Batman was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. He first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in March 1939. Since then, the great Bruce Wayne has starred in thousands of comics and been portrayed by dozens of actors in TV shows and movies.
Batman started off with an average body type but progressively, the illustrators gave him a bigger body and more muscles. His body type is also constantly changing because of the multiple actors who have played him.
Lewis Wilson was the first actor to portray Batman in 1943, and while he should not be considered scrawny, he was certainly no beefcake either.
While Batman may not have a set of superpowers, he has a ton of money that apparently makes him just as powerful as some superheroes. Batman has put his body to the test and proven time and time again that he can withstand more pain and more injuries than the average person could even fathom.
He has fought some truly wicked and vile villains over his lifetime who have critically hurt him, but his body always withstands the damage and puts him back on top of the fight.
Batman may not be a superhuman like other superheroes, but his batbody has certainly allowed him to perform some incredible feats.
So open up your utility belt of knowledge because we’re taking a look at the 15 Crazy Things Only True Fans Know About Batman And His Body.
He Can Withstand Scarecrow’s Fear Toxin
Scarecrow is no stranger when it comes to Batman villains. He had a key role in the movie Batman Begins and also in the video game Batman: Arkham Asylum. While Scarecrow himself is quite dangerous, it is really his fear toxin that makes him so powerful.
When Scarecrow unleashes his fear toxin, people enter a mind-altering state, are overcome with fear, have nightmare-like visions, and often pass away from cardiac arrest.
While Batman is nowhere near immune to the toxin, he can often withstand it long enough to defeat Scarecrow.
Being the world’s greatest detective, Batman was able to create an antidote that he uses to save Gotham in Batman Begins and himself in Batman: Arkham Asylum.
The average person would immediately panic if their body was infected by the fear toxin, but thankfully Batman is not considered average on any level.
Barbatos Used His Body As A Gateway
Anybody who is a fan of science fiction knows that time travel can be a difficult topic to cover because of its complex nature. That being said, time travel and alternate universes are a big element of Dark Knights: Metal.
When Batman is struck with Darkseid’s Omega lighting bolt at the end of Final Crisis, Bruce Wayne is sent back in time, which leads everyone to believe that he has perished.
Around this same time, a demon named Barbatos is dwelling in the Dark Multiverse. Barbatos realizes the potential of Batman.
He knows that if Batman is able to be injected with all five of the metals from the Dark Multiverse, he may be able to make his way back to the central universe and conquer it.
Essentially, Barbatos uses Batman’s body as a gateway between the Dark and Central Universes so that he can conquer both.
The Lazarus Pits Revived Him
Ra’s al Ghul has been a dangerous adversary for Batman since his introduction in 1971 and is one of the many villains in Batman’s rogues gallery. In the comic Batman: Birth of the Demon, Batman consistently stays one step ahead of Ra’s al Ghul’s men who are attempting to prepare a Lazarus Pit for their decaying leader.
During one battle early on in the comic, Batman is struck with a shovel and pushed off the side of a hill. He falls and lands in toxic waste, which slowly starts to destroy him as he tracks down Ra’s al Ghul’s men.
Ra’s al Ghul finally makes it to one of the Lazarus Pits and a battle quickly follows with the Dark Knight. Ra’s stabs Batman in the heart with a shovel and they both fall into the pit. In the next couple of pages, Batman is seen rising from the sand completely healed.
He Is Strong Enough To Power The Hellbat Armor
The Hellbat armor first came to fruition in the comic Robin Rises Part One: Cold Justice from the New 52 comic line. The Hellbat suit gives Batman increased strength, durability, and speed, which makes him just as powerful as his superhuman friends.
The Hellbat armor also has special abilities such as shielding, blade shifting, and cloaking technology.
There may be a lot of positives to the suit, but the Hellbat armor comes with a hefty price, as it drains Batman’s metabolism to fuel it.
Despite the risk of using the suit and against the judgment of the Justice League, Batman travels to Apokolips to resurrect Damien Wayne.
