Batman is probably the most popular comic book superhero ever. Everyone loves him, even his arch-nemesis The Joker. And why is that?
It is because he takes the route to fight crime as we all want to. To go and hold the bad guys by the neck and beat them up into a pulp before handing them to the authorities. We love him because even he is frustrated with the system in place to fight crime and criminals.
And we love him because he has the same weaknesses we have and the vulnerabilities that come with being human and not having any superpower.
And this lack of superpower didn’t stop him from becoming one of the strongest and intimidating superhero in comics. But can a normal human being become a Batman just because he wants to?
Yes, he can. But there are a lot of prerequisites before the training starts.
Because a lot of batman’s abilities are natural –
1. Good genes
You need a naturally good body – and not the kind that just looks good. You need a body that gains muscle that has functional strength. You also need a body that can recover very well after injuries.
Ever had a friend who would get recover from flu in just 2 days while you would lie in bed for a week? That kind of body. Higher lung function, no bodily abnormalities, perfect eyesight and no faulty genes that could give you disease later in life.
2. Awesome natural reflexes
Although reflexes can be improved by training, you still need a good amount of natural ability to have very quick responses.
A typical human being has a response time of 300ms. As Batman, you will be expected to have a lot less than that.
3. Inherited wealth
Inherited wealth is a bonus point, if you do not want to waste your time building a fortune first.
4. A very high intellect and steep learning curve
Batman is not a dumbass. You need to be intelligent. If you are not really intelligent, you need to compensate this by having a natural ability to grasp concepts quickly.
Becoming Batman will require learning a lot of new things over the years and the faster you do it, the younger you will be when you become Batman.
5. A naturally good moral compass
You need to have a calibrated moral compass inside you, and not a broken one. You cannot have a skewed sense of what is right and what is wrong. And most of such goodness comes from a very young age.
6. A high level of discipline
No lazy butts here. A drive to achieve the impossible through cruel discipline is required.
7. Virtual celibacy
No girlfriends. Unless she wears a mask and a cape too.
Now let’s take a realistic step by step approach so that you can become a realistic Batman.
8. Get into the Army
Get into the army as soon as you graduate high school, preferably as a cadet at an officer academy, and preferably a full-time 4-year course.
In the academy you will condition your body for the future it is going to be in. You will learn all about military strategies too.
9. Make it to the top special forces in that
Basic army training is good, but making into special forces will give you advanced training in infiltration, extraction, explosives, advanced hand-to-hand combat, reconnaissance, sabotage, and other advanced skills that will make you a skilled warrior.
10. Stay put on the front at all times so that you get combat experience
Just training won’t do a lot of good, as you have to keep yourself on the fighting front to sharpen these skills to a degree that you are virtually unkillable.
11. Quit after 5 years and get into an advanced course in Physics and Chemistry
Now that you have the training and the experience in combat, you need to start learning advanced science so that you can use it against the adversaries you will face in your life.
12. Leave it after 4 years and do a course in forensics
After you are done with your science education, you need to build detective skills. After all, Batman is the world’s greatest detective. You will ned this to look for clues normal people cannot see, and use them to track down people even in the urban jungle that are the cities.
13. Then buy a plot of land and build your hidden Batcave.
You will need to do a lot of clandestine construction work on a plot of land so that you have a place as a safe house after a whole day of vigilante action. It will house every gadget and equipment you will need to fight criminals.
14. Recruit people to build technology you will need
You will need a constant supply of high-tech gadgets to fight crime. Not just to fight criminals, but even to find crime as it happens at places.
15. Spend the next few years practicing with grapple hooks
Just the toys will not do you any good. You need to practice with them on the streets and while fighting crime. There will be a lot of hiccups and mistakes, and you will probably end up with a few broken bones, or maybe a lot of them too.
All of that is a normal day in the office for you.
16. Learn parkour and free running in the meantime
Jumping across rooftops without breaking your bones is also a good skill to have. And since rooftops are not exactly maneuverable by cops, you can make a perfect getaway.
17. Do freelance Personal Investigation stuff for some years too.
Personal investigation is a good way of learning to investigate personal crimes. Personal crimes are sometimes uglier than the run of the mill ones. It will also teach you to work on cases alone without anyone to back you up – just like Batman.
18. Meditate every day of your life and improve concentration
There is a reason Batman is so stern and controlled most of the times. He rarely laughs or cries because he is in total control of his mind.
He also gives mental advice to people like Superman and Wonder Woman, who come from “superior” species. He also has a laser focus on the tasks ahead of him, and most of the tasks that seem impossible, are easily accomplished just because Batman’s mind doesn’t waver.
19. Develop an iron will
A steady mind is good, but becomes a fortress with an iron will. We all know that Batman doesn’t kill. He has a set of principles that are governed with an iron fist.
After extensive learning of martial arts and ways to kill people, it is easy to lose control and kill a few, especially when you are as formidable as Batman.
But it takes much more courage and will to not kill when you are fighting an adversary.
And that is the reason why becoming Batman is cool. You have all the skills and power in the world to end anyone, but you still continue to do good.