How to Become A Real-World Superhero

utherdoul writes "Batman isn't from outer space and wasn't born with a mutant gene --he uses his riches, raw determination and technological know-how to equip himself to fight evil. So why couldn't the average geek do the same? I've written a story for Forbes.com that breaks down the Dark Knight's expenses and explains what it would cost to become a real-world Batman using commercially available training and technology." From the article: "Batman's suit is a modified piece of infantry armor built by the applied sciences division of Wayne Enterprises. It's waterproof, bulletproof, knife-proof and temperature-regulating. Paired with an impact-resistant, graphite-composite cowl and spiked ninja-style gauntlets, it allows Batman to protect himself against everything from swords to machine guns."

Cut to the chase - $3.4 million

[winkydink]

ans several years of your life for training.

The Bottom Line
Final Cost: $3,365,449

The Training: $30,000
The Suit: $1,585
The Belt: $290
The Car: $2,000,000
The Cave: $24,000
The Alter Ego: $1,109,574
The Butler: $200,000

Re:Cut to the chase - $3.4 million

[GileadGreene]

Had you RTFA you would see that they claim the real batsuit would cost $300,000+ (at least that's what the movie claims), but it isn't available. So they suggest a bulletproof jacket and kevlar helmet for ~$1500. Lame substitute, but there you go.

Re:GOD DAMN IT

[Anonymous Coward]

Come on, you know you want a batsuit of your own. And /. has enough room for these silly articles as well as the more "intellectual" ones. Just think of it as TACO SAUCE. Plus, I haven't see Batman Begins yet, so I need the ./ comments to know how bad I should expect it to be. Keep up the good work /. Commander Taco, I salute you.

Re:FTFA

[Redwin]

Actually there were 8:

1. Batman (1989)
2. "Batman" (1992)
aka "Batman: The Animated Series" - USA (promotional title)
aka "The Adventures of Batman & Robin" - USA (new title)
3. Batman (1966/I)
aka "Batman: The Movie" - USA (video box title)
4. Batman Returns (1992)
5. Batman Forever (1995)
aka "Batman 3" - USA (working title)
6. Batman & Robin (1997)
aka "Batman and Robin" - USA (alternative spelling)
7. Batman Begins (2005)
aka "Batman 5" - USA (working title)
aka "Batman Begins: The IMAX Experience" - USA (IMAX version)
aka "Batman: Intimidation" - USA (original script title)
aka "Batman: Intimidation Game" - USA (fake working title)
8. Catwoman (2004)
aka "Untitled 'Batman Returns' Spin-off" - USA (working title)

Although IMDB does say Batman begins is called Batma 5 so u are right... kinda :-)

Incredibles' Syndrome

[j0ris]

This is basically the story of the evil Syndrome character from the Pixar movie The Incredibles: a geek so obsessed by super heroes that he invents his own super gear to beat them at their own game.

It's a mental disorder.

[khasim]

It's called "monomania". It's a type of paranoia.

Re:Batman's weakness

[techsoldaten]

Well, that depends on how you define major injury.

- he has recevied wounds that resulted in broken ribs and broken arms (for that matter he has fallen from great heights in such a way that the reader would assume much worse);

- he has occassionally suffered the effects of neurological toxins which rendered him incapable of normal function;

- he suffered from a disease similar to vampirism that made him incapable of being out in the light;

- he has drowned to the point of needing to be resuscitated;

- he has been impaled and flailed to the point where blood poured out of his costume;

Now, I am not enough of a comics geek to be able to point out issue / page numbers, but I fondly remember these events from the pages of the comics I read in my youth. I always thought he was the toughest superhero because of the predicaments in which he would be placed by writers.

M

Re:Batman's weakness

[YOU LIKEWISE FAIL IT]

"Platonic", you ignorant poltroon! A "plutonic" relationship would be one you had with an igneous rock formed by solidification at considerable depth beneath the earth's surface.

Unless you know your target is armoured.

[khasim]

Real world snipers aim for the center of mass. Right in the middle of your chest.

Now, in a comic book world, where the sniper knows that the action hero is heavily armoured, the sniper COULD aim for the crotch area and hope to sever a main artery that supplies the leg.

Or said sniper could shoot for the buttocks and hope to hit the sciatic nerve and end said action hero's action days.

In fact, it's very difficult to armour the hips without limiting mobility.

But such stories wouldn't be as interesting as the ones where the bad guys never think or learn.

Re:Cut to the chase - $3.4 million

[Dasein]

The argument put forward in Freakonomics is that children brought up in poverty are more likely to commit crimes and women are remarkably good at deciding if they will be able to provide a good life for a child. Therefore, children who are likely to commit crimes are more likely to be aborted than children who are born into privileged circumstances.

That's it -- not my theory, just what's put forward in Freakonomics.

Re:Batman's weakness

[pete-classic]

Actually you can brace yourself that you can survive a fall.

I'm not sure if "brace" is the right word.

I took Airborne school in '93. We jumped T-10 'chutes. According to some random page I found with google [industrologic.com], the terminal velocity of a T-10 with an equipped soldier hanging off of it is 22-24 feet per second (6.7 to 7.3 m/s^2). Sadly my Physics is too rusty to figure out the height from which an unrestrained fall would produce that velocity on impact.

Understand that this is a fall that a parachutist should be able to walk away from with some regularity. (In Jump Week twice a day on each of Monday and Tuesday.)

The strategy for walking away from this fall was, long story short, fall over on impact.

We were taught to make five discrete impacts with the ground, reducing the force of each. (For reference, the points are the balls of the feet, the side of one calf, the side of the upper part of that leg, the ass cheek on that same side, and the same side of the back.*)

Anyway, "bracing" one's self is likely to end in at least one broken leg.

-Peter

PS: Before anyone asks, yes, I'm a five jump chump . . . but at least I'm not a leg!

-P

A lethal height "dose" is....

[spineboy]

The generally regarded LD50 (lethal dose where 50% of the involved die) for height is about 4-5 stories. I do a lot of trauma orthopaedic surgery, and I have to say that we don't get many people alive who've fallen more than 50 feet. We do get some exceptions, but just remember the good old E=1/2MV^2 rule - survivability falls off sharply at height greater than 50 ft (roughly 40 MPH).

Re:riches wont do you any good

[Altus]

Ive seen this myself.

a few years ago I was at an international house of pancakes late at night... the place was pretty busy and I was waiting for a table when 3 guys... each at least twice my size burst into the place and out another door... two of them were kicking the crap out of the third who was in bad shape at this point.

I looked around the room and there were maybe 25 able bodied men standing around watching.... at least on of the waitstaff called the cops (state police barracks up the street... half an hour later and an off duty cop would have been working security) but nobody made a move to stop them from repeatedly kicking the guy on the ground.

the only two people to react were my friend and I... we were both totally outclassed and Im not sure what would have happened if they had attempted physical violence against us (id like to think my other friends would have helped us). I burst in and screamed at the two at the top of my lungs... yelled at them to get off of the guy... it didnt stop them, but it slowed them down and one of them came over to try to keep us out of it.

I didnt escalate to violence to save this guy from the few extra kicks he took, because I probably would have been hurt rather badly, but I was willing to risk them turning on me to keep them from kicking the crap out of this guy.

why were my friend and I the only ones willing to take that risk... with 10 of us there would be no risk.