# How realistic is Batman's physical prowess? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 10, 2011, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-realistic-is-batmans-physical-prowess/592201 "2011-08-10T15:18:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-realistic-is-batmans-physical-prowess/592201/21 "2011-08-11T14:33:20Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > A disillusioned Captain America (a) briefly called it quits in the wake of Watergate, but of course (b) couldn’t actually bring himself to stop fighting crime and saving lives even in 1974, and so tried to rebrand himself as a Batman-style vigilante relying on sheer damn athleticism; he promptly tripped over the cape while trying to bust a couple of crooks. So never mind whether that fictional superhero thinks they work; consider the fictional villain who saw it happen: _“He tripped over his cape! I always knew I’d see someone do that someday!”_ Nomad? Never read those adventures of Cap during the Nomad period. Was curious about them, as his costume looks incredibly gay. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-realistic-is-batmans-physical-prowess/592201/22 "2011-08-11T14:35:30Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > The Mythbusters did some tests and proved that it is physically impossible for a human being to dodge a bullet. And that’s just one bullet! Dodging a bullet is not the same as dodging the aim of a person. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-realistic-is-batmans-physical-prowess/592201/23 "2011-08-11T14:38:50Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > Nomad? Never read those adventures of Cap during the Nomad period. Was curious about them, as his costume looks incredibly gay. Enjoy the glimpse in question: [Reading Captain America: The First Issue of Captain America I Ever Bought (Captain America 179)](http://readingcaptainamerica.blogspot.com/2010/08/first-issue-of-captain-america-i-ever.html) ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-realistic-is-batmans-physical-prowess/592201/24 "2011-08-11T14:44:46Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Enjoy the glimpse in question: [Reading Captain America: The First Issue of Captain America I Ever Bought (Captain America 179)](http://readingcaptainamerica.blogspot.com/2010/08/first-issue-of-captain-america-i-ever.html) Wow, on the cover, is this the Squadron Supreme’s Golden Archer, Wyatt? Always thought Gruenwald had created him for his maxi-series (and he was one of the best characters of that series). Thanks for the link, was that a Englehart story? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-realistic-is-batmans-physical-prowess/592201/25 "2011-08-11T14:50:43Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > Wow, on the cover, is this the Squadron Supreme’s Golden Archer, Wyatt? Always thought Gruenwald had created him for his maxi-series (and he was one of the best characters of that series). > Thanks for the link, was that a Englehart story? It’s an Englehart story, but that’s actually Hawkeye in the Golden Archer get-up. (Wyatt, though, already existed; he’d been showing up with the Squadron Supreme since '71.) ---
**Author:** ![Suil\_Dubh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85f322/32.png) [@Suil\_Dubh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suil_Dubh)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-realistic-is-batmans-physical-prowess/592201/26 "2011-08-11T14:59:11Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > The Mythbusters did some tests and proved that it is physically impossible for a human being to dodge a bullet. And that’s just one bullet! Jesus Christ! HOW MANY PEOPLE DID THEY HAVE TO KILL?! ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-realistic-is-batmans-physical-prowess/592201/27 "2011-08-11T15:52:04Z")
> [@Smitty](#): > > Well, ignoring the injury aspect is what makes it unrealistic in the first place. Look at pro wrestling. That is completely choreographed, and yet the pain pill dependency, head injuries and other results of such daily physical abuse lead to an incredibly diminished life expectancy. > > Now imagine doing that for real. I don’t care how great a shape you are in, or how trained a fighter you are. After a couple of years, you would be physically broken. Kind of a neat part of the 2003 _Daredevil_ film was, towards the beginning, the scene showing DD coming back home after his nightly patrol—in the shower, where we see he’s covered with scars, he spits out a dental crown; his medicine cabinet is loaded with a horrifying amount of prescription bottles, including Vicodin he chews like candy… ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-realistic-is-batmans-physical-prowess/592201/28 "2011-08-11T15:59:59Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > The Mythbusters did some tests and proved that it is physically impossible for a human being to dodge a bullet. And that’s just one bullet! It’s impossible to dodge a bullet. It’s not impossible to jink and make yourself a harder target. I’m talking about seeing a gun and dodging the point of aim before the guy fires. I’m not an expert shooter by any means, but hitting rapidly (and erratically) moving target is a lot harder than a still one. Edit: What Snarky Kong said. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-realistic-is-batmans-physical-prowess/592201/29 "2011-08-11T16:09:08Z")
