Becoming Batman

E. Paul Zehr was a professor of neuroscience and kinesiology at the University of Victoria, British Columbia. He is the author of Inventing Iron Man: The Possibility of a Human Machine, Chasing Captain America, and Project Superhero. He holds black belts in both empty hand and armed Japanese, Okinawan, and Chinese martial arts.

• Foreword, by James KakaliosPrefacePart I: Bat-Building Blocks1. The "Before" Batman: How Buff Was Bruce?2. Guess Who's Coming for Dinner: Bruce's Twin Brother, Bob, and the Human Genome3. The Stress of Life: Holy Hormones, Batman!Part II: Basic Batbody Training4. Gaining Strength and Power: Does the Bat That Flies the Highest or the Fastest Get the Worm?5. Building the Batbones: Brittle Is Bad, But Is Bigger Better?6. Batmetabolism: What's for Dinner on the Dark Knight DietPart III: Training the Batbrain7. From Bruce Wayne to Bruce Lee: Mastering Martial Moves in the Batcave 1018. Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting: But What Was Batman Doing?9. The Caped Crusader in Combat: Can You Kayo without Killing?Part IV: Batman in Action10. Batman Bashes and Is Bashed by Baddies: What Can He Break without Getting Broken?11. Hardening the Batbody: Can Sticks and Stones Break His Bones?12. Gotham by Twilight: Working the Knight ShiftPart V: A Mixed Batbag13. Injury and Recovery: How Much Banging until the Batback Goes Bonk?14. Battle of the Bats: Could Batgirl Beat Batman?15. The Aging Avenger: Could the Caped Crusader Become the Caped Codger?16. The Reign of the Bat: Can You Really Become Batman and Remain Batman?Appendix: Batman's Training MilestonesBibliographyIndex

As a kid, I wanted to be Batman but always ended up more like the Joker. I only wish I could have read Dr. Zehr's fascinating book then, so that I would have known exactly what it takes to become a real superhero.—Bradford W. Wright, author of Comic Book Nation, www.denofgeek.