It always makes me wonder when people dismiss Batman is completely unrealistic. Yes, many of the stories have fantasy or sci-fi elements....but these are not necessary and many stories are a lot more grounded.

Batman is at the most basic, a costumed detective vigilante, relying on gadgets and intimidation.

• The detective aspect is possible.
• The extreme martial arts is possible (albeit not to the extent of 127 styles)
• The costume is possible
• Excessive knowledge is possible
• Being a billionaire is possible

The two most unrealistic aspects are the gadgets and the slinging around skyscrapers with a grappling gun or ropes.

I was lucky enough to be in Taipei and see the human spiderman climb Taipei 101 without a harness or support. I have a friend who does parkour, and while he doesn't jump between rooftops I've seen some very impressive essentially street level superhero stuff. I don't find it hard to believe that someone could master the coordination and overcome the fear of swinging around a city.

The main limitation then, seems to be the gadgets. As far as I know there are no grappling guns that are as compact as the one Batman uses, although we have ones that are close to it, and I could see someone devoting resources to that if not designing one.

The rest of the gadgets I'm not too sure about...freeze pellets seem unlikely, while smoke bombs and a device to summon bats do exist, at least the former does.

What do you guys think?

If there is a person that has the money and the skills Batman may become true.All you need is money,skills and the brain to make all the gadgets or hire some scientist to do it.

All that plus nigh unlimited determination, the odds of all that coming together are very low, but not impossible.

A lot of it is possible, although certain things such as the way he utilizes his gadgets, seemingly endless supplies in his belt and how his cape never gets in the way is just CBL.

CBL?

If someone is intellignet (and rich) enough, then it's possible

@nightwing4: yea i think the cape is the main problem here. it would have to be retractable or something for him to survive those huge group brawls. all the martial arts training in the world cant defend against some thug grabbing you cape and yanking you to the ground.

its more possible than one would think

the gadgets that batman uses are possible, the side that is impossible is bruce wayne.

knowng 127 martial arts, weapons master, stealth master, expert marksman, genius level intellect, master detective, master escapologist, master tactician, master strategist, knowing 16+ languages, master of disguise, knows Biology, Technology, Mathematics, Physics, Mythology, Geography, History, Gained degrees in Criminal Science, Forensics, Computer Science, Chemistry and Engineering, He has mastered Diverse Environmental Training, Security Systems, and illusion/sleight of hand, learned Forensic Sciences, Medical Sciences, Expanded Computer and Engineering Sciences. Expanded Device Pool use of personal powered armor and system, and on top of that fighting metahuman on a daily basis.

The grappling hook is impossible with current tech at the size it is in Batman fiction.

The vast majority of Batman's fighting skills overlap, so he wouldn't have to know 127 different styles to fight exactly the same as he does. The only real hangup would be him having actual degrees in these fields rather than just knowing a bunch of stuff. And you also have to remember that a lot of these things he learned over the 15-20 years he's been active and didn't start his career knowing all of this stuff.

@thanosismad:

he learned it all at about 26

No way. It isn't at all unrealistic for somebody to have expert level knowledge in several fields. I've met many people with several degrees, who know several languages and regularly compete at sports . It's simply that most people don't push themselves to that level. It doesn't mean it's impossible. Besides, a lot of what you listed overlaps, it isn't as grandiose as you make it seem.

- It is indeed possible, just not that likely.

- Multiple factors would need to converge for this to occur.

yes it is possible to be experts in one or even several fields but not that many at the same time.

@rolldestroyer:Like I said, it isn't that unrealistic. It's far less fields than you mentioned, because a lot of what you mentioned is a subset of something else that you mentioned. There is a lot of overlap.

yes i realize that there are some which are subsets but mastering these fields at young age is definitely not possible. also batman has created gadgets that are impossible to create even today, he even created AI robots and advanced battle suits which aren't possible to create today.

@rolldestroyer: No one said he had to have mastered all those fields at a young age. He had 20 years pre new52 to master it.

So yeah, it comes back to the tech being the main limitation.

i didn't mean young as in his teen years, he learned it at about 26.

@rolldestroyer:

He left at 14 to start learning and training, and had already learned a lot when he came back to Gotham in year one at 25.

He was about 25 in the old continuity, which gave him a further 10 years to master fields such as biology or programming.

It isn't like he is a doctoral candidate in each field, but has at least a bachelors level understanding, which is very realistic. It's possible to know something to that level with intense study in a short time period, instead of being stretched out with a few classes a week for years.

