The hero Gotham deserves, deserves a bigger cape.
That's what four University of Leicester students discovered when they measured the caped crusader's flying abilities and found that while Batman could fly - or rather, glide through the air - the impact from his landing would likely wreck his body unless he fought crime with a bigger cape.
Reuters reported that the students, in a paper titled, "The Trajectory of a Falling Batman," calculated that if Batman jumped from a building 492 ft. tall, then, with the wingspan of his cape at 15 ft., he could glide about 1,148 ft., growing up to a speed of about 68 miles per hour, before smashing to his projected doom at an estimated 50 miles per hour.
"If Batman wanted to survive the flight, he would definitely need a bigger cape," David Marshall told Reuters. Marshall is one of the students gaining a four-year Master of Physics degree to conduct this study.
Marshall also told the BBC that Batman can get about twice as far as he falls. However, when Batman did fall, "he would likely end up getting a bit splattered," he said.
He and the three other students are set to graduate this Thursday, and all four Batman fans have plans to pursue doctoral degrees.
Hypervocal.com features the students' entire study - fancy geek graphs and charts included - on their site.
Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight Rises" will open in theaters on July 20, and it has reportedly been estimated to accrue $150 million in ticket sales during its first weekend, according to the Los Angeles Times. For those who can't wait to feel all the high-flying action, check out Empire's online release of the movie's entire soundtrack.
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