BvS Batman or Superman: Which do you prefer?

[BatmanVSuperman]

Superman is 76 so will hit 100 before Batman

 

[Fallen Angel]

Superman is 76 so will hit 100 before Batman

Good one man.

 

[BatmanVSuperman]

Good one man.

Thanks

 

[B:TAS]

Batman all the way for me. Don't get me wrong, I like Superman. But batman is easily my favorite fiction character of all time. There is just something so appealing about a guy who won't give up his fight no matter what. To sum up the character in one of his quotes from Batman:TAS " Sooner or later I'm going down. Could be Joker, could be Two-Face, could be some punk who get's lucky. My choice. No regrets."

 

[BatmanVSuperman]

Batman The Animated Series voted Batman? NO WAY!

 

[Superchan]

Very interesting to see the poll so close here. In nearly every other poll I've seen, Batman is favored in a huge, huge landslide.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.350352-Poll-Superior-Character-Batman-or-Superman

http://www.quibblo.com/quiz/dssFZYl/Superheros-Who-is-better-Batman-or-Superman

http://www.imdb.com/poll/8s73F7fDeqo/results?ref_=po_sr

Those are the first three that come up in a Google search, anyway. Most likely the results would be similar if you took a poll of the GA at the theaters. I'd suspect its so close on here because this is a Superman forum. Or half of it, at the very least.

While I still believe Batman is the most popular superhero, superman's own level of popularity shouldn't be underestimated and according to this yahoo's front page poll (http://comicbook.com/blog/2012/12/2...er-man-and-batman-in-greatest-superhero-poll/)
which was released before MOS came out, superman won by a landslide and the number of votes was more than 130 k!!!, so make of it as you wish.

 

[sf2]

Superman. I grew up with both, but I watched more Superman-related media than Batman-related. He is and always be my favorite. Batman's my number two.

how come??? i thought batman-related media is much much more than superman's.

 

[sf2]

Somebody mentioned earlier that the popularity of the character depends on their stories (or something to that effect). I think that's true, to some extent between Supes and Bats.

For me, as a writer, I'd find it easier to write a Batman story both on film and in the comics: the best ones are always a mixture of James Bond action-adventure, with a dash of Sherlock Holmes problem-solving, and a little bit of tragedy to give the characters depth/motive/development, etc. That's why it's so easy to love Batman onscreen and in the comics. Even if he has a love interest, it's always in the vein of James Bond; if he has a 'family', they become his team mates and travel around the world to stop an evil terrorist like Al Ghul.

Superman has a lot of layers, and as a writer you can make so many stories out of him: a typical superhero action movie with Superman at its core, a screwball/romantic comedy with Supes taking a backseat for Lois and Clark and the DP crew, a sci-fi alien movie, a disaster/family drama, a coming-of-age story, a self-discovery story ...but not all of them will resonate with Superman fans. Hopefully, in the next few years the writers will find the right mix of all of these layers so ALL of us can be satisfied.

you are absolutely right.
and besides batman has bombastic cars, bikes, planes and gadgets, bruce has huge mansions, skyscrapers and bimbos. hmmm... seem like Micheal Bay is the perfect director for batman.

 

[Shikamaru]

I really hate it when people say Batman wouldn't be as popular/liked if it wasn't for his villains. It's a very unfounded argument IMO.

1) It's based on a flawed sample (the movies). The movies have continously watered Batman down while villains like Joker and Catwoman were adapted in all their might and glory. Most of the time people source evidence for that argument, they bring up one of the live-action movies, so it's not really a fair comparison. I very rarely hear anyone say the same thing about Batman in the comics, or in the Bruce Timm products, or in the Arkham games.

2) A hero can only be as interesting as his villains. This applies to everyone. Villains provide conflict, conflict provides character growth/development/struggle/study. None of these characters would be the characters we know and love today if they had different villains. That includes Superman.

 

[hafizbat]

While I still believe Batman is the most popular superhero, superman's own level of popularity shouldn't be underestimated and according to this yahoo's front page poll (http://comicbook.com/blog/2012/12/2...er-man-and-batman-in-greatest-superhero-poll/)
which was released before MOS came out, superman won by a landslide and the number of votes was more than 130 k!!!, so make of it as you wish.

Yup, he also came in at #1 in IGN's top 100 Superheroes. (Batman was #2)

 

[Tra-El]

Great post Unfortunately, the Superman you described wasn't the one we got in MoS. Not by a long, long shot. Even the way he started being called Superman...it irks me to no end.

It's one of the many more reasons why I loved Man of Steel so much. What Man of Steel did was tear Superman down to the bone and the character is in the lengthy process of building him back up to what I described above. We will grow with Superman this time.

