenging. Only the few where he is attacking someone of the same level of training would be physically taxing.
I say this from experience - I have trained in martial arts for 15 years, and had the opportunity to spare with a professional kick boxer. The guy scared the hell out of me. Had it been a real fight, he would not have broken a sweat putting me down - had there been 3 of my friends with me, it would have taken this guy 15 more seconds before he could go get his beer.
I wanted to mention one last thing: aging martial artists get better at predicting how opponents move, and better at moving using their tendon strength (speed and focused power come from the snap of tendons, not the size of muscles).
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisEr...for the reporter who clearly did not know enough to use an appropriate comma or two: "win, place, or show" is a racing term which indicates coming in first, second, or third respectively. As written, the sentence is meaningless. Unacceptable in a magazine of Scientific American's caliber.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIn "Dark Knight Returns", Batman is exactlt 48 years-old. His parents were killed when he was eight, and very early in the story, when cornered by two thugs in Crime Alley, he remembers that "fourty years ago the sahdow was bor. Born HERE". Great article, probably a very nice book.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBruce is exactly fourty-eight years old at the beginning "The Dark Knight Returns".
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAnd jesus, there's no edit button.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thislife is too complicated but still it doesn't mean that we gara be too sophisticated !!!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAlso in responce to the candide08...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe whole super hero concept and any other science fiction concept is often times what scientists base their studies on. What I mean is that scientists are always looking for ways to prove and create the "unbelievable" and un-realistic. Flying cars would be an absurd idea to most people 20 years ago, or even today, but I'm sure there are plenty of people working on a way to make it happen, and that begins with a study of "what would it take to make this happen. Then you begin to implen the steps one at a time. That is SCIENCE. If you need a reference read the book 1984, and look at all the inventions in Orwell's future that have come true today. Or even DaVinci's helicopter designs. Imagine then implement!
life is too complicated but it doesn't mean that we gara be too sophisticated !!!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thistake it simple !
It's too bad we can't grow a Batman, because when it comes to the supervillain--a murderous public poisioner like the Joker or a guy who cataclysmically blows up whole city blocks for his political and social beliefs such as Ras as Ghul...well, we've got plenty of charmers who've reached THAT human potential, don't we?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisInteresting that Batman spends his efforts fighting common criminals in the streets, when a DOJ estimate a few years ago put the total economic impact of white collar crime at EIGHT TIMES the total of all other crime combined.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisGranted, we live in a period in which government representatives who pursue white collar criminals are perceived as being "not business-friendly," or otherwise unAmerican in some way. But wouldn't it be inspiring if the Batman went after the REALLY big fish someday?
Oh, and this to iampatientzero22: Have you ever actually READ 1984? The book was prescient in many ways (for example, it its depiction of a continual "state of war" as a tool to control the masses and drive the economy) but I've never once heard anyone applaud it for its presentation of new technologies. Perhaps you can name one of them? (Color television doesn't count ---- it was first publicly demonstrated twenty years before the novel was written.)
LALALALALALALA BATMAN IS REAL SCIENCE IS LIES LIES LIES I saw the movie and thought it was epic AND totally possible
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishttp://www.starvsstar.com/buzz/?p=219
I don't know what Paul Zehr's qualifications are in other areas, but his martial arts qualifications are clearly lacking. (Quote: What's less realistic?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisA great example is in the movies where Batman is fighting multiple opponents and all of a sudden he's taking on 10 people. ... This doesn't mean you could fight four or five people. ... More realistic is a couple of attackers.)
There are lots of martial artists who can and do fight 10 people at a time and win. US Navy SEALs for example. I study aikido and for my shodan (lowest level black belt) test I had to demonstrate good technique against 8 opponents. (Yes, it was "only" a test, not a "real" fight. I have no desire to be the Batman.) My point is that training, practice and technique can make this aspect of being a Batman available to ordinary people. We do it every day.
By the way, it only took me 4 years of training 3 evenings a week to achieve shodan and I am most certainly not an Olympic-class athlete, just an ordinary guy who likes to dance.
