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."

Comments

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: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

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).