Batman: Wait, what?

[daibhidc]

So in the latest issue of Batman, he's fighting these thugs in metal masks. And the narration explains:

The candidates -- or "sixths" -- are given intensive weapons training overseas before being allowed to travel to the States.

Once here, they're each fitted with an iron mask, symbolic of their loyalty to the gang. A muzzle to prove they'll never "snitch".

The mask is soldered together at the back of the head, and can't be removed for at least a year, until the sixth has proved himself.

All of which makes them pretty tough--

Does it, Bruce? Does it really? When they haven't eaten solid food for months?

Batman defeats them by magnetising a train; he might have been quicker waiting for them to collapse of malnutrition. Being stuck to the train is probably the only thing holding them up!

Comments

[rpdom.livejournal.com]

Presumably they survive on protein shakes and pints of Guiness? That would make them tough.

[rob-t-firefly.livejournal.com]

Why do I bother with diet and exercise when I can just eschew brushing my teeth for a year? Mmm, dozens of simultaneous cavities..

[sabremeister]

So will you be adding this to TVTropes under Too Dumb to Live or Idiot Ball? Or something else?

[daibhid-c.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Doesn't quite fit either of those, since it doesn't appear to be a stupid thing to do "in universe". Maybe Fridge Logic, except we don't add examples to Fridge Logic any more, because it became Complaining About Shows You Don't Like. The Batman Headscratchers page, perhaps?

[the-s-guy.livejournal.com]

Having not seen the comic, do the masks have grilles over the mouth so they could at least eat very thin sausages and celery, or are they completely solid with no way to make a hole there?

[daibhid-c.livejournal.com]

Completely solid. It's bizarre.

It also occurs to me that Batman could seriously inconcenience them by pinching their noses, since I don't think they could breathe through the masks either.