> [@Suil\_Dubh](#): > > Jesus Christ! HOW MANY PEOPLE DID THEY HAVE TO KILL?! They actually did a neat test. They figured out how long the flight time was for a long sniper shot. They put a paint gun three feet from the target, and fired the sniper gun with a blank. The paint gun was set to go off when the bullet would hit the target. The target was trying to see the muzzle flash and get out of the way before the bullet could go the distance. They decided that it was impossible to see the flash from a distance where the flight time of the bullet was long enough for you to dodge out of the way. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-realistic-is-batmans-physical-prowess/592201/30 "2011-08-11T16:23:13Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > They actually did a neat test. They figured out how long the flight time was for a long sniper shot. They put a paint gun three feet from the target, and fired the sniper gun with a blank. The paint gun was set to go off when the bullet would hit the target. The target was trying to see the muzzle flash and get out of the way before the bullet could go the distance. > > They decided that it was impossible to see the flash from a distance where the flight time of the bullet was long enough for you to dodge out of the way. Did they upgrade to explosives at the end? That seems to be a habit they’re not trying to break. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-realistic-is-batmans-physical-prowess/592201/31 "2011-08-11T16:39:21Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > Properly written, there should be almost no fantasy elements in Batman. Of course, there are several now: the flying Batmobile, a functioning UFO and a tesseract to Pluto in the Batcave. His physical prowess is just one more unbelievable thing. \*Properly \*written? Thank god you don’t work for DC.. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-realistic-is-batmans-physical-prowess/592201/32 "2011-08-11T18:26:56Z")
Apart from his ridiculous and unexplained recuperative talents, Bruce Wayne’s physical (and mental) abilities are unrealistic mostly in toto. I can never believe that a person without access to magic or superpowers (which are basically the same thing) can be the very best at _everything_ the way he is. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-realistic-is-batmans-physical-prowess/592201/33 "2011-08-11T18:53:16Z")
> [@Suil\_Dubh](#): > > Jesus Christ! HOW MANY PEOPLE DID THEY HAVE TO KILL?! Oh, they didn’t use people, they had interns. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-realistic-is-batmans-physical-prowess/592201/34 "2011-08-11T18:53:38Z")
The real reason to wear a cape is to let people know that you’re a super hero. If you just do the underwear on the outside thing by itself, people will think you’re homeless and crazy. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-realistic-is-batmans-physical-prowess/592201/35 "2011-08-11T18:55:13Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > Dodging a bullet is not the same as dodging the aim of a person. Fair enough. Point taken. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-realistic-is-batmans-physical-prowess/592201/36 "2011-08-11T19:04:53Z")
Anybody remember the opening scene of the movie _ **North Dallas 40** _? It’s Monday morning, and Nick Nolte’s character, an NFL wide receiver, is just waking up, the day after a big game. We watch him drag himself, with great effort, out of bed. He’s groaning with every step he takes, until he gets to the bathtub for a soak. Pro football players are elite athletes, as we’re supposed to believe Batman is. The fact remains, it HURTS to do what they do! Cris Collinsworth, a former All-Pro receiver, likes to cite that movie scene, and says that after a Sunday game, it was often Wednesday or Thursday before he could get out of bed without pain. I haven’t read Batman comics in 30+ years, but I wonder… do we ever see Bruce Wayne dragging himself out of bed in agony, the day after a big fight? ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-realistic-is-batmans-physical-prowess/592201/37 "2011-08-11T19:08:09Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Anybody remember the opening scene of the movie _ **North Dallas 40** _? It’s Monday morning, and Nick Nolte’s character, an NFL wide receiver, is just waking up, the day after a big game. > > We watch him drag himself, with great effort, out of bed. He’s groaning with every step he takes, until he gets to the bathtub for a soak. > > Pro football players are elite athletes, as we’re supposed to believe Batman is. The fact remains, it HURTS to do what they do! Cris Collinsworth, a former All-Pro receiver, likes to cite that movie scene, and says that after a Sunday game, it was often Wednesday or Thursday before he could get out of bed without pain. > > I haven’t read Batman comics in 30+ years, but I wonder… do we ever see Bruce Wayne dragging himself out of bed in agony, the day after a big fight? In the movies you see him covered in bruises but they’re purely cosmetic. I guess he’s immune to pain, too. What’re the chances that the billionaire playboy vigilante also has CIP? ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-realistic-is-batmans-physical-prowess/592201/38 "2011-08-11T19:21:38Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Apart from his ridiculous and unexplained recuperative talents, Bruce Wayne’s physical (and mental) abilities are unrealistic mostly in toto. I can never believe that a person without access to magic or superpowers (which are basically the same thing) can be the very best at _everything_ the way he is. Leonardo da Vinci was a polymath, and so is Bruce Wayne. Why is it believable for a real-life person and not a fictitious comic book character? My memory might be disserving me, but doesn’t the beginning of _The Dark Knight_ show Batman dealing with an aching back after a night of patrol? Also, is Batman/Bruce Wayne generally portrayed as socially inept? He doesn’t really have any true friends besides Alfred, falls asleep in board meetings, and has a girlfriend once in a blue moon. I don’t think it’s the Clark Kent sort of ineptitude… he truly can’t socialize. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-realistic-is-batmans-physical-prowess/592201/39 "2011-08-11T19:39:17Z")
> [@Agent\_Foxtrot](#): > > Leonardo da Vinci was a polymath, and so is Bruce Wayne. Why is it believable for a real-life person and not a fictitious comic book character? I didn’t write that it was unbelievable that Bruce Wayne is very good at many things. I wrote that it was unbelievable that he was the very best at _everything_. I can’t believe that he’s the world’s best technical physicist, businessman, swordsman, unarmed combatant, battlefield medic, chess player, and so forth. Take the businessman thing. I recall a _Justice League_ storyline which was largely about Bruce Wayne outmanuevering Lex Luthor on the corporate battlefield. That bugged me, because corporate hoodwinks are what Luthor does _all the time_. He specializes. I’m okay with the idea that, if it came to fisticuffs, Luthor wouldn’t have a prayer; I didn’t like the idea that Bruce is just superior in every way. Or the fisticuffs thing. There was, I think, a crossover in which Batman took down Karate Kid of the Legion of Super-Heroes, whose whole deal is that he’s so good at hand-to-hand combat that even pre-Crisis Kryptonians have to pull out the stops to deal with him. I didn’t care for the idea that Bats is even better. He shouldn’t be best at _everything_. It’s the same sort of power inflation pre-Crisis Superman suffered from. > [@](#): > > Also, is Batman/Bruce Wayne generally portrayed as socially inept? He doesn’t really have any true friends besides Alfred, falls asleep in board meetings, and has a girlfriend once in a blue moon. I don’t think it’s the Clark Kent sort of ineptitude… he truly can’t socialize. I’ll grant that he’s an asshole. But he’s pretending to be a twit as Bruce Wayne. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-realistic-is-batmans-physical-prowess/592201/40 "2011-08-11T19:47:42Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I didn’t write that it was unbelievable that Bruce Wayne is very good at many things. I wrote that it was unbelievable that he was the very best at _everything_. I can’t believe that he’s the world’s best technical physicist, businessman, swordsman, unarmed combatant, battlefield medic, chess player, and so forth. > > Take the businessman thing. I recall a _Justice League_ storyline which was largely about Bruce Wayne outmanuevering Lex Luthor on the corporate battlefield. That bugged me, because corporate hoodwinks are what Luthor does _all the time_. He specializes. I’m okay with the idea that, if it came to fisticuffs, Luthor wouldn’t have a prayer; I didn’t like the idea that Bruce is just superior in every way. > > Or the fisticuffs thing. There was, I think, a crossover in which Batman took down Karate Kid of the Legion of Super-Heroes, whose whole deal is that he’s so good at hand-to-hand combat that even pre-Crisis Kryptonians have to pull out the stops to deal with him. I didn’t care for the idea that Bats is even better. > > He shouldn’t be best at _everything_. It’s the same sort of power inflation pre-Crisis Superman suffered from. > > I’ll grant that he’s an asshole. But he’s pretending to be a twit as Bruce Wayne. Keep in mind that D.C. superheroes are more god-like than Marvel’s. Marvel’s aim was to have the anti-D.C. superheroes, superheroes with personal problems who, despite their powers (or because of them), struggled to live in the world. Saying Batman is unbelievable is like saying Zeus is unbelievable. That said, I think that without Batman’s utility belt, Deadpool would kick his ass in a straight-up swordfight. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-realistic-is-batmans-physical-prowess/592201.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-realistic-is-batmans-physical-prowess/592201.md?page=3)