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Listen up, comic-book fans. Before you dash off this weekend to see Watchmen, the film based on the celebrated graphic novel about a band of vigilantes, consider this: You could become a superhero yourself.

That's the message from Paul Zehr, a University of Victoria researcher who explores whether a mere mortal can become a crime-fighting star in his new book, Becoming Batman: The Possibility of a Superhero. Combining his expertise in kinesiology, neuroscience and martial arts, Dr. Zehr studied the mental and physical toll it would take for a real person to become a superhero such as Batman.

Dr. Zehr spoke with The Globe and Mail about why superheroes have short careers, whether Batman could be a woman, and why anyone can have superhero qualities - even without Bruce Wayne's billions in the bank.

Why did you study Batman and not some other superhero?

You really have to discard all the superheroes that have fantastic powers. When you think of Batman, the appeal there is that he seems to be just an ordinary person who did all kinds of training and just worked really hard and transformed himself into a superhero-like person.

How did you do your research?

I read a lot of comics. I watched all of the movies. And then I tried to give different examples of what's shown [in the comics], in contrast with what would really be needed to get that much skill to have the abilities that Batman has.

So, moment of truth: Can a mere mortal become Batman?

It is possible. But it's not just a three-month training period and away you go. I estimate it would take a long, long, long time [15 to 18 years].

Who would be your ideal candidate?

You need to start with somebody who has the genetic ability to really respond to exercise, and get strong and powerful and flexible. Batman has to be one of those people who can pick up movement skills really quickly and be very good at them.

What kind of training would be required?

He needs to be an all-round athlete. He could achieve that in three to six years of training. Then he needs to layer on top of that all the specific training for the skills he needs. For example, martial arts. That's going to take another, say, six years. He also needs the experience and seasoning to have the grace under pressure to be the kind of person that Batman actually is. He doesn't kill anybody.

How would constantly working the night shift affect a superhero?

It's kind of a stress to your whole system to always be out of sync with your normal rhythms. I use the example of jet lag. You're creating that same kind of mismatch between where your body's at and where the light levels are at.

How long before he'd wear out?

I estimate 10 years at the most. More realistically, I say two or three years. His job description is fighting criminals trying to kill him. He won't use guns and he's getting beat up a lot even when he's winning. And our bodies do break down when we keep getting injuries and they don't heal properly. He's constantly getting bashed in the head, so you'd have concussions, which is probably one of the least realistic things of anything in comic books. That would shorten his career.

What are some of the problems Batman would have as an old man?

He would likely have a lot of joint problems from all his falls and the blows he's taken. So he would probably have some arthritic-like changes in all his joints. He'd have some residual effects from all those concussions, and that can show up in what's called a "punch drunk" syndrome, which was described years ago for boxers, where they can have some shakiness in their movement and inability to focus. We know as well that for people who are predisposed genetically to have some sort of Alzheimer's, that all that head trauma can actually speed up the progression of the disease.

Could a woman be Batman?

Yes indeed. A woman could become Batgirl or Batwoman. I have an entire chapter on Batgirl versus Batman in my book. Bottom line is that men will have an advantage over women when it comes to absolute physiological things like strength or power. However, when skill is the issue, they are equal. So, yes, a woman could do the training and become an effective costumed crime fighter as well. Same caveats also, though, for injuries and so on.

So knowing what you do now, would you want to be a superhero?

No, I wouldn't, actually. For lots of reasons - not just [the physical decline]. When I think about my own life, some of the most important things to me are my two little daughters and my wife. You don't really think of Batman the family man.

You say in your book that everyone can be a little like Batman. How so?

What I'm really hoping is that people realize that even if you're not going to be Batman, you can still get better at whatever it is that you do, as long as you try really hard and you work at things. That's the main story that comes out of Batman's whole mythology. He has all things going for him: the genetics and the money and everything. But he just worked really hard and never gave up.