At the end of the comic Batman nearly dies from using the suit but he completes his mission and brings his son back to life.
Ben Affleck’s Insane Batman Workout
When looking at the builds for other live action Batman actors, Ben Affleck is by far the most built. He gained an incredible amount of muscle for his role as the Dark Knight, even more than Christian Bale did– and Bale is known for his incredible body transformations.
By the time cameras started filming for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Affleck weighed a total of 225 pounds with only 7.7 percent body fat.
Ben Affleck accomplished his goals by working out every day and meeting with his trainer Walter Norton Jr.
When talking with Men’s Journal about Affleck’s workout regiment, Norton commented, “We lived on a lot of the basics, 80-pound dumbbell curls, heavy-loaded carries, and farmers walks with 60-pound weights.”
You do not have to be the world’s greatest detective to know that that kind of workout will get you looking like a superhero quick.
His Memory Has Been Wiped More Than Once
Scott Snyder’s Batman #43 focuses on a version of Bruce Wayne that readers don’t really ever see. In the story, Bruce Wayne is not Batman. Bruce is not even the Bruce Wayne everybody knows him as because he had his memory wiped.
Readers learn that after his fight with the Joker, Batman lost all of his memories.
The memories of his parents’ demise, his combat training, and his years as a vigilante were all erased.
His memory was also erased in the Batman: The Cult. This story focuses on Deacon Blackfire who is a cult leader. Nobody knows where Batman is until Robin finds him underground.
The cult beat, brainwashed, and locked him in a room with corpses. Even though Batman is strong both physically and mentally, it was a couple weeks before his mind was completely back to normal.
He Lacks Super Powers
Today, Batman is one of the most popular superheroes around. He’s right up there with Superman and Wonder Woman. Even though he is a well-known hero, he actually does not have any superpowers.
Much like Iron Man from Marvel, Batman’s superpower is his money.
It may seem like Bruce Wayne has superpowers based on the incredible acts that he is able to accomplish, but it is really just money that allows him to perform incredible feats like a superhuman.
Since there are not any superpowers that need explaining, many adaptations of Batman’s origin story are fairly simple.
His parents pass away, he trains to become a great fighter, and he uses his wealth to obtain everything he would ever need to track and fight crime around Gotham.
His Addiction To Bane’s Venom
Venom is a substance in the DC universe that gives ordinary people superhuman strength, but it is also highly addictive.
Batman first took it in the story arc for Batman: Venom. After he failed to save a little girl from drowning, he goes to deliver the bad news to the girl’s father. Batman then finds out the father is developing the substance known as Venom.
First appearing in pill form, Batman begins to use the drug to overcome his physical weakness so that he will never fail to save someone again.
He quickly becomes addicted to the substance, which turns him into somewhat of a superhuman monster.
Batman is able to kick the habit, but the drug would later be used to introduce one of his greatest foes; Bane.
He Is Still Powerful Even In Old Age
The Dark Knight Returns is widely regarded as one of the greatest Batman tales ever made. Released in 1986, The Dark Knight Returns was written by Frank Miller and focuses on an older version of Batman.
Frank Miller packs a lot into this four issue series. The story takes place in a futuristic Gotham City where Bruce Wayne at the age of 55 comes out of retirement to fight crime.
Throughout the comic, Bruce Wayne battles a gang called The Mutants, foils a scheme by Two-Face, fights The Joker, nearly demolishes Superman, and fights alongside Oliver Queen and a new Robin named Carrie Kelley.
The Dark Knight Rises and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice both pulled certain details from this comic probably because it shows that even in old age, Batman can still kick butt.
His High Stamina And Intelligence
As we have seen from a magnitude of superhero movies, strength and superpowers are almost always a necessity for vigilante work. Even though Bruce Wayne does not actually have any superpowers, he does excel when it comes to stamina and intelligence.
For example, when Bane broke Batman’s back and threw him into the pit, Bruce was able to not only recover from his injuries but make the climb out. This feat required not just strength, but adrenaline and stamina.
