Batman Vs. Superman Who Would Win

[regwec]

The answer, as many have already identified, is 'whoever the writers want to'. Often, that reflects what the readers want. Which will usually be Batman.

 

[BH/HHH]

Stupid poll, Batman fans will say Batman, Superman gas will say Superman... End of the day look at that one scene in the Dark Knight Returns when Superman uses heat vision to write where? He could've killed Bruce there and then.

 

[regwec]

That isn't the only time they have fought, y'know.

 

[Anno_Domini]

Stupid poll, Batman fans will say Batman, Superman gas will say Superman... End of the day look at that one scene in the Dark Knight Returns when Superman uses heat vision to write where? He could've killed Bruce there and then.

Superman's not the cheating type, though. We're talking about a fight between the two using eachother's strengths and weaknesses. Superman flying over and just blasting him away with heat vision way before a fight even begins is not something Supes would do.

 

[Rorschach2012]

But if he can do that, then he would win the fight. At both of their best, Superman wins. He can use the heat vision from far enough away to melt through Batman's suit , and could dodge any kryptonite gun or whatever using his super speed. Super speed, heat vision, freeze breath, super strength and flight beat Batman's intelligence any day.

I'm a wayyy bigger Batman fan than Superman but even I realize you have to be ignorant to think Batman would win.

 

[DrCosmic]

The answer, I think, is both. Batman wins the physical confrontation because, well, Kryptonite, long story short. It's an area effect, by the time you see it, you're already feeling it, and its too late to fly away. Plus, it's just plain old more fun to watch Batman beat Superman, and it's not like humans don't give Superman a problem anyway.

Superman wins the mental/verbal part of the battle because Superman really is the good guy. He's the one who believes the most strongly. At the end of the day, Superman inspires Batman, not the other way around. That should play out in their interaction.

 

[GOD]

As said above, the writer decides, but in a fair fight Superman could easily kill Batman (or any other human being with no special powers) in several ways and even in less than a second, that's for sure.

 

[BH/HHH]

That isn't the only time they have fought, y'know.

Never said it was but its quite easily the most famous one. I was just giving an example.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

Batman's ability to skillfully win with enough prep time is overrated
Superman is the winner, by default

 

[regwec]

What meaning can 'default' have when there are examples of each beating the other?

 

[DrCosmic]

Default implies without contrivances.

 

[regwec]

But if there are several examples of each winning, then you can't pass the outcomes off as contrived. "By default" Clayface should always beat Batman, but that happens with insufficient frequency for it to be considered a default at all.

 

[Tacit Ronin]

Superman can, or ought to be able to disable Batman before he can even begin to think that Superman will do just that. But he is protected by superior brand potency; so writers will come up with half-assed, contrived scenarios to dumb down Superman enough for Batman to keep up with him.

 

[regwec]

Superman beat Batman in "Lex Luthor: Man of Steel", by Brian Azzarello, so the traffic is not all one way.

All I am saying is that you can't contrive a norm.

 

[Bren]

The only way Batman could beat Superman (physically) is if Superman didn't know they were fighting.
"Hi Bats, that's my birthday present in the lead box isnt it?"
*pops kryptonite dagger, stabs Superman in the heart*

If Superman knows, he wins.

I would LOVE a scene where WW asks Superman what they would do if Batman went rogue, and Superman responded with a smirk "Oh come on Diana, I'm the goddam Superman"

 

[Kevin Smith]

LOL, there are people who actually voted Batman!

 

[Kevin Smith]

Superman can, or ought to be able to disable Batman before he can even begin to think that Superman will do just that. But he is protected by superior brand potency; so writers will come up with half-assed, contrived scenarios to dumb down Superman enough for Batman to keep up with him.

Superman beat Batman in "Lex Luthor: Man of Steel", by Brian Azzarello, so the traffic is not all one way.

All I am saying is that you can't contrive a norm.

The only way Batman could beat Superman (physically) is if Superman didn't know they were fighting.
"Hi Bats, that's my birthday present in the lead box isnt it?"
*pops kryptonite dagger, stabs Superman in the heart*

If Superman knows, he wins.

I would LOVE a scene where WW asks Superman what they would do if Batman went rogue, and Superman responded with a smirk "Oh come on Diana, I'm the goddam Superman"

 

[Rocanrol]

Superman should win, Batman would win.

 

[Shikamaru]

I think people in this thread seem to be under the assumption that Batman will just walk up to Superman and try to take him down with a batarang or something. That is not how it would go down. Batman is not an idiot. He knows he would immediately get killed in a scenario like that.