Ai ki do's so called fighting against multiple opponents is totally fake. Real opponents attack very differently - they don't co-ordinate in a way that will let you easily take out all 8 at once like they do in ai ki do demonstrations. I've studied martial arts for years, and seen some very good practitioners in multiple styles. It's possible to take on multiple opponents, but you have to cause serious damage to them very quickly, or they overwhelm you. If even one of them thinks to throw a brick at you, or hit you with a weapon while someone else is distracting you, no matter how fast you are, you'd lose.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSecond, being a black belt, or shodan, doesn't have very much to say about fighting. It says you've understood the rules of the martial art you study, and you can reproduce them adequately enough to pass a test. Being a black belt does not mean you can fight. Fighting is totally different, and takes skills that are difficult to practice in stylized martial arts. If you want to be good at fighting, practice full contact sparing (using pads for safety, or you will get hurt). If you want to be good at martial arts while fighting, then practice full contact sparing, and try to mix your moves in - you will find this extremely difficult if you are from an ai ki do background (since ai ki do is not a fighting art, but an art of cultural preservation).
A few comments:
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this1) It's conceivable that somebody could gain some of the skills of the Batman. Just not all. For instance, you can develop the skills and conditioning of a UFC fighter in about five years. But that guy's spending essentially 70 percent of his time and energy on that. Batman would also need to be a world-class gymnast, a weapons expert, and a sprinter. Oh yeah, and an academic expert in just about every field, including criminology, forensics, police work, etc. Even if we assume peak levels of talent, that would be impossible.
2) I think perhaps a better explanation comes from the pages of Batgirl. A government spy agency is analyzing footage of the modern Batgirl (Cassandra Cain) and at first believes her to have powers ("be metahuman.") But a scientist explains what's so astounding--roughly: "Humans can run 100 meters in under 10 seconds, throw baseballs at 110 mph, break a stack of bricks with their bare hands, and do microsurgery. What they can't do is all of those at once--it's not a physical limitation, but a mental one. The normal human brain simply cannot command the body that efficiently, but that's what she's doing. Nothing she does is superhuman independently, but taken as an aggregate ..."
3) Re: the possibility of Batman fighting off 10 or more attackers: If we're talking about Batman standing there, squaring off against 10 thugs surrounding him, then it's not realistic to think he can prevail with his bare hands. But I imagine Batman would use psychology and guerrilla tactics instead of a martial arts standoff. Attack the first guy with such viciousness that it gives the rest pause. Then disappear and reappear suddenly and repeatedly, picking them off one by one.
"No matter how much training you have, when we're subjected to a lot of psychological stress ... it takes years ... to be able to perform when somebody is attacking you for real."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI used to be part of a militant anti-fascist self-defense group in Sweden. We used to end up in very violent street fights with nazis and police now and then. No one in our group had any bigger problems with this. But yes, our combatants, specially the police, always seem to be troubled by a lot of stress in these situations.
No, there aren't. And that includes special forces guys like the SEALs.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisFirst of all a SEAL doesn't typically represent peak hand-to-hand fighting skill--the Navy feels that kind of thing is a waste of time; as long as the SEAL has basic competency, they would rather train him on endurance, weapons and strategies, and special situational tactics (desert warfare, urban warfare, etc.)
Secondly, 99 percent of aikido training is unrealistic for real fighting. Aikidoka don't train to learn how to deal with real strikers (say like a boxer), and their classmates are trained to "take a fall" instead of putting up any kind of resistance. I certainly hope you don't think you can beat even one common street thug, because I fear you'd get seriously hurt.
By the way, a "shodan" is a first degree black belt. In an traditional martial art, a shodan doesn't indicate skill, it indicates that you've mastered the alphabet and are ready to start learning the art for real.
It's true that many martial arts, especially the Chinese martial arts, include enhanced healing methods. Dit da jow and other liniments could conceivably let Batman heal more quickly from his injuries, as could varied exercises. In addition, it is likely that Batman has toughened his body to peak levels using iron shirt, etc.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBut these things are fantastic--NOT magical. Night after night, year after year, and there would still be a limit to what qigong, dit da jow, and iron shirt can do, especially since Batman doesn't wait around to heal completely before he goes out again. Even the greatest masters in history wouldn't be able to sustain that kind of constant punishment.