One of the things missing with how the audiences viewed Superman was his mystique of who he is and why he does what he does. That was lost. Far too often, I think people take Superman for granted. Man of Steel tweaked that and it stuck out and people noticed. Now, when he forms and grows into the Superman some were expecting, people will appreciate it more.

The building blocks are in place in MoS ala the way he acted heroic in his childhood and saving people out of his nature of doing the right thing in the face of always being told to do the opposite in fear of showing who he is.

The essence of Superman was in Clark in MoS, but not fully as he was conflicted of who he actually was. In a ton of ways, the Superman I described above is the Superman that has existed for a long time; a veteran at his craft full of experience with purpose and craft.

MoS finally showed us the man beneath the cape FIRST. A green hero and the first of his kind. It was different seeing that type of Superman being shown the ropes instead of automatically honing his ability to lead from day 1. The conflict in MoS will allow him to succeed into the Superman that is so beloved. The fun thing is, in this universe, I believe he'll get there and in the end, MoS will make a ton, ton more sense when it's time to look back when we piece it all together.

 

[BatmanVSuperman]

To me, Man of Steel simply gets the general audience stuff out of the way to setup a workable franchise. Now that it is out of the way I expect a lot more from future installments though as it should begin to cater a bit more towards the fan base.

 

[hafizbat]

It's one of the many more reasons why I loved Man of Steel so much. What Man of Steel did was tear Superman down to the bone and the character is in the lengthy process of building him back up to what I described above. We will grow with Superman this time.

One of the things missing with how the audiences viewed Superman was his mystique of who he is and why he does what he does. That was lost. Far too often, I think people take Superman for granted. Man of Steel tweaked that and it stuck out and people noticed. Now, when he forms and grows into the Superman some were expecting, people will appreciate it more.

The building blocks are in place in MoS ala the way he acted heroic in his childhood and saving people out of his nature of doing the right thing in the face of always being told to do the opposite in fear of showing who he is.

The essence of Superman was in Clark in MoS, but not fully as he was conflicted of who he actually was. In a ton of ways, the Superman I described above is the Superman that has existed for a long time; a veteran at his craft full of experience with purpose and craft.

MoS finally showed us the man beneath the cape FIRST. A green hero and the first of his kind. It was different seeing that type of Superman being shown the ropes instead of automatically honing his ability to lead from day 1. The conflict in MoS will allow him to succeed into the Superman that is so beloved. The fun thing is, in this universe, I believe he'll get there and in the end, MoS will make a ton, ton more sense when it's time to look back when we piece it all together.

Sure, if you want to see it that way. I didn't, to be honest. I believe all the things you mentioned in your first post come intrinsically. They're always there. Sure, people improve over time, but the way you described Superman in your first post...some people are just special that way. MoS Clark may very well become a nice guy...but Cap in the MCU fits your description much, much better than Clark in MoS. And he did so from the very beginning, even before he became Captain America.

 

[Tra-El]

Sure, if you want to see it that way. I didn't, to be honest. I believe all the things you mentioned in your first post come intrinsically. They're always there. Sure, people improve over time, but the way you described Superman in your first post...some people are just special that way. MoS Clark may very well become a nice guy...but Cap in the MCU fits your description much, much better than Clark in MoS.

Which makes sense since Cap, in many ways, was always parallel to Superman in persona and what he meant to the Red, White and Blue in their respected history. That said, we've seen that Superman in the Reeve-era. This is the first time audiences saw Cap on the big screen and they went straight to the heart of that character.

Zack Snyder and WB could have EASILY made that characteristic and Superman movie over and over and over and over again, as they have in every medium since the Donner movies.

Point is, people need to understand what Man of Steel did with Superman to accept it. It was time to tear Superman down and give us a modern take with room to wiggle in his development into becoming the classic character. Clark now has the story arc to grow and I'm all in on going along for the ride of this Superman. In the end, I think it could all be a brilliant take on Supes.

 

[hafizbat]

Which makes sense since Cap, in many ways, was always parallel to Superman in persona and what he meant to the Red, White and Blue in their respected history. That said, we've seen that Superman in the Reeve-era. This is the first time audiences saw Cap on the big screen and they went straight to the heart of that character.

Zack Snyder and WB could have EASILY made that characteristic and Superman movie over and over and over and over again, as they have in every medium since the Donner movies.

Point is, people need to understand what Man of Steel did with Superman to accept it. It was time to tear Superman down and give us a modern take with room to wiggle in his development into becoming the classic character. Clark now has the story arc to grow and I'm all in on going along for the ride of this Superman. In the end, I think it could all be a brilliant take on Supes.

You make a great point. Honestly speaking, the Superman you described in your first post is almost exactly why Cap is my favorite Marvel character. I'm a sucker for all those good, old-fashioned qualities.

