October 31, 2008 

On Panel Batman Gunplay

Batman uses a gun, on panel, followed by a note stating that he never, ever uses a gun.

I like how the phrasing is honest – he never kills with a gun.

He just gets other people to do it, or uses other means.

Also, any ballistics experts in the audience? What are the odds that the bullet stopped just there?


  • Maniac Doc

    Depends on how good his aim was.

    Not a ballistics expert, but I know the human body can stop a bullet – not all the time, but some of the time. May depend on the type of gun and bullet, the part of the body hit, whether he hit bone, etc. Batman wanted to wing him, but if his aim was off, he might have done more.

    Also, is it just me, or is the shadow perspective between the two panels off? Given where Batman’s stationed and how the buildings are shadowed, it seems like he shouldn’t be casting a shadow on that garbage can.

  • Dierna

    WTF? Why was he hiding when he was like 1 foot in front of the guy?

  • Kid Kyoto

    Just to be a stickler it says he never ‘carries or kills with a gun’ in this case he picked on up off the ground and wounded with it.

    So technically accurate.

  • ouch

    it always bugs me in comics: guns are bad (because guns kill people, of course). so heroes don’t use guns. crossbows, lasers, death rays, clubs, sharp sticks and psychic powers are ok. so heroes kill people with crossbows, lasers eyes, death rays, psychic powers… not to mention their bare hands and blades of all kinds. but guns- no, guns are bad! do i smell some hipocrisy?

  • onion3000

    “Also, is it just me, or is the shadow perspective between the two panels off?”

    Panel 2 features a Martian Moon, so all bets are off.

  • madwoman

    Once again, I am thwarted by an earlier riser, and could not be the first person to mention the Martian Moon. So I’ll be the second person. BTW

  • madwoman

    not finished yet-I assume the missle-looking things on the roof of the building in the background are water tanks?

  • http://flickr.com/photos/sedary_raymaker/ Naked Bunny with a Whip

    Batman’s left-handed?

  • Batgirl1

    “What are the odds that the bullet stopped just there?”

    Maybe he uses the Veidt Method?

    Looking at that second panel, though, Crooky looks like a dead guy with a broken hand. D: Perhaps the artist had more sense than the writer.

  • LittlePig

    Whether he uses Veidt method or the Vrong method, Gunny won’t be playing the piano any time soon.

    Besides, if the gunman dies, it will be exsanguination that kills him, not Batman’s gun.

  • http://comixbearbarecomix.blogspot.com/ Comixbear

    Batman never carries a gun or kills with one. However, if he happens to find one, you are in for a world of hurt!!!

  • Maniac Doc

    LittlePig says: “Whether he uses Veidt method or the Vrong method, Gunny won’t be playing the piano any time soon.”

    You actually managed to make a pun funny. That officially qualifies you for a career in humor.

    LittlePig says: “Besides, if the gunman dies, it will be exsanguination that kills him, not Batman’s gun.”

    Hah, that would be a cop-out. But Batman just might stretch it far enough.

  • Paradox

    Naked Bunny with a Whip Says:

    “Batman’s left-handed?”

    The Mayfair DC RPG officially lists Bats as ambidextrous. I kid you not. He can do anything, and with either hand. :p

  • Wizard

    The bones in the hand are relatively small and light, not to mention the spaces between them. Given that, the odds of a bullet stopping dead after hitting a person in the hand are just about nonexistent. The short range and the fact that it appears to be a fairly large gun make it even more improbable. I suppose it might have hit the bad guy’s gun, but then the gun should be flying forward instead of dropping straight down. Either way, the guy’s hand should be a bloody mess, with serious and probably permanent damage. Is maiming bad guys really all that much better than killing them?

    Secondly, hitting a target that size is far from easy, even in the unlikely event that the guy was holding perfectly still. I won’t say it can’t be done, but it does require regular, intensive practice. Considering Batman’s already busy schedule and the fact that he doesn’t normally carry a gun, I find it hard to believe that he’d put in that kind of range time.

    Dumb question: I can see a shot to the hand causing the bad guy to drop his gun, but how did it knock his hat off?

  • Anderson

    I assume the bad guy is in the front row of the car, so how can he be in that position, with his back to the seat? It must be really uncomfortable and difficult to shoot from such a tiny window.

  • Paradox

    Wizard Says:

    “Is maiming bad guys really all that much better than killing them?”

    Oooooh, yes! MUCH more satisfying. >: )

  • YoungRocketSamurai

    With so many little bones in the hand, it is almost impossible _not_ to hit some. And it looks to me like he actually hit the guy in the wrist, which is pretty much nothing but little bones.

    The artist looks like he was trying to draw a .45, the bullets of which, being relatively fat, have a lot of stopping power but not as much penetration.

    Hitting flesh uses up energy. Shattering bone uses up more. The bullet likely kept going, but probably wouldn’t have had much energy left, and is unlikely to do much more damage if it hit anything.

    Probable end result: the guy’s hand/wrist are an absolute mess (no more career as a concert pianist for that thug), but the bullet doesn’t hurt anyone else.

  • Naryldor

    Not an expert in ballistics, but the gun batman’s holding (he looks like a thug from an spaghetti western BTW) looks to be of a very respectable calibre; so I believe that, if the shot was from a relatively short distance, there’s no way the hand or the wrist bones could’ve stopped the bullet from doing further damage.