[VIDEO] Super Cool DIY Batsuit Just Needs A Volunteer Vigilante To Fight Crime In It

The Philadelphia University student, who prefers to go by Gordon, says he invited other attendees of the Maryland anime convention Katsucon to test out the functionality of his combat suit modeled in Batman’s likeness. It won’t take a bullet, but it Gordon says it can withstand punches, machetes and baseball bats – all of which have been tested by the college student.

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It stops a knife thrust dead. Punches still knock Gordon around a little, but one can imagine an assailant’s moment of surprise when a typical punch to the chest against the Batsuit does nothing. As Gordon demonstrates, that moment is all Batman would need to take someone down.

Gordon raised the money for his Batman-themed combat suit via a Kickstarter campaign launched on Dec. 10. That’s a pretty quick turnaround to bring a piece of comic book fiction into the real world.

Gordon started making the first prototypes in September, but then realized he was interested in developing the suit into a more ambitious project. In mid-November, he took to Kickstarter to raise money for supplies like Kevlar and silicone molds. In 30 days, Gordon raised $1,255 for his Batsuit. He finished the suit just in time to attend Katsucon from Feb. 13-15, where he put the suit in action by engaging in cosplay while wearing it.

While he completed the project in just about two months, the process wasn’t without roadblocks. Gordon says constructing the helmet was the hardest — and most costly — part. Gordon had to create a model of the helmet with fragile, flexible plastic to make a silicone mold, in which he poured a more durable plastic to form the final product.

The finished helmet is about three pounds, and the whole suit weighs about 25 pounds. “It sounds like a lot, and when you have it in a bag over your shoulder it weighs a ton, but when you are actually wearing it, you barely feel it,” Gordon says.

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Gordon says he hopes to work in a research and development lab one day — ideally one where he can always be working on something new. While he’s happy with the way the Batsuit came out, he said he’d love to take another stab at making one.

“One of the things about the design process that my teacher tells us over and over again that I’ve learned in my own process but now is more so even true, is that designing is never finished – you either run out of time or you run out of money,” Gordon says.

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