Perhaps the more "Superman-like" MoS Clark becomes, the more I'll warm up to him.

 

[Tra-El]

You make a great point. Honestly speaking, the Superman you described in your first post is almost exactly why Cap is my favorite Marvel character. I'm a sucker for all those good, old-fashioned qualities.

Perhaps the more "Superman-like" MoS Clark becomes, the more I'll warm up to him.

We shall see. We're all in this together, my friend.

 

[The Caped Knight]

Batman, he's got an appeal that makes him such a badass, He fights against the odds and ends up winning not because of his never giving up attitude if we had that much of a drive we could make the world a better place.

 

[TheTarkKnight]

My favorite character is the Batman.

He's not the boy scout to look up to. He's not the superhuman that can fly and is bullet proof. He can't climb walls like a spider, or call sea creatures to his disposal.

He's a man who has been hurt and is determined that no one has to go through what he has. In order to do so, he educated himself about his foe and trained himself on how to stop them - using physicality, using psychological warfare, using chemicals and devices as an arsenal to help him defeat his enemy. The most important thing the Batman has in his arsenal is his will. Strip away everything - the belt, the suit, the weapons, the 'toys'- he is still the Batman.

Most of all, I like him because if I wanted to, I could become him. Sure, I'm not a billionaire (perhaps? ) and I don't have his resources, but I could train and study to death on how to become the pinnacle of human fitness, prowess, intellect, and ingenuity to fight crime.

All the other "super humans" to became superheroes because they had super powers. Batman, chose to become a superhero to reach his goal. That's the biggest difference, and why I like Batman the most of all the DC and Marvel characters.

 

[Tra-El]

He's not the boy scout to look up to.

How ironic that we're talking about how Bats isn't the boy scout to look up to but is one of the most well-known characters in comic book lore to have one of the most popular sidekicks in Robin, who did nothing but portray himself to who he is and who he became BECAUSE of looking up to Bruce and the Bat. Not only that, but Bruce has an entire family fighting for his cause.

He's not the superhuman that can fly and is bullet proof.

But he has a mantle of state of the art Bat-suits and technology in his Batcave that are bulletproof and allows him to glide in mid-air and propel from building to building with ease.

Strip away everything - the belt, the suit, the weapons, the 'toys'- he is still the Batman.

No he isn't. He's Sherlock Holmes who happens to know hand to hand combat.

The belt, the suit, the weapons and the toys ARE Batman. It's those things he built and the presence and cowl that instills fear into the minds of criminals that makes Batman the myth and legend of being the all so mysterious force of his nature of being feared. That's the whole point of Batman to Bruce Wayne. To be your total nightmare. If not, he'd just be a lawyer or Harvey Dent.

Most of all, I like him because if I wanted to, I could become him. Sure, I'm not a billionaire (perhaps? ) and I don't have his resources, but I could train and study to death on how to become the pinnacle of human fitness, prowess, intellect, and ingenuity to fight crime.

This is where the all-mighty BatGod comes into play, which is ironic. If anything, Batman is totally the most unrelatable character in the comic book lore. He's human, but yet, can do some pretty insurmountable things that no other human can possibly do but just because he's human, everyone thinks they can be Batman when in reality, it's about as impossible as Superman, THE GOD himself.

I call BS and look at "I CAN BE BATMAN!" like it's so easy by reading books, working out and having determination. It's just like being a marine or serving a country. It's only made for a unique set of people in this world. Not everybody can be a marine. It's not for everyone. Becoming Batman shouldn't be so easy. If it is, then what's the damn point?

All the other "super humans" to became superheroes because they had super powers. Batman, chose to become a superhero to reach his goal. That's the biggest difference, and why I like Batman the most of all the DC and Marvel characters.

But yet, you would highly confuse that because Batman is still put into the biggest stories in comic books alongside these real superheros and yet, still pulls of feats not the normal superhero can even dream of. Just because Batman is human, everyone thinks they can become him. What I love more about Supes is that we all KNOW we can not literally BE him, but yet, we KNOW we can be LIKE him. That's the difference.

Seriously, who wants to be like Bruce Wayne or Batman? The dude is a tortured soul who finds vengeance in his work to satisfy that craving of grudge and deceit. He's miserable. Supes teach's us to be the best we can be and that's about as human of human nature as it can get.

 

[TheTarkKnight]

How ironic that we're talking about how Bats isn't the boy scout to look up to but is one of the most well-known characters in comic book lore to have one of the most popular sidekicks in Robin, who did nothing but portray himself to who he is and who he became BECAUSE of looking up to Bruce and the Bat. Not only that, but Bruce has an entire family fighting for his cause.



But he has a mantle of state of the art Bat-suits and technology in his Batcave that are bulletproof and allows him to glide in mid-air and propel from building to building with ease.