I'm really not sure why you find it unrealistic. It doesn't make sense.

well it does sound realistic on paper but when it comes to doing it, batman is one of the best martial artists in DCU, he's second best escapologist in DCU, he's one of the three smartest people on earth in DCU (though that's debatable), he's one of the best hackers (able to hack alien technology he's never encountered before), he's one of the best tacticians and strategists in DCU, does that sound realistic to you when you consider all the superheroes and villains there are in DCU? and im not even going to mention his phsyical feats because if we go there it would be far from possible, or do you want to go there?

If you look at my original post, I was limiting it to the more grounded stories of Batman, where there are not really sci-fi or fantasy elements.@rolldestroyer:

batman's stories has always elements of science fiction and sometimes fantasy.

@rolldestroyer: You've really missed the point. So....nevermind.

Are you guys for real. Batman is completely impossible. Completely. 0 chance. He´d be dead or found out within a day.

@jphulk26 said:

OK, why? I could see someone operating at night doing detective work and being a vigilante, that isn't impossible.

What aspects do you find impossible? The swinging between rooftops? The batmobile? The billionaire aspect?

Alot is possible its just that the odds of someone having ALL of these qualities is extremely low, and if someone was to have them despite that theres an even lower chance still that he would decide to dress up in a costume and cape and fight crime.. But the possibility exists, no matter how small in my opinion. Atleast for a basic Batman, not all of his tech neccesarily.

Don't let anyone fool you. Being Batman is impossible. Hell, you can only get about as far as his cape before things start to fall apart. There is no material on earth that can currently behave the way his cape does. There is some experimentation currently going on with substances that can realign themselves on a molecular level (so as to be flexible and fluid one second, then rigid the next), but it is extremely primitive (pitri dish stages rather than "let's-make-a-cape" stages).

Anyway, if some fool went out and tried to be Batman, all it would take is one knife in an alley or one grapple point that wasn't quite secure enough or one thug with a nine millimeter and it's over. The injuries that Bruce Wayne regularly recovers from would kill a normal man thrice over.

@bruxae:

Look guys I don´t mean to burst your bubble, but I´m not talking about whether his gadgets are possible or whether a man could train to peak human abilities. It could be a guy with the skill of Bruce Lee, the mind of Einstein and the detective skills of the finest fbi profiler, there´s still no way he´d get away with it for more than a week max with out being found out and or killed.

10 things that make Batman impossible

10) Video Surveillence in cities. There is no way his kind of mode of transport (Bat Mobile) could evade detection, or not leave tracks.

9) Suit to heavy to manuever, and even if he used a less heavy traditional suit, he´ll be to vunerable to gun fire or other injuries.

8) It would be obvious who´s doing it, cause only a hand full of people in the world would have the money and access to the kind of arsenal you would need to successfully accomplish such a mission.

7) Police wouldn´t cooperate like in Gotham. So he´d be up against cops and criminals.

6) His injuries would be to severe he could not do this on a nightly basis, no matter how physically fit. It couldn´t even be done every weekend.

5) That harness thing is so unrealistic its unbelievable.

4) His escape from anything is impossible. Even magicians have to set up stage for them to create the illusion they´ve escaped.

3) Most of his gadgets are too heavy to carry at once.

2) He´d get killed by rapid gun fire.

1) The best way this could happen is if there were a group of vigilantes, not just one man, all highly trained and organized. You´d need atleast a group of a good 60 guys to do it, and they would have to keep recruiting because they´d be dropping like flies.

Batman is often said to be the most realistic superhero. Not true, the only realism to him is he´s human and that is the only thing possible about the character. Even Supermans probability of existence is just 2 notches behind Batman, they are virtually on pah in terms of realism unless you don´t believe there could be extraterrestrial life. A vastly de-powered superman/alien finding their way to earth, is as likely as Batman.

Exactly.

Oh and I forgot all the innocent people he´d get killed in the cross fire from his antics. So many innocents would end up dead it would almost not be worth his while.

@jphulk26: Yeah, I forgot to mention the harness. There are harnesses that can pull people up that quickly (or at least comparable speeds), but none of them are even close to being as compact as Batman's. Think more along the lines of a suitcase-sized apparatus than a tiny gizmo that fits in your belt.