As well, to assume that Batman would have an advantage because he's mostly fighting "untrained thugs" without training is inaccurate. Or do you really think criminals would never think learn the martial arts as well? Not all criminals are stupid or undisciplined. A lot of triad and Chinese gangs retain masters to train their members, and I imagine Yakuza members do, too. And it wouldn't be too hard for any thug to get MMA training--hell, many (not all) UFC fighters have criminal records and would probably go back to a life of crime if prizefighting doesn't work out for them.
Batman isn't fighting posturing teens all the time. Often he'll go up against hardened criminals who have lived through jailhouse riots, and sometimes he'll go up against guys who could have been pro boxers or Olympic wrestlers or world-class martial artists.
The only little nitpick I have is, would be that being Batman doesn't mean never losing. Batman has lost many fights (most notable would be having his back broken in a fight with Bane). But of course, he came back from that.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDon't forget, Wayne Enterprises has a medical division. So while in our world, sports medicine is "high end" medicine... in the DC Universe, that specialization is even edged out by SuperHero Medicine. I would attribute the fact that untested experimental treatments can be used to good effect to the same magic which causes untested experimental treatments to "accidentally" create super powered beings rather than cancer patients. Along with other things, like lightning strikes, radioactive spider bites, gamma bomb detonations, living under a different color of sun, etc.
I will be Batman.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishttp://awurl.com/tugeqz122635
somewhere on this page it talks about batman with multiple opponents being
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisunrealistic, I beleve if he was a master of Aikido He could send people flying
before they could touch him.
Batman is the MOST UNREALISTIC character ever!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHe exists, first and foremost, in the DC, NOT Nolan's, Universe.
He is a a spoiled, sedentary loner whose self-involved trauma pushes him to wage an endless, non-lethal crusade (often by himself) in the ugliest city in the (fictional DC) world and is also an escape artist, a ninja, an actor, a detective, and a Justice League member.
So...he could never exist...ever.
It doesn't matter how scientific you get, 'cause Batman's not about science.
He's about die-hard qualities, the devil's luck, and self-involved vengeful sap becoming anti-heroism.
Nolan's films aren't that representative of the character, aside from names and iconography.
um...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisExcept that ai ki do is not about fighting, but about cultural preservation. As far as fighting goes, it's not that useful.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAhh, but the batman we know and love isn't down to earth...he's egotystical and vain and the batsuit just lets him blow off some steam as he struggles with his demons. Yessss... I smell a Scientific American Mind psych write up on the crusader. : )
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAs to David Belle being one of a kind... yeah, he is. Not that Parkour isn't growing (I'm a traceur. Can do a six foot precision jump to a rail with ease at this point) but he has been doing it longer than anyone one else on earth. It actually makes a great case study on what someone can do long term.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe gear is another matter entirely. Much of it is flat out impossible (in the comics at least) and the rest... well some of it would cost a lot.
Scientific knowledge of the world is where we get in life. I like the article since it takes the persona of a comic-book superhero and transforms it into the reality that is today. Now it is all just a comic, but there are people out there, in the world, that actually dress up as superheros and try to "clean the city". They aren't on any watch lists but I do know that there must be some reason they are doing it.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMaybe someone who reads this article would understand how, if they wanted to become a hero, could start training. They can even start thinking ideas of their own gadgets. Our world is full of science around ever corner. Something new is about to pop-up, maybe not tonight or tomorrow, but maybe someday. Even though life might look as a comic-book, it doesn't mean we can't live it.
Scientific knowledge of the world is where we get in life. I like the article since it takes the persona of a comic-book superhero and transforms it into the reality that is today. Now it is all just a comic, but there are people out there, in the world, that actually dress up as superheros and try to "clean the city". They aren't on any watch lists but I do know that there must be some reason they are doing it.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMaybe someone who reads this article would understand how, if they wanted to become a hero, could start training. They can even start thinking ideas of their own gadgets. Our world is full of science around ever corner. Something new is about to pop-up, maybe not tonight or tomorrow, but maybe someday. Even though life might look as a comic-book, it doesn't mean we can't live it.
