In comic book mythology there is one main question EVERY reader has thought to themself at one point or another: "I wonder who would win in a fight... (insert your hero's name here) vs (another hero's name here)?" One of the main mythical battles fans have argued over for decades is who would win in a fight between Big Blue and the Caped Crusader? I've seen multiple Internet fights over the subject. I've even heard real life arguments on the subject, so I did a little digging and found multiple facts on the subjects, here's what I've found.
Being the giant Batman nerd that I am, I took the time and looked
through countless comics, some cannon, some non-cannon, and determined
who I believe would be the winner in an all out, hand-to-hand fight
between Batman and Superman. We'll save the results (which may surprise you) for the very end,
but here are the heroes' attributes.
We'll start
with Batman because he's my favorite. Batman is quick, agile, strong,
in peak physical condition for a human being, and his IQ is said to rival
that of Albert Einstein. Batman is the master of over 100 different
styles of martial arts, taught by the best of the best in weapons combat
training, and has proven himself the first, and one of the only, human
beings to ever be respected among "Gods." He creates his own tech (in
some instances it is Lucius Fox, but most of the time it is Bruce
himself), his gadgets, his vehicles, and as every Bat-fan knows, he
even has possession of a green Kryptonite ring given to him by Superman
in case he ever needed to stop him from raging out of control. Batman is
a tough fellow, and has gone head-to-head with some of the most badass beings in the DC universe, but he can also fall back on his
fortune if absolutely need be. Batman has one of the best superpowers
ever... He has the power of currency.
Now, on
to the Big Blue Boy Scout. Superman is an alien from the planet Krypton,
now, this may not sound "all that great", but hear me out. Kryptonians,
when exposed to "yellow sunlight" (which if you've ever stepped foot
outside you've seen we have here on earth) gain super speed, super
strength, super agility, and the ability to fly, not to mention heat
vision, enhanced senses (hearing, eyesight, etc.), and almost
impenetrable steel-like skin. I've read countless comics, short stories,
and even full novels on Superman, and there really is no specific
weight that he can lift, there is no cut off point. So I'm going to
stick with the "Superman can lift and move planets" theory that was
established in 1959 because, in everything I've ever read, no one has
contradicted that.
We have the heroes' attributes, powers, and tech, but we haven't gone over weaknesses. Batman
is a human, so he has the obvious weaknesses: poisons, sickness, things
of that nature, but there is one main weakness that Batman has that I
haven't seen brought up at all in this discussion. His family. Batman's
family means the world to him, that is his one true weakness. Sure it
has been exploited in the comics with recent stories like Death of The
Family, or the arc where Damian Wayne dies, or even older stories like
the death of Jason Todd. In those instances we see the Dark Knight fall
to pieces and lose his mind, his sanity, and almost break his rule...
Multiple times.
Everyone on the face of the
planet knows Superman's main weakness, that's right, lets all say it
together... Kryptonite. Kryptonite is originally the radioactive rock
that made up Kal-El's home planet, Krypton. There are multiple different
forms of kryptonite, but the one we see the most in comics, movies, and
other media is the tiny green rock. This space rock can bring the man
of steel to his knees if he is exposed to it in long enough doses.
Okay,
so we know now the details of the two heroes, so lets jump into the actual
battle. Now, in EVERY argument I've ever heard about the duo brawling
it out, there have been two main points made in favor of Batman winning.
#1, the very last fight at the end of Frank Miller's epic The Dark
Knight Returns, which pits the two heroes against one another, Battling
it out in the streets of Gotham. #2, the scene in Jeph Loeb's Hush,
where Poison Ivy takes control of Superman and makes him fight Batman in
Metropolis, which actually brings light to the fact that Batman has
that kryptonite ring. Let me use facts and logic to explain why in
these two instances this theory of "Batman would beat Superman" is 100%
dead wrong.
In the case of Miller's
story, Batman had this elaborate plan to take out Superman. He had to
use a tricked out robotic suit that gave him super-human strength and a
hard outer shell so Superman's blows wouldn't kill him upon impact.
This plan also involved Oliver Queen (aka The Green Arrow) and a trick
arrow laced in a strong mixture of green kryptonite that Ollie would
shoot at Clark at the right point during the fight. Listen up all you
batman fan-boys, THIS is the most important part. After Clark was shot
by that arrow, Bruce gave his famous "remember the mortal man who beat
you" speech, and then FAKED A HEART ATTACK. Superman was recovering from
the effects of the kryptonite, preparing himself for round 2 as Bruce
supposedly suffered from the heart problems. So in all honesty, I DO NOT
consider this a win for Batman. Yes, he kept up with Superman in the
fight, and yes, he created an amazing plan to stop Superman, but he did
not win this fight. He faked a heart attack. He was buried. Everyone
thought he was dead. Superman heard his heartbeat at his funeral and let
him go about his business. If Superman wanted Batman to die that day,
there would have been no heartbeat to hear at the funeral.
Now,
in the case of the storyline Hush, in that internet famous panel where
Batman slugs Superman in the jaw with the kryptonite ring it may be
looking positive for Batman, but what Batman fanboys (like me)
forget to mention is Batman's internal dialogue on the next page. The dialogue reads, "If I hit him again I'll shatter every bone in my hand.
The Kevlar only protects so much." He knows that Superman's body is
slowed down by the kryptonite ring, but he can't win this fight. Not to
mention that Batman himself realizes Clark is fighting the mind control
of Ivy, not putting 100% effort into every blow, so he needs to figure a
way to get Superman to snap out of the trance. Again, I do not consider this a win for Batman by any stretch of the imagination because
even Batman realizes it's not anywhere close to a victory.
Image via The Gothamite
My
verdict? As much as it pains me to say it... Superman would win this
fight. Batman fanboys, let's be honest with ourselves here, Batman would
100% lose to Superman in a hand-to-hand fight. Even if we gave Batman
prep-time, he would still lose, as was the case in The Dark Knight
Returns. Clark is lightning fast, has
incredible strength, can fly and leap tall buildings "in a single
bound." Lets face it, he would wipe the floor with Batman if he had a
corrupt bone in his Kryptonian body. But he doesn't, so he lets Bruce
get away with being a jerk, he lets him get away with punching him, he
lets him get away with the snide remarks. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE
Batman, he's amazing in every way, but he is an asshole to Superman...
A lot.
If
you disagree with me in any way, let us know in the comments. I want to
know what your thoughts are, and if i missed any details, or interpreted
something in the wrong way, let me know. I love fan feedback, and I'm
excited to hear your opinions.