No he isn't. He's Sherlock Holmes who happens to know hand to hand combat.

The belt, the suit, the weapons and the toys ARE Batman. It's those things he built and the presence and cowl that instills fear into the minds of criminals that makes Batman the myth and legend of being the all so mysterious force of his nature of being feared. That's the whole point of Batman to Bruce Wayne. To be your total nightmare. If not, he'd just be a lawyer or Harvey Dent.



This is where the all-mighty BatGod comes into play, which is ironic. If anything, Batman is totally the most unrelatable character in the comic book lore. He's human, but yet, can do some pretty insurmountable things that no other human can possibly do but just because he's human, everyone thinks they can be Batman when in reality, it's about as impossible as Superman, THE GOD himself.

I call BS and look at "I CAN BE BATMAN!" like it's so easy by reading books, working out and having determination. It's just like being a marine or serving a country. It's only made for a unique set of people in this world. Not everybody can be a marine. It's not for everyone. Becoming Batman shouldn't be so easy. If it is, then what's the damn point?



But yet, you would highly confuse that because Batman is still put into the biggest stories in comic books alongside these real superheros and yet, still pulls of feats not the normal superhero can even dream of. Just because Batman is human, everyone thinks they can become him. What I love more about Supes is that we all KNOW we can not literally BE him, but yet, we KNOW we can be LIKE him. That's the difference.

Seriously, who wants to be like Bruce Wayne or Batman? The dude is a tortured soul who finds vengeance in his work to satisfy that craving of grudge and deceit. He's miserable. Supes teach's us to be the best we can be and that's about as human of human nature as it can get.

LOL - so long story short, you're leaning towards Superman, huh?

You didn't have to pick my post apart - I love the Batman for the reasons I gave above. I agree, not everyone can become Batman, but SOMEONE can become Batman. But NO ONE can become Superman. Of course Superman is going to teach you to be the best we can be - the guy is virtually invulnerable! I'd like to see Clark if he could be shot dead, or beat up to pulp and still defend those ideals.

Or is being born on Krypton more realistic?

Chillax mode: On.

 

[hafizbat]

No he isn't. He's Sherlock Holmes who happens to know hand to hand combat.

The belt, the suit, the weapons and the toys ARE Batman. It's those things he built and the presence and cowl that instills fear into the minds of criminals that makes Batman the myth and legend of being the all so mysterious force of his nature of being feared. That's the whole point of Batman to Bruce Wayne. To be your total nightmare. If not, he'd just be a lawyer or Harvey Dent.

My response to this post would be to ask you to go watch the entire Nolan trilogy. Again.

He didn't have the belt, the suit, the weapons, or the toys in Bane's prison....

 

[Tra-El]

Of course Superman is going to teach you to be the best we can be - the guy is virtually invulnerable! I'd like to see Clark if he could be shot dead, or beat up to pulp and still defend those ideals.

Superman can be written in the same ways and defend the same ideals as Bat does, he just needs his villains to put him into higher stake; higher scope situations. Honestly, your post gave me something to write about and I thank you for that. My response is the product of this thing going to be a LONG two years.

 

[Unbreakable Lex]

My response to this post would be to ask you to go watch the entire Nolan trilogy. Again.

He didn't have the belt, the suit, the weapons, or the toys in Bane's prison....

Yeah but a teeny bopper broke out of there first. How hard could it be? All the other prisoners down there were all geezers.

 

[Tra-El]

My response to this post would be to ask you to go watch the entire Nolan trilogy. Again.

He didn't have the belt, the suit, the weapons, or the toys in Bane's prison....

Talia did that as a child. Does that make her Batman? My point, is that okay, maybe he can climb a wall in harsh circumstances , but that came from his training with the League of Shadows.

To free-fall from a 150 story building and crash land through a window like a superhero and use his harness to propel criminals into sh**ting their pants is because of his gadgets. The suit and cowl make up his Batman persona and literally give him the justification of a hero that can do extraordinary things in an impossible setting that not the average person can do. His toys allow him to become superhuman.

 

[hafizbat]

Talia did that as a child. Does that make her Batman? My point, is that okay, maybe he can climb a wall in harsh circumstances , but that came from his training with the League of Shadows.

To free-fall from a 150 story building and crash land through a window like a superhero and use his harness to propel criminals into sh**ting their pants is because of his gadgets. The suit and cowl make up his Batman persona and literally give him the justification of a hero that can do extraordinary things in an impossible setting that not the average person can do. His toys allow him to become superhuman.

And what's your point? Does that make him any less of a hero? I don't see how you can begrudge Batman of having toys when Superman was born with his nearly limitless power. Doesn't make sense to me at all.