Also, to be considered “The World’s Greatest Detective” one must have an incredible amount of intelligence.
Defeating and in many cases outwitting over 100 super villains should not be considered an easy task. Bruce Wayne also has a law degree from Yale, which is also not something one easily obtains.
The Batsuit Used To Be Spandex To Improve Mobility
When superheroes were becoming popular, most of their suits were made out of spandex. The costumes may have looked a little silly, which is why they get a lot of laughs compared to the more modern superhero look.
As serious as Batman is now known to be, the ’60s version of Batman starring the late Adam West was quite comical and wore mostly spandex.
Since Batman depends on his agility, having a spandex suit is important so that he has an easier time running, jumping, and twisting.
Having a 75-pound suite like in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, may have protected our hero from some heavy damage, but realistically it means that he can not move as fast as previous versions of Batman.
This even comes up in The Dark Knight when Bruce Wayne jokes with Lucius Fox about not being able to turn his head.
Adrenaline And Anger Help Him Perform Incredible Feats
Batman is not considered a superhuman but some of the feats he is able to accomplish make him seem superhuman. While his impressive wealth and physique certainly help him out in the field, adrenaline and anger also play a main role in Batman’s technique.
Like most superheroes, Bruce Wayne has a tragic past. In almost every adaptation of Batman, there is the iconic scene where Bruce’s mother and father perish right in front of him.
Viewers have seen Batman reflect on his past with both sadness and anger, and he uses the latter to help him fight crime.
He also uses spikes of adrenaline to perform these incredible feats like in The Dark Knight Rises.
If it were not for his fear of death and the sudden burst of adrenaline, Bruce may have fallen to his death when trying to escape the pit.
His Body Has Overcome Years of Abuse
Even if you were the most in-shape and physically active person in the world, being Batman would still be almost impossible.
Batman has gotten brutally beat over his nearly 80 years as a vigilante and snapped back faster than any normal person would.
While Batman usually is not out of service for very long, his body has still taken some permanent damage.
In The Dark Knight Rises, Bruce Wayne visits a hospital due to his knee injury and discovers he has more wrong with him than just some cartilage degeneration. In the short scene, the doctor informs Bruce that he has damaged his brain tissue, shoulders, and elbows while also scarring his body especially his kidneys.
Nobody ever said being that Batman would be easy, and The Dark Knight Rises is one of the few movies that makes note of the damage his body has suffered.
Darkseid Burnt His Body
In the sixth issue of the Final Crisis storyline, Batman encounters Darkseid for the last time. In their final confrontation, Batman escapes his prison cell and threatens Darkseid with a gun that shoots Radion bullets.
Radion is an un-earthly element that is lethal to Darkseid and the New Gods. Furthermore, shooting Darkseid with this type of bullet would be like shooting Superman with a Kryptonite bullet.
Batman successfully takes down Darkseid, but Darkseid also takes out Batman by shooting an Omega beam through his head and heart. In the final image of issue six, Superman is seen carrying Batman’s body which has had the skin burnt off.
While readers are led to believe that Batman perished, the last page of the series shows Batman etching a bat into a cave wall indicating that he was only sent back in time.
The League Of Shadows Trained Him In Martial Arts
Batman is known to be skilled in serval forms of martial arts. The main form of martial arts that was used in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Trilogy, however, was the Keysi Fighting Method.
In Batman Begins, we see the origins of Batman’s fighting style and learn that is was a group called The League of Shadows who trained Bruce Wayne to be the fighter he is known to be.
While Bruce ultimately turns against The League after his final test is to take the life of a criminal, he still mastered their teachings and saved his mentor whom he thought was Ra’s al Ghul.
Bruce later finds out that his mentor was actually a Ra’s al Ghul decoy named Henri Ducard, whose goal was to destroy Gotham. This would put Batman’s mind and body to the ultimate test, but he, of course, ends up victorious.
Was there anything you learned about Batman’s body? Was there anything that we missed? Let us know in the comments!