@end_boss: looks like we killed this debate dead. :)

When you talk about his cape, are you talking about the Nolan version? The comic version, oddly enough, is actually more realistic. The problem is not what the cape is made of, but if it is a handicap or not.

I disagree it would take one knife or one gun....I mean, that's what the training and gadgets are for. Is it unlikely? Hell yes. Is it impossible....I'm not so sure.

Meh, not all cities have surveillance. Even Snyder managed to show a way around this, with the device that caused interference. He wouldn't need a fancy batmobile, just a regular motorbike or fast car.

9) Suit to heavy to manuever, and even if he used a less heavy traditional suit, he´ll be to vunerable to gun fire or other injuries.

I liked his suit in Grant Morrison's run best. It looked like just cloth or spandex, but was actually a very light kevlar weave. I don't know if anything like that exists, but it doesn't matter. The suit is not that big a factor. Gun fire is the only real obstacle, so he would devote time to evading that.

8) It would be obvious who´s doing it, cause only a hand full of people in the world would have the money and access to the kind of arsenal you would need to successfully accomplish such a mission.

You wouldn't need to be a billionaire, it could be anyone. Remember, the more grounded version doesn't have fancy gadgets.

7) Police wouldn´t cooperate like in Gotham. So he´d be up against cops and criminals.

Cops wouldn't even necessarily be aware of his existence, they make think it just a rumour.

6) His injuries would be to severe he could not do this on a nightly basis, no matter how physically fit. It couldn´t even be done every weekend.

Why? Again, a more grounded batman would rely on intimidation and detective work more than fighting.

5) That harness thing is so unrealistic its unbelievable.

Well, not really. I mean yeah it doesn't exist, but there are grappling hooks that retract.

4) His escape from anything is impossible. Even magicians have to set up stage for them to create the illusion they´ve escaped.

That's a dumb thing to say. People escape from handcuffs or locked rooms without it being prepared before hand. If it were prepared before hand it would negate the feat.

3) Most of his gadgets are too heavy to carry at once.

If he were real he wouldn't have most of his gadgets...but even if he did, most are very small and fit in his utility belt. Only the grappling gun would be heavy..

2) He´d get killed by rapid gun fire.

A retread of your point 9, and again, no. He wouldn't just rush in to where there are people with heavy firearms knowing he was outmatched.

1) The best way this could happen is if there were a group of vigilantes, not just one man, all highly trained and organized. You´d need atleast a group of a good 60 guys to do it, and they would have to keep recruiting because they´d be dropping like flies.

Well, that's just utter nonsense. Are you aware of some of the real world teams of paramilitary vigilantes? Less than 60 guys, far from dropping like flies.

Batman is often said to be the most realistic superhero. Not true, the only realism to him is he´s human and that is the only thing possible about the character. Even Supermans probability of existence is just 2 notches behind Batman, they are virtually on pah in terms of realism unless you don´t believe there could be extraterrestrial life. A vastly de-powered superman/alien finding their way to earth, is as likely as Batman.

That's just silly. A man in costume with a high level of knowledge and fighting ability who operates as a vigilante detective is infinitely more realistic than an alien who has a similar appearance through convergent evolution, is also able to mate with humans, and obtains powers through the sun that his people didn't seemingly evolve.

He could be like a former soldier in the special forces.

A well trained MMA fighter with a bit free running and money could do it. Maybe not exactly like in the movies but closely.

Exactly like Batman from the comics is impossible. From like the Nolanverse?More likely but still unlikely.Nolanverse Batman is way simpler as you could master one martial arts(like muai thai or tye kwan doe,getting in very good physical shape,and have some great extensive knowledge. But the equipment is the main problem and money obviously. The closest I can come to armor is Dragonskin(durable enough to withstand grenades point blank with no damage)along with material that make ballistic masks(a 44. Magnum couldn't go through it but of course you'll feel the impact.Don't want to get too into it so I'll leave it as that

Dead on first patrol.

When you go with... how much real batman can be with Using 100% real world tech... you don't give him anything special... he have what and others have... he always was one step of others with his futuristic tech and gadgets...

maybe not at first... but later sure... some third, fourth.. when someone use same tech :)

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sorry for my english

..and yeah... anyway which 100% real world tech... i think that we maybe don't know all tech which is made ... :D ...so ...maybe he can be and so much amazing of what we think... ;)

Probably a little better than Earth One Batman. Also, he would die in a short period of time.