I have fought street fighters, up to 7 at a time. I was a security guard at a rough part of town in Australia. Fighting more is even better than one on one sometimes as after you deal jaw fractures and knee breaks to the first guy the others have already lost their nerve. When their biggest guy is on the floor squealing like a gril with a broken nail. This is a general rule, and I accept that the law of ratios says if you frequent these situations long enough, no matter how good your martail arts is you will meet your match. Still- I have never understood the self limiting idea of the many enemies scenarion. There is only one enemy at anyone time.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisManage the crowd and you may not have to fight him in every guy present.
Unconfirmed and anecdotal evidence: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/178/superpowers(act 2)- still better that no evidence though.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisedit (correct URL is http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/178/superpowers
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this)
"Batman could exist but not for long"... That is exactly right but not only for the reasons here explained. They left out the social factor of the Batman; Can you imagine the level of (world) media attention a mysterious vigilante would attract! Besides friendly or not big government wouldn't let the Batman go for two weeks without hunting down his ass with some intel. And what about Bruce Wayne being so socially retracted and never actually seen in public at night but other than here and there while carrying a high social profile. Not so plausible l don't think.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisi am the optomistic type that thinks you have your reasons to not agree with the article, please enlighten us. I found this to be a refreashing departure from the norm, in addition it also gives us all a look into our souls. Why aren't YOU Batman????
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this@ dsrtrosy regarding the failure to comma:
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDon't blame the reporter, blame the copy editor!
Scientific American apparently believes it is a magazine, not a scientific journal, and has therefore adopted the ink-saving newspaper rule: NEVER put a comma before final conjunction in a series.
So don't malign the reporter. Complain to the SA editors.
What to my mind (and obviously to yours) is the better, more desirable rule, is the book rule: ALWAYS put a comma before the final conjunction in a series. (This is sometimes called the Oxford rule, which name is either deplorably elitist or deplorably anti-elitist, I can't decide which.)
All copy editors know which of those rules their publication follows, and are hypervigilant whenever a conjuncted series rears its head.
Those are the two defensible rules. There is a third proposal out there--put a comma in when the passage is "long enough"--which I call the stupid rule. It is not only unconstitutionally vague but tends to confuse the reader who thinks s/he has previously detected one of the consistent rules being followed.
the only thing I don't agree to is that batman is not the most down to earth hero
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisC'mon guys a real-life Batman wouldn't be fighting criminals wearing a cape with his bare hands. A billionaire crime fighter will organize his own private elite strike force with assault rifles, grenade launchers, armored humvees, attack helicopters, etc.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt's hilarious a billionaire will train in decathlon to fight criminals. MMA is more like it but humans have learned to use weapons since the stone age.
Parkour, not free running. Just saying.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBut I agree, David Belle is not one of a kind. Pretty amazing though.
Nice try SA.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHowever, for me, comic-book characters are better left unexplained. The moment you start asking how they do it you begin to lose the joy of just watching them do it. Pretty soon you are analyzing more and enjoying less. That is unless you are a scientist, of course.
Personally, I have never been a fan of the "dark knight", and his battle against the "joker" in the film of the same title made me even less likely to become a fan. Because of his philosophy of not "taking life", he allowed the "joker: to go on living and creating the chaos and mayhem he was certain he (the Joker)would.
Batman's insistence that all lives are "equal", even the life of an incorrigible meant the inevitable sacrifice of many innocent lives. I see nothing "heroic" about that!
Good article breaking down the issues you would run into trying to be the next Batman. When considering the comic book version of Batman we have to consider that Batman has outmatched the likes of Captain America (800 pound bench press) who through fictional science was brought to the pinnacle of human physical and mental perfection. What is the pinnacle of physical perfection? I don't know, but an article from livescience said that in theory Humans could reach speeds of up to 40MPH compared to Usain Bolt's 28 MPH. It's accurate that Batman would have to be good everything andnot the best but when considering human near human perfection it would be better than your average human being or even human being who specialized in a certain physical aspect. Batman's IQ is 192 and the chances of having an IQ that high is 1 and 5,000,000,000. Add up Batman's physic and complete intelligence and it might be very easy to... develope technologies, come up with revenue to bring such technologies to production, learn skills in a short period of time , beat up 10 people at once, do it the next day all while having poor sleeping habits (Batman has went to sleep for days at a time)
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt would be impossible to someone to be Batman in real life. Even if one had the intelligence they would not have a human body without defects.