# Could something like Wonder Woman's bullet deflecting bracelets work IRL? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 12, 2001, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-something-like-wonder-womans-bullet-deflecting-bracelets-work-irl/75897 "2001-08-12T09:29:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2001, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-something-like-wonder-womans-bullet-deflecting-bracelets-work-irl/75897/21 "2001-08-13T16:18:40Z")
Who cares about her bracelets…look at her boobs! ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2001, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-something-like-wonder-womans-bullet-deflecting-bracelets-work-irl/75897/22 "2001-08-13T17:02:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fiver \* > **…So forget about Princess Diana hearing the gun fire or watching how the gunman aims the weapon…** Am I missing something here? Princess Diana? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![madcowmccoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5fc32e/32.png) [@madcowmccoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madcowmccoy)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2001, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-something-like-wonder-womans-bullet-deflecting-bracelets-work-irl/75897/23 "2001-08-13T17:55:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Anthracite \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Fiver \* > > **…So forget about Princess Diana hearing the gun fire or watching how the gunman aims the weapon…** > > Am I missing something here? Princess Diana? 😕\*\* Diana is Wonder Woman’s real name. As I recall, the bracelets were given to her by a goddess (I forget which), so one can assume they have magical properties. As an Amazon, we also have to assume Wonder Woman has uber bad-ass skills already, so… ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2001, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-something-like-wonder-womans-bullet-deflecting-bracelets-work-irl/75897/24 "2001-08-13T18:33:18Z")
**Anthracite** : > [@](#): > > Am I missing something here? Princess Diana? 😕 Ha! Ha ha ha! Prince Charles’s dead ex-wife didn’t even cross my mind when I wrote that post! Sorry, **Anthracite**. Yes, you’re missing something. Wonder Woman’s name is Diana, and she’s the daughter of Queen Hippolyte of the Amazons on Paradise Island. She’s been referred to as “Princess Diana” for literally over fifty years, since long before the mother of William and Harry was even born. Still, it’s funny to imagine her in a WW costume fighting Nazis or crime. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2001, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-something-like-wonder-womans-bullet-deflecting-bracelets-work-irl/75897/25 "2001-08-13T18:45:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Weird\_AL\_Einstein \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Finagle \* > > \*\* > > Well, there are some practical difficulties. They can be summed up by “bullets move really, really fast”. This means > > > > a. You can’t see the bullets in order to block them. > > b. Impulses travel down nerve paths too slowly to react to something happening that rapidly. > > \ > > > > \*\* > > Well, yes, I realize that. I had more or less assumed that you would position your arms in response to the _aiming_ of the gun rather than waiting until the trigger is pulled. Sort of like the way a batter swings at the arm motion of a pitcher (in baseball) rather than the pitch itself. \*\* Nope. Remember, a tiny deflection in the aim of the gun will result in a large difference in the eventual position of the bullet. I can move the muzzle of a gun 1" a lot faster than you can move your arm 20". Think about it this way. Superly trained athletes can hit a large ball launched at 90 mph from 60 (?) feet away with an accuracy of about 33%. 40% is considered exceptional. And they get at least three tries. Now, make everything an order of magnitude harder. The projectile is 1/10 the size, moving 10 times faster, and is launched at 1/10 the distance. And anything less than 100% gets you tossed out of the game. ---
**Author:** ![warmgun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecccb3/32.png) [@warmgun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/warmgun)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2001, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-something-like-wonder-womans-bullet-deflecting-bracelets-work-irl/75897/26 "2001-08-13T19:04:11Z")
I believe the idea of the bracelet is to deflect the bullets, not stop them cold as a kevlar vest is designed to do. So given the right material I believe your wrist could withstand a deflective blow. I’m thinking of a strong, light metal covered in teflon backed by a shock-absorbing foam. The idea of placing your bracelet in front of where a gun is aimed is also not out of the question. You don’t even need to be a MA to do this, just thousands of hours practicing. It’s simply a specialized hand/eye co-ordinated feat. There are plenty of examples of this type of ability, you just have to be REALLY dedicated. This, of course, would only work if your attacker was in plain site of you , close enough and moved deliberatly. The biggest problem is, given the comparatively small OD of the braclet, the deflected bullets still stand a very good chance of hitting you. This might theoritcally work under the right conditions but it’s just not worth the time and effort involved considering the high chance of mortal injury when there are so many better, easier solutions. (i.e. Don’t get involved with arch-criminals) ---
