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#Batman gliding across the Gotham sky is iconic in film, featured in live action as early as #BatmanReturns. W/ @mattreevesLA take, Batâs gear is realistic to an unprecedented degree. The majority of people expect gliding from Batman, so how can it work with a realistic approach?
First letâs discuss how realistic Batmanâs gliding truly is. Ofc theyâll choose fun action over hardcore realism, but if we understand the logistic problems of gliding, we can better guess how the writers could be going about making it feel as believable as the rest of the suit.
This research paper provides good insight: https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/scientists_explain_why_ba
W/ the 15â wingspan like in #BatmanBegins, Batman can travel great distances with ease, but couldnât land safely, clocking a speed of 50 mph as he approached the ground.
W/ the 15â wingspan like in #BatmanBegins, Batman can travel great distances with ease, but couldnât land safely, clocking a speed of 50 mph as he approached the ground.
Taking this into account, Iâve made a list of ways to make Batmanâs gliding more viable, while also creating new and interesting action sequences that play into what makes Batman so great:
1. Use a separate device for gliding
2. Focus on landing
3. Stay mission oriented
1. Use a separate device for gliding
2. Focus on landing
3. Stay mission oriented
A separate glider device for when Batman needs to really soar is not just more believable, but itâs also a comic tradition.
Detective Comics Vol 1 #153 (1949) features Batman swapping his cape for a pair of rigid wings. This is something I wouldnât be surprised to see, since @glyn_dillon and the other costume designers seemed intent on making the Batsuit look just as cool without the cape, as with it.
Another classic comic shows Batman utilizing what looks just like a modern wingsuit
Altho wingsuits fail to slow the body down enough to land safely w/o a parachute, professional skydiver Gary Connery was able to land w/o one thanks to a big pile of boxes. https://wnyskydiving.com/blog/wingsuit-landing-fact-vs-fiction/
And this gets to my next point...
And this gets to my next point...
Focus on the landing. If a small wingspan canât slow him down enough to land on the ground, he might have to land somewhere else. Maybe after a fight with Firefly, a flaming Batman has to bail out of a burning building, and glide down into a Gotham river.
If falling into a nearby river (or even https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TrashLanding) feels too silly and convenient for you, my next point will hopefully fix that. And that is: Make Batman mission oriented.
Batman has 2 distinct modus operandi: Patrol Batman, who goes out nightly trying to find street crime as itâs happening, & mission-oriented Batman, who plans meticulously for each encounter, using everything at his disposal to put the odds of success in his favor.
Keeping the gliding to a more mission-oriented Batman can make the gliding more believable. Instead of being something he always has the ability to do, gliding becomes something he has to prepare for when itâs appropriate to a specific mission. Iâll illustrate with an example:
Batman needs to infiltrate a mob owned skyscraper to retrieve some intel located at the top floor. His grappling hook canât fire high enough to reach the top, and even once heâs up there he needs to be able to make a quick escape with the intel.
Bruce and Alfred scout out nearby buildings. Although none are tall enough to ease his access into the target skyscraper, it does give him an idea for how to escape quickly. He buys the building and gets to work on a Mission Impossible style plan.
After infiltrating the target building through a balcony, Batman makes his way to the top floor. After retrieving the intel, Batman is spotted by security, and a fight commences. He is able to take down many of them in the narrow hallways, but soon he becomes overwhelmed.
Locking himself in an office room that he and Alfred had scouted w/ building blueprints, he gets ready for a harrowing escape. He unfolds the backpack sized device and soon his cape is formed into a glider. He sprints out the open window just as security bursts in.
Gliding fast between buildings, Batman works his way to the landing spot, illuminated by an LED bat atop a nearby rooftop. He smacks down onto a large stunt airbag, the glider is damaged, but Bruce is not. Alfred helps him off the bag and the two quickly disassemble the gear.
Maybe I'm overthinking this, but I guess overthinking is what I like to see from Batman. If you made it this far, thanks for reading. What do you think we will see from Matt Reeves' and company in 2021?
