r/batman • u/casebookone • 17h ago
GENERAL DISCUSSION How short is too short for Batman?
This question popped into my mind after seeing this Justice League lineup, with Batman being the second shortest member. Of course, his canon height is 6’2”, but how much higher or lower would you be okay with his height being?
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u/42northside 15h ago
Fun fact Michael Keaton is the shortest person to play Batman at 5’9”
Val Kilmer is 6’1”
George Clooney is 5’11”
Christian Bale is 6’0”
Ben Affleck is the tallest at 6’4”
Robert Pattinson is also 6’1”
Adam West is the only one who was the comic accurate height of 6’2”
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u/codithou 11h ago
i cannot wrap my head around the idea that george clooney is shorter than christian bale for some reason.
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u/LBJ_23_LAL 16h ago
Anything Smaller than 6ft. Not only is part of his imposing figure his size and frame, it would be a bit ridiculous if most common thugs were taller than him.
It sort of is innate to the fact that he is “perfect” when it comes to combat and mastering his body, that he is not too short and not too tall.
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u/Jimbodoomface 16h ago
Most thugs being taller than 6 foot seems to imply that being very tall makes you more likely to do crimes.
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u/Thoughtfullyshynoob 15h ago
Most definitely should NOT be less than 6 ft.
Although, I do like the idea of Gotham having the highest average height compared to rest of the world. Maybe 6 to 6'3 average.
It gives Gotham a unique/abnormal vibe about how "there's something in the water" or something along the lines.
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u/Chemistry11 16h ago
I always thought Hal was 5’8”, Barry maybe 5’10” - they’re the ones who seem too tall here to me.
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u/dccomicsaregoated 16h ago
I don’t care , Batman can actually be short .
He’s constantly in the darkness and If you were a criminal …you probably can’t make out a good mental image of what he looks like . Now even when Batman is a public figure than still he’s a skilled combatant so who’s gonna still mess with him even if he was 5 foot 9 or something . Too many people have this weird want to have superheroes physically mog everyone but that’s not the case in reality .
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u/Senior-Bill2622 15h ago
What does reality have to do with a beloved fictional character who happens to be canonically 6’2?
I think that it’s the other way around, a lot of people have some fetish with extremely grounded takes on superheroes… Batman is supposed to a big guy in unrealistic peak physical condition.
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u/dccomicsaregoated 15h ago
I think that’s very weird and it’s just my opinion but I don’t see how that has to do anything with these characters or why I like them . I’ve never once said to myself ‘man Batman’s muscles are not popping out of his suit’ or ‘he’s not tall enough’ .
I like Batman being a noir character , I like Batman being a complicated father figure and I like Batman dealing with his inner psyche but I’ve never in my life said ‘wow you know Batman better be a tall , perfectly ripped Chad’ . I know it’s fantasy but to me that’s not the fantasy I personally like to read .
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u/sbaldrick33 11h ago
Ideally not shorter than 6 ft, but y'know... Keaton is still great, so... 🤷♂️
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u/Doctorwhoneek 8h ago
In live action I dont think you can get away with anything under 5'11 ik keaton was short but I really think it holds thoose films back.
In comics though 6ft minimum unless your doing an elseworld rake where batman is like a teen or needs to be shorter.
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u/kottekanin 14h ago
Couldn't really care less about actual height, but he should be visibly larger than the average thug he comes across. It's all relative.
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u/WelshHuntsman99 15h ago
I'm ok with an Elseworlds Bruce being an average sized guy ala Keaton, but other than that, I want Batman to be at bare minimum minimum 6'0". Ideally between 6'1" and 6'5". Batman is meant to be imposing.
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u/overcup9000 16h ago
I've always pictured him at 6'2. Barry, however, is too tall here. 5'9 at most. Hal at 5'10
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u/FickleChard6904 14h ago
The heights on this lineup seem a bit wonky. Should Hal and Barry be that tall? Should Arthur be that short?
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u/7Grand-Dad 13h ago
His height should act on Vegeta logic. He always looks as tall as Superman but that is because he is in fact shorter and however much negative space there is between the tops of their heads determines how tall Batman’s horns on.
Wonder Woman is, of course, always at least a head taller than Superman
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u/ChuckDynasty17 12h ago
Whoever plays him next needs to be 6’2” minimum. I think Affleck is the only one to actually look tall as Batman. The rest have looked too short.
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u/stillupyadig10 9h ago
No clue if I remember currently he’s always been either taller than Wonder Woman or as tall as Wonder Woman with Superman being pretty consistently the tallest.
Of all the lines I’d draw I guess 5’10
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u/Maleficent-Tie6098 7h ago
Superheroes are basically like Greek gods to me. They’re like the peak of human form and performance, so I kinda just assume all heroes are gonna be taller than your average person. But among the League, especially this roster, I think letting Bruce be somewhere in the middle in terms of height is fine.
He stands on par, if not taller than the more normal members like Barry or Hal, but the aliens and Demi gods being taller than him makes sense to me
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u/ob_- 21m ago
Yeah it helps it work especially well with the whole "gods among men" thing. Being one of if not the only humans without something to enhance them out of the main league members. That height is also like the perfect height where he can use shadow to be imposing and look larger using the cowl and cape
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u/Imaginary_College331 16h ago
He is at a fine height in this graphic. What is wrong with batman fans😭. I saw a lot of complaints about this
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u/casebookone 16h ago
I have no problem with it personally but it just got me thinking about the range of heights batman has had throughout the years
https://giphy.com/gifs/3Gij38skUDBvy4
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u/LordOfPoops 15h ago
Off Batman topic, Can we have that wonder woman outfit back as the default, it was iconic for a reason.