**Author:** ![Weird\_AL\_Einstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c67d28/32.png) [@Weird\_AL\_Einstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weird_AL_Einstein)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2001, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-something-like-wonder-womans-bullet-deflecting-bracelets-work-irl/75897/27 "2001-08-14T01:42:46Z")
Kewl…my net has caught some fish 🙂 > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by red\_dragon60 \* > \*\* > Apparently, you have never heard of The Matrix. Weird\_Al, I will boot up the macros sometime and log you in to try it. Once you learn to ignore Keanu, it’s pretty simple. \*\* Uhhhh…no thanks. **The Matrix** : Saw it. Hated it. 'Nuff said. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SolomonGrundy \* > \*\*But in the very first episode of the series, Wonder Woman is on stage at some show and is surprised by an “old woman” who comes up from the audience, pulls out a machine gun, and begins firing it at our heroine. (Don’t worry – Wonder Woman managed to deflect them all! _Whew!_) \*\* Lol…I remember that exact episode. I was going to mention it in my OP, but…ahhh…I didn’t think it was relevent 😛 > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Finagle \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Weird\_AL\_Einstein \* > > \*\* > > > > I had more or less assumed that you would position your arms in response to the _aiming_ of the gun rather than waiting until the trigger is pulled. Sort of like the way a batter swings at the arm motion of a pitcher (in baseball) rather than the pitch itself. \*\* > > Nope. Remember, a tiny deflection in the aim of the gun will result in a large difference in the eventual position of the bullet. I can move the muzzle of a gun 1" a lot faster than you can move your arm 20". > \*\* Yeeeessss, but I don’t _have to_ deflect a bullet that’s going to whiz past my head 20" to the left. ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Cool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecb155/32.png) [@Joe\_Cool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Cool)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2001, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-something-like-wonder-womans-bullet-deflecting-bracelets-work-irl/75897/28 "2001-08-14T01:58:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Seven \* > **I’m sure a nice chunk of metal covered in teflon or something would work just fine.** > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by warmgun_ > \*\*I’m thinking of a strong, light metal covered in teflon backed by a shock-absorbing foam. \*\* Ok, this confuses me a little. What exactly is the function of the Teflon here? It’s a friction-reducing material…Teflon is great for a bike chain or for cooking eggs without lots of mess, but how exacly does it help your bulletproof bracelets? I can only assume you’re making a mental comparison to “teflon-coated cop-killer bullets”. Well, the teflon has nothing to do with killing cops or penetrating body armor. These bullets are steel core, as opposed to the soft lead bullets used in most bullets. Steel is much harder than lead, so it deforms less on impact and penetrates more deeply. Since steel is much harder, it is also much more abrasive, and will strip the inside of your barrel after fewer shots. So these steel bullets are coated with Teflon to save wear and minimize damage to the rifle. Unless, of course, you guys wanted Wonder Woman’s bracelets to have that just-been-polished smoothness and keep splattered lead from sticking to them. After all, we want the Amazon princess to spend as little time on cleaning and maintenance as possible… ---
**Author:** ![warmgun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecccb3/32.png) [@warmgun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/warmgun)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2001, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-something-like-wonder-womans-bullet-deflecting-bracelets-work-irl/75897/29 "2001-08-14T03:49:40Z")
No. Different idea. Since the hope is that the bullets will hit at a glancing blow (and not knowing the type of ammo fired in advance) you would want the surface to offer the least resistance to ‘grab’ as possible so as to minimize the shock to your wrist. ---
