Splatman?

Geoff: David Marshall at the university of Leicester has determined that were Batman to jump from a tall building and use his cape to arrest his descent, the result would be a billionaire superhero colliding with the pavement at an uncomfortable 50 mph (80 kmh).

Mr Marshall determined that if Batman jumped off a 150m tall building he could expect to glide comfortably to a distance of 350m, but that his cape would be incapable of generating sufficient lift to prevent a landing that would probably break his legs.

The full story is reported in the Economist, if anyone is interested. Full details of the work is available on the Leicester University website.

StuckInTheSixties:

So ... that stuff in the movies couldn't actually happen?

Damn!

Geoff: I think that this story is intriguing because of the fact that Batman has always been amongst the most 'plausible' of all the superheroes (along with Iron Man). No supernatural abilities, no magic, no superhuman buttcheeks. Just a man, who happens to be very rich, a drive to fight crime, and a lot of technologically advanced gadgetry.

If the thread had been about Superman not being able to have beat the train in a race, then it would have been pure matter for debate, but Bruce Wayne's alter ego has always relied on the air of possibility.

StuckInTheSixties:

Even as little kid, reading those classic comic books, I always thought it was implausible that he could swing around on a slender little wire, just grasping it in the hands like he and Robin did. I would think:

"How could you grip it? Wouldn't it cut your fingers off?"

Geoff: Ah, now I wasn't saying it was realistic, just 'possible'. Far more possible than, say: aliens sent to Earth a babies, genetically engineered or nuclear/cosmic created mutants, exiled gods, etc.

StuckInTheSixties:

Hey, by those standards, Wonder Woman was reasonably credible ... maybe not her invisible hovering jet, but using her bracelets to deflect bullets ...

Geoff: Wonder Woman could fly. Her lasso was magical and would force anyone bound within it to tell the truth. She was a member of a mythical race of people.

Her bracelets were "indestructible", not just bullet proof. Batman may have worn body armour, but it wasn't indestructible. The only reason she could deflect bullets was because she had superhuman reflexes and strength. Batman was strong and agile, but only human.

Which I think does at least betray an attempt at realism.

StuckInTheSixties:

Yeah, you're right.

She has nice tits though, doesn't she?

Geoff: lol, I knew you were going to bring that into it.

Now are we talking about the original drawing, or Linda Carter, or Adrianne Palicki?

StuckInTheSixties:

The original drawings. Even as a young kid, I admired those tits.

Corwin: When I was a kid it was the Linda Carter Wonderwoman that was popular at the time. What a hottie. But I always found it strange that nobody recognized that she was Wonderwoman when she had her hair in a pony-tail and wore glasses.

Hey, here's a plausible super-hero.... have you heard of Orgasmo? It's one of Trey Parker's first films, made before his Southpark fame. He was a Mormon missionary with martial-arts skills who reluctantly becomes a porn star, as the fictional superhero Orgasmo. His porn star sidekick Choda-boy turns out to be a real-life inventor, and made Orgasmo's orgasm inducing ray-gun a reality. He shoots the bad-guys with his orgasm-ray which momentarily incapacitates them while he kicks the crap out of them. His arch-nemesis is Neutered Man... Orgasmo's ray-gun is powerless against him.

A pretty funny movie, if you like Trey Parker / Matt Stone kind of humor.

OCD_OCD: Does this guy actually get paid for these bizarre determinations?

Geoff: David Marshall?

He's a student. So no.

Corwin: This is a bit off-topic, but have you ever felt that Ironman should really have an emergency parachute attached to that suit? How many times has he almost bought the farm from power-outs?

OCD_OCD: I guess I missed out because I never watched cartoons and I never read comic books.

Must be a guy thing.

Corwin: Yup. That it is. But my wife loves the movies based on comic superheros. She really loves the new Ironman movies with Robert Downey Jr. And she's always been a big fan of Judge Dredd, but that could just be her obsession with Stallone's butt in those tight pants.

OCD_OCD: I do like the Ironman movies and I LOVE the Robert Downey Sherlock Holmes movies, but as far as the rest of them go, I can't get past the silly factor.

StuckInTheSixties:

Anything comic books is a relic of my childhood, with the exception of The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers and Zap. Those aren't comics, though. They're comix.

Geoff: Stallone ruined Dredd. I suppose it wasn't really his fault, but the scriptwriter and director both should meet the business end of a Lawgiver.

Metaverseguy: What did it say about The Hulk, Swamp Thing, or Spiderman?

Metaverseguy: I saw an episode of mythbusters where they tested his grappling hook. Didn't even stick into the cement 9/10 times.

Corwin: That's because it wasn't a "superhero" grappling hook.

Metaverseguy: Yea I guess they should have made Morgan Freeman make it. I'm sure that would have went over well lol.

Corwin: Of course..... and they should have had him narrate it as well.... everything works better when Morgan Freeman narrates something... do you think that dude would have escaped from that Shawshank prison if Morgan Freeman wasn't narrating the whole thing?? Naaahh.... he would have rotted in that sewage pipe for sure.

Metaverseguy: I particularly liked how Morgan Freedom was in that Bruce Almighty movie making a fool of himself talking about how the dark ages came about because people lacked god in their lives, but in the Batman movies he did a pretty good job.

Geoff: As much as I like Mythbusters, I doubt they have the financial resources of Wayne Enterprises.