To all those saying Batman has absolutely no chance of beating Superman because he is just a rich smart guy with a bunch of toys, let me ask you this: what do you think Lex Luthor is?

Answer: He is just a rich smart guy with a bunch of toys.

Yet Lex is considered to be his archenemy and if there is any villain that got the closest to killing Superman (other than Doomsday), it would be Lex. So why is it so hard to believe that Batman has a chance of taking out Superman? Especially since Batman has 2 advantages over Lex:

1) He is more street smart than Lex.
2) He knows Superman better than Lex and also got to know him as Clark Kent.

Also, Batman has fought and beaten certain Superman villains before. Superman has been outsmarted and/or tricked by certain Batman villains before.

Now I'm not saying that Batman will beat Superman every single time they fight and that Superman would stand no chance. But Batman has higher chances of winning and/or giving Superman a rough time than people here seem to think he does. Superman doesn't consider Batman to be the most dangerous man in the world for no reason.

 

[Kevin Smith]

1) He is more street smart than Lex.
2) He knows Superman better than Lex and also got to know him as Clark Kent.

Superman doesn't consider Batman to be the most dangerous man in the world for no reason.

Wrong on Luthor. Lex CAME from the streets, he, unlike Wayne, is a self made billionaire. Luthor is very street smart, and probably more so than Wayne; for Lex the streets were his natural habitat, for Bruce they were something he studied.

Superman would not underestimate Batman and I am certain he considers him in the top 3, if not the most dangerous man on the planet.

You raised a good point about the Luthor/Batman comparison, and one I've stressed before in older arguments: Any argument for Batman winning is one for Luthor winning. Aything Batman could do to beat Superman, Luthor could, and would do, times 2. Unlike Batman, Luthor hates and genuinely wants to kill Superman, realistically, Batman and Superman would never be fighting - the only way I ever see that happening is of one clashed with the other's ideals so much that they would feel like that were the only way to keep the other out of the way, it would never be with the same hate/passion that fuels the Luthor/Superman or even Joker/Batman dynamic, it would simply be if the one got in the way of the other.

The only way Batman beats Superman is if Superman really just doesn't want to win that badly. Superman's not using his powers to the full extent of his abilities, not giving 100, even 70%. Even with the best laid plans, Batman is a goner. How many times have we seen this in previous fights with Superman and other characters? The only way there even is any sort of "fight" is because Superman hasn't quite put his foot down completely yet, so they go a few rounds - all because he doesn't really want to hurt anyone. Once that barrier is crossed, Superman is unstoppable, and will tear through even the best laid plans like paper. Anyone ever check out the DC: New Frontier prequel one shot where Superman and Batman meet for the first time? Batman spends MONTHS and TONS of money setting traps for Superman, his best plan at the time slowed Superman down for like 13 seconds for Batman to get a "head start", right before Superman caught up with him.

 

[regwec]

I think it is established that Lex is more intelligent than Wayne, along with Dr Sivana and T.O. Morrow. In the same way, Lady Shiva and Cassandra Caine are better martial artists, and Ralph Dibny was the better detective.

The thing about Batman is that he can compete with any of these individuals in their own fields. If there was some kind of vigilante triathlon, he would always win it.

 

[dnno1]

Just too many Batman fans out there. You could tell by the fact that they used the evil Superman who would win.

 

[Rocanrol]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVD5lNqU4OM

 

[GOD]

As said above, the writer decides, but in a fair fight Superman could easily kill Batman (or any other human being with no special powers) in several ways and even in less than a second, that's for sure.

I'll repeat that Superman would win in a FAIR fight.

Of course Batman or Luthor could win using kryptonite or tricking Superman, but they would have to cheat, they would need a previously planned strategy, otherwise none of them would dare to fight Superman because they are not stupid and they know Superman could easily kill them in a flash before they could actually think of a way to survive against such a powerful being.

Without kryptonite, red light or some other writer trick like making Superman dumber than a brick, in a real fight in a realistic world where Superman and Batman or Luthor existed, Superman would be just unbeatable by any human being with no superpowers, no matter how intelligent and rich they were.

 

[regwec]

If it is a matter of Bruce v Clark, shirtless in a ring, then it is hardly a "fair" fight.

Superman is a devastatingly strong alien who could tear through any human flesh as if it was burnt paper. Bruce would be in no better or worse position than Deathstroke or Lois Lane.

But that isn't a very interesting conversation, is it?