**Author:** ![Dave\_Stewart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@Dave\_Stewart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Stewart)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2001, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-something-like-wonder-womans-bullet-deflecting-bracelets-work-irl/75897/30 "2001-08-14T08:28:38Z")
“Deflect bullets?” I thought while reading this. “Why not catch them?” I had thought that there was some form of martial arts trick which allows highly trained individuals to catch bullets. As it turns out, after some brief investigation, its a [magic trick](http://magic.about.com/library/weekly/aa051400a.htm?iam=dpile&terms=%2Bcatching+%2Bbullets). I never worked out why WW had to deflect bullets anyway. If she’s invulernable enough to punch or fly through brick walls, or smack around Superman while he is under mind control from evil aliens or whatever, surely being hit by a bullet wouldn’t make much difference to her. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2001, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-something-like-wonder-womans-bullet-deflecting-bracelets-work-irl/75897/31 "2001-08-14T10:16:28Z")
There’s [this](http://www.ucalgary.ca/~kwheaton/clshiel3.jpg) (I suppose a broken wrist is better than a bullet in the face). ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2001, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-something-like-wonder-womans-bullet-deflecting-bracelets-work-irl/75897/32 "2001-08-14T10:25:37Z")
Two large steel anvils would do the trick as they have enough mass to absorb the impact of the bullet, come to think of it, I can’t imagine why everyone doesn’t wear a large anvil on each wrist. ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2001, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-something-like-wonder-womans-bullet-deflecting-bracelets-work-irl/75897/33 "2001-08-14T11:58:10Z")
When you guys start discussing the paint used on her invisible plane, I’m leaving. ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2001, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-something-like-wonder-womans-bullet-deflecting-bracelets-work-irl/75897/34 "2001-08-14T12:28:42Z")
**Mangetout** : > [@](#): > > There’s [this](http://www.ucalgary.ca/~kwheaton/clshiel3.jpg) (I suppose a broken wrist is better than a bullet in the face). From the way she’s holding it, I bet she’d get a broken nose too. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2001, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-something-like-wonder-womans-bullet-deflecting-bracelets-work-irl/75897/35 "2001-08-15T16:11:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Weird\_AL\_Einstein \* > Yeeeessss, but I don’t _have to_ deflect a bullet that’s going to whiz past my head 20" to the left. Yeeeesss, but you’re going to desperately want to deflect a bullet that’s aimed 20" below your head. ---
**Author:** ![Weird\_AL\_Einstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c67d28/32.png) [@Weird\_AL\_Einstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weird_AL_Einstein)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2001, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-something-like-wonder-womans-bullet-deflecting-bracelets-work-irl/75897/36 "2001-08-16T04:15:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Finagle \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Weird\_AL\_Einstein \* > > Yeeeessss, but I don’t _have to_ deflect a bullet that’s going to whiz past my head 20" to the left. > > Yeeeesss, but you’re going to desperately want to deflect a bullet that’s aimed 20" below your head. \*\* First, we do have bullet proof, or I guess I should say, bullet resistant, vests. I presume that you could use the same material to make articles of clothing appropriate to other parts of the body, like pants. So I don’t _desperately_ want to deflect that bullet. Second, I would assume that as a part of the “martial arts” aspect of this, you crouch down or otherwise contort your body to present a minimal target for the shooter. Third, if you can make something light enough to be worn on the wrists that can deflect bullets, it stands to reason that you could cover certain other…errr…_strategic_ body parts with something similar. In fact, to expand on the comic book theme here, I read somewhere that the yellow and black logo-type thingie Batman wears on his chest (as part of his costume) is actually a steel plate capable of stopping a round from a shotgun. Anyone know more about that? ---
**Author:** ![Dave\_Stewart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@Dave\_Stewart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Stewart)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2001, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-something-like-wonder-womans-bullet-deflecting-bracelets-work-irl/75897/37 "2001-08-16T04:57:26Z")
Yeah it was in Frank Miller’s comic about Batman coming out of retirement, called The Dark Knight Returns. Batman gets shot in the chest, and under the logo is a steel plate. In his inner monologue, he asks rhetorically, “Why else would I wear a target on my chest?” Wonder Woman’s bracelets are supposed to be a symbol of the Amazon slavery at the hands of Herakles. Something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Infectious\_Lass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e56c9b/32.png) [@Infectious\_Lass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infectious_Lass)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2001, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-something-like-wonder-womans-bullet-deflecting-bracelets-work-irl/75897/38 "2001-08-16T09:34:50Z")
Yes, the Amazons’ bracelets are indeed a symbol of their enslavement at the hands of Herakles, more broadly they symbolise the enslavement of all women at the hands of men. You may argue that that is a somewhat simplistic view of male/female relations down the ages but hey…didn’t Aristotle and various Christian saint type people think women had no souls? Yeah it works for me! Post-Crisis, there is a rationalisation for how the bracelets work. They were forged IIRC, from the invulnerable lion hide of that invulnerable lion that Herakles killed that time when he was doing his labours. Now how lion hide got turned into metal, I don’t know! 🙂 Anyway it projects a forcefield that can deflect pretty much anything, so that explains why her wrists don’t get shattered. Pre-Crisis the explanation was that the bracelets were made out of Amazonium which was the hardest metal ever created. That was when the Amazons were super-technological and not really so much magical. William Marston, WW’s creator wanted her to be a role model to girls so he made her a scientist and the Amazon society a technologically advanced one. And WW’s powers came from ‘Amazon training’ a product of that society. So that is how she was able to deflect bullets then-because it was saying to girls “Train enough and you can be a Wonder Woman too!” The fact that it is totally impossible in real life is kind of besides the fact. Marston was making a point about female empowerment and stuff. (he was a male feminist!) ---
**Author:** ![Chef\_Troy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Chef\_Troy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chef_Troy)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2001, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-something-like-wonder-womans-bullet-deflecting-bracelets-work-irl/75897/39 "2001-08-16T14:16:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fiver \* > \*\*…This way, not only will we wind up with a crime-fighting woman who can deflect bullets, but also one who eats shellfish while swimming on her back. \*\* Heh heh. the image this brought up in my head makes me feel all funny, like when we climbed the rope in gym class. Anyway, WW’s bracelets weren’t just hunks of metal; as noted above, they were magical. If you accept the existence of magical bracelets, it’s not such a great leap to assume that they could be imbued with the ability to provide their wearer with limited prescience to “know” where wrist and bullet would intersect. (sure, sure, the comic book didn’t TELL you this… but that doesn’t mean it isn’t “true.”) Since no mundane bracelets would have this property, I’d have to say the answer to the OP is “They might deflect bullets… but only if the shooter is aiming at the bracelets in the first place.” All in all, I’m inclined to say we should just stare at her heroic bazooms. And heaven help me not to ever get ensnared in the Lasso of Truth… because once I was compelled to tell the truth the first thing I would say would probably be “Wow, Wonder Woman, you have a really impressive rack.” ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2001, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-something-like-wonder-womans-bullet-deflecting-bracelets-work-irl/75897/40 "2001-08-16T14:31:49Z")
> [@](#): > > Yeah it was in Frank Miller’s comic about Batman coming out of retirement, called The Dark Knight Returns. Batman gets shot in the chest, and under the logo is a steel plate. In his inner monologue, he asks rhetorically, “Why else would I wear a target on my chest?” Actually, there was a Silver Age Batman story about him wearing different costumes (“The Rainbow Batman”, IIRC), and one of the costumes was a white Batman suit with a target drawn on it. Someone, of course, fires at him – and the shot is stopped by the body armor Batman wore under the target. I figure that Frank Miller must have seen that episodem, and incorporated it into his own mythos. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-something-like-wonder-womans-bullet-deflecting-bracelets-work-irl/75897.md?page=1)