Comic book Batman is impossible. A human simply can't perform to the standard he does.

Movie Batman is more likely but would still die pretty quickly. Real life isn't that awesome.

Isn't all that armor stuff explained in the TDK? that suit had a retractable cape too :) the most unrealistic thing I can think of in the TDK is probably the grapple gun.

@modernww2fare: It's Nolan's version of realism so how you said it's explained in the film to keep it more down to earth(instead of unrealistic things from the comics like Adamantium or Nth metal if you get what I'm saying)

No it's 0% possible. He'd either not encounter any trouble the first night out or he'd get shot to death. Jeez it's more likely (and still not much) there's an alien somewhere in the universe who feeds on solar radiation

Look. I know what I can and can't do. Yes the comics portray me in a slight OTT way but I'm still real people and I still fight crime for you.

Ps: but I work as a banker during day and only fight crime at weekends if I don't have the kids over that is

Not possible, a guy with a hand gun would be practically unassailable if he's already firing at you and you have no way to provide cover against it or a way to escape, and a guy with an automatic weapon can just cut you to pieces. The only hope you can have when taking on a person with a gun would be to subdue them before it can be drawn and used against you, but you're utterly screwed if you're dealing with more than one armed assailant.

.

Are you people kidding? Parkour and climbing? Of course that's possible, but the amount of armor and gadgets he has on himself would render that unfeasable. The cape alone would have such a weight and air resistance to get in the way of any major parkour manoeuvre. Not to think of all the small pieces of armor he has on himself. Also the probes, hooks, ammunition and batarangs all summed together would weith a lot.
Some of you claim to know peple who do parkour. Ask them how much metal, kevlar and simple heavy fibres they carry with them.

Plus nobody considers the technology he has on himself processor-wise. No computer is that rapid and infallible, voice recognition softwares aren't nearly there. Also his tech hacks into anything very quickly on its own, which is not how it works.

Also he analyses stuff with these tiny probes he has on himself. That would work on a minority of very large substances categories, but he would never be able to be as precise as he is in the comic book. You can't identify every component used to cut a drug, for example, without extensive lab equipment and time. A spectroscopic or chemical analysis on the spot will tell you the presence/absence of some major components, so you could say "narcotic" or "sugary".

The amount of knowledge he has is unconceivable. By the age it takes to acquire that deep a knowledge on anthropology, psychology, criminology, biology, chemistry, physics, electronics, informatics and a bunch of others, you will be at least a 40 years old who did very little else with his time.

Of course that mean that you wouldn't be able to master (I'm not saying "know", but "master" as he has) even a couple of complete martial arts. He knows like 100 in the comic book and you said you wouldn't expect that of him. But even 1 martial arts can take up to 5 to 10 years to actually master. Even if he wanted to be one of the best fighters in the world, he would have to master like 6 or 7. All that in the same time it takes him to acquire a specialist-level knowledge on all the subject liste above.

Also he doesn't refresh this stuff since we don't know when. He's been patrolling at night, training kids and keeping up appearences for more than 5 years now.

One other thing. The injuries he sustains each time are not something that is forgotten the next week, month or even years, like he does in the comics. Broken ribs, dislocated shoulders, stab wounds, side effects from drugs... these leave some residual damage. If you just break one arm you won't notice, unless you are an athlete, then you will see that you are less elastic and you need a lot of time to be back in top shape. Imagine stacking all the residual damage from all the injuries he sustains.

It's cute that you guys like the character so much that you want it to be real, but none of the stuff he is or does is possible.

@valdemocnij: @skyfire: @spinningbirdcake: @vmole: @jphulk26: @end_boss: finally some peopel with sense.

You can't say "real" batman but then say no gadgets, no cape, no actual action just indimidation, no car, no supercomputer... how is that batman?

Also, no surveillance in cities (where in the world does that happen), no being hit buy a thugh with a gun and no meeting the police ever. How is that real?

Also, I am an amateur magician a know most of the tricks... escaping harnesses, cuffs and cages without setting the stage is impossible. You think Houdini actually could break free of a straight jacket or heavy chains? How old are you?

I remember seeing a documentary on youtube where they went through all (or a lot) of of his tech used in the Nolan movies where a lot of it was in development/testing phase. However I can't seem to find it right now. Anybody knows what documentary I'm talking about. If I remember currently it was done by History Channel I could be mistaken though.

I lot of similar stuff is, but some of it won't work for years.