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u/JFMisfit 14h ago
A Batman on the short side would work for me. Thanks to Michael Keaton. I’d buy and accept a Batman who’s 5’10”, and 6’ 2” in boots. It would kinda add to the whole transformative aspect of what Bruce becomes when he’s Batman.
To me, in my head cannon, heights of certain actors and New Frontier get taken into consideration. Things usually look like this:
Superman 6’4” (6’5” in his boots)
Wonder Woman 6’1 (6’5” in her boots)
Batman 6’0 (6’2” in his boots)
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u/AnonymousCoward261 16h ago
Probably ought to be over six feet. Remember he’s standing next to superheroes.
Golden Age Bats was an acrobat as much as a brawler, so I could see a little shorter. Silver Age, who knows? But Bronze Age Bats is supposed to be intimidating, and once you get to the steroid monsters of the Dark Age I think he has to be big.
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u/Few-Ordinary-9864 10h ago
Bellow 6'0 is too damn short. And this is just art, a sketch made to see how the characthers would look in comic. But the height hierarchy in canon should just be untouched. Just like how i put it in here (all of them are **barefoot):
Flash: 5'11
Martian Manhunter: 6'5
Black Canary: 5'7
Aquaman: 6'4
Wonder Woman: 6'2
Batman: 6'2
Superman: 6'3
Green Lantern: 6'2
If we add more members to compare then:
Green Arrow: 6'1
Shazam: 6'4
Plastic Man: 6'1
Hawkman: 6'0
Hawkgirl: 5'9
With shoes/heels the height changes a little bit, but Batman should be a tall man. After all, it's not the same to fear a giant bat of 2m than a bat of 5'7. Not the same.
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u/HighKingBoru1014 7h ago
He can’t be under 6ft in the suit, outside of it doesn’t matter as much just do the Downey thing and he can wear lifts etc
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u/telepader 2h ago
6’ is good. 6’2” is the upper limit that I will accept for any of the heroes who were supposed to be normal humans first. I dont mind Superman being 6’4” but when it comes to the humans if too many of them are insanely tall it starts feeling like the DC universe is populated by a different species of massive humans.
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u/Hunter2112004 15h ago
I’ve always imagined that the height order goes as: Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Batman(his ears should still be make him taller than Hal), Superman(same height as Batman give or take but loses due to Batman wearing heels), then Flash.
The whole point of Batman’s design is to look intimidating so he should be taller than most people, only losing to maybe Joker and Bane in height(for normal people size)
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u/PersonalitySmall593 13h ago
Last time I checked the "Canon" had Superman at 6'3" Batman at 6'2" and Diana at an even 6".
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u/GhostE3E3E3 13h ago
That’s true except Diana’s height is not at all consistent, she ranges from 5’11 all the way to 6’10.
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u/BatBaneX209 12h ago
She a Amazon Wonder Woman is supposed to be taller than Batman who by origins height is 6’2 while Superman also taller than Batman standing at 6’4
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u/GhostE3E3E3 11h ago
Larp.
Superman is 6’4 only in the reeves movies, DCAU and new DCU.
Wonder woman’s height has always been inconsistent in the comics. Quit pretending to know your stuff.
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u/BatBaneX209 9h ago
I looked it up, respect, you’re right originally Superman is 6’3 and in 1941 Wonder Woman was originally 5’8. I stand corrected
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u/Agile-Detective2739 12h ago
This. This is too short. He seems to be the same height that Flash and shorter than Hal Jordan, which makes no sense. And don't get me start it with Diana. I get it that she's an amazon but you don't have to make her look tall by making other heroes look small. Superman and Batman have always been drawn the tallest and around the same height (Superman been slightly taller) This is just concept art though. Here's hoping the comic is different.
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u/SpaceDinosaurZZ 16h ago
In my mind he’s always roughly the same height as Clark. Diana being as tall as them looks a little odd to me.
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u/casebookone 16h ago
I think Bruce and Diana are the same height in canon and both an inch shorter than Clark 😼
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u/No_Instruction653 16h ago
Every decade or so she gain a couple inches.
God knows how tall she’ll be next century.
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u/Parking-Finding1757 16h ago
Diana is supposed to be tall - I think being the same height as Bruce Wayne but slightly shorter than him in the Bat Suit is the way it is on Canon. Superman is definitely the tallest.
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u/rubik-kun 15h ago
Wonder Woman is an Amazonian. She’s supposed to be tall and built like a brick shithouse. I’m disappointed when she’s portrayed petite with string bean arms.
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u/martinjohanna45 15h ago
I think he’s too short in this. I’ve always seen Superman and Batman as the same height. And I don’t like Wonder Woman being so tall. I see Superman and Batman being about 6’3” and Wonder Woman about 6’.
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u/Senior-Bill2622 16h ago
Bruce is supposed to be 6’2 in canon. So in the batsuit he likely comes across as closer to 6’4.
I think any future actor portraying Batman should be then at least legit 6’0 without shoes.