Seriously though...

[Silverstein]

Superman is smarter than Batman. I'm not trying to be a troll, coming into the Bat-Boards and saying this. But a lot of you are honest fans and not just fanboys or fangirls. So I expect to see honest and true answers and rebuttal.

Very often, Bat-fans are really Bat-fanboys. Batman can do anything in "Prep Time", Batman can outsmart anyone...Batman is smarter than anyone.

Okay, Batman is human. Kryptonians are more advanced than humans, so a mildly intellectual Kryptonian is leaps and bounds more intelligent than a highly intelligent human. Which would mean that a highly intelligent kryptonian with all the collected knowledge of Krypton's most intellectual scientists, would be......slower and less tactical than a spoiled detective who never had to get a real job?

I would like to hear what true fans have to say about this. I'm seriously sick and tired of all the Bat-talk, Batman is most realistically and truely portrayed by the Christopher Nolan films. The Batman in those movies is what Batman would be like in the real world. In Gotham how it's supposed to be in the comics. Because Gotham and Batman stories are supposed to be on a more realistic level than the other heroes.

Batman is supposed to represent what a human can do with determination and focus.

That said, Christian Bale's Batman could not take down a guy that flies faster than sound who posses heat vision and everything else. Why? No Batman can. He's not more intelligent, he can't beat him, he's just a guy.


Please, no immature bickering or fighting...If you can't deal with having a favorite character with limits, don't attack me or anyone else, just start watching Bleach or DBZ where the main character always wins no matter what or against whom.

 

[Daredevil_2003]

I don't really see the point in this, but, whatever...I'll play along.

I'll agree Superman is more intelligent, he does have a 'super-brain', afterall. But, Batman has two things, IMO, Superman doesn't/cant.

1. He's more clever. Intelligence and street smarts are not one in the same

2. He fights dirty. Supes doesn't. You notice every time they 'fight' Batman basically throws mud in eyes, if you will.

Who would win in fight? That's up to whatever writer tackles this quagmire of an issue.

But, just for the record, most writers have chosen Batman lol

Oh, he also has a third and byfar the ultimate weapon: PREP TIME!!!1

And Nolan-Bat doesn't exist in the DCU. And Superman doesn't exist in the Nolan Universe. Whether you like it or not the character in canon in the funny books is Super-Bat, 'the most dangerous man on the planet'.

 

[Silverstein]

I don't really see the point in this, but, whatever...I'll play along.

I'll agree Superman is more intelligent, he does have a 'super-brain', afterall. But, Batman has two things, IMO, Superman doesn't/cant.

1. He's more clever. Intelligence and street smarts are not one in the same

2. He fights dirty. Supes doesn't. You notice every time they 'fight' Batman basically throws mud in eyes, if you will.

Who would win in fight? That's up to whatever writer tackles this quagmire of an issue.

But, just for the record, most writers have chosen Batman lol

Oh, he also has a third and byfar the ultimate weapon: PREP TIME!!!1

And Nolan-Bat doesn't exist in the DCU. And Superman doesn't exist in the Nolan Universe. Whether you like it or not the character in canon in the funny books is Super-Bat, 'the most dangerous man on the planet'.

Writers can do some interesting things outside of what is right or wrong for the character. I mean look at Wolverine's...bone......claws...Okay okay, well what about how Peter is....married to....Mary Jane..

Seriously though...Batman is a really rich and smart ninja detective. Superman is of a higher intellect and based on his vast knowledge of even Kryptonian military and war, a better tactitian.

Besides look at Superman fight when he's serious. In all of the books, it's far more than anything Bats can handle.

 

[OctaviusINC]

I love Batman more than Superman. But after all all the comics I've read where Batman "wins", I still call ********. The only reason writers make him win is because he's Batman. He's cool. He's totally smart. He's darker and mean. He only "wins" because he's "cooler" in that writer's eyes.

I don't care how much "prep time" Batman has.

I don't care how street smart Batman is.

I don't care what kind of ninja skills Batman has.

Batman is human. Superman is essentially a god. And though it's cool to see a human take down a god, it gets ridiculous after a while.

Superman LETS Batman win.

 

[WolfCypher]

Bad writing?

Anyway, I'm both a Bats and Supes fan. I'll be honest, I actually like Superman more than Batman, only because, even though I'm an adult, I still aspire to be a person like Supes. Seriously, Batman kicks all shapes of asses in a badass way, but Superman is pretty much the all-American perfect role model-type character.

Anyway, with that said, I like the concept of Batman being more tactical, streetsmart, and more intelligent than Superman. Its not saying anything that Superman ISN'T smart, just that Batman is smarter. Superman has many times been proven to be intelligent in and out of battles, but I can't seem to recall him doing anything like design a supercomputer, mingle in the realm of genetics, etc., like Bats. Bats has that "realistic" (I really didn't want to say that word ) genius that I love: he's not Mr. Fantastic smart, but he is genius level smart. Again, I'm not biased for Batman over Superman. But has Superman really ever done anything to show he's a Kryptonian genius/average intelligence by Krypton standards? He's always written as smarter than a human. That's more an excuse for the DC writers to use.

That also brings up another "excuse"...Batman is the (DC) world's greatest detective. When your company has two leading heroes, and one is given a title like that, he HAS to act the part. By making Batman look like Monk on brain steroids, he has something else to set him apart from Superman. Superman can easily be written as a character one step ahead of everyone, but DC wants Batman, and his audiences, to interpret Bats as being two steps ahead of everyone.

 

[Daredevil_2003]

Bad writing?

Anyway, I'm both a Bats and Supes fan. I'll be honest, I actually like Superman more than Batman, only because, even though I'm an adult, I still aspire to be a person like Supes. Seriously, Batman kicks all shapes of asses in a badass way, but Superman is pretty much the all-American perfect role model-type character.

Anyway, with that said, I like the concept of Batman being more tactical, streetsmart, and more intelligent than Superman. Its not saying anything that Superman ISN'T smart, just that Batman is smarter. Superman has many times been proven to be intelligent in and out of battles, but I can't seem to recall him doing anything like design a supercomputer, mingle in the realm of genetics, etc., like Bats. Bats has that "realistic" (I really didn't want to say that word ) genius that I love: he's not Mr. Fantastic smart, but he is genius level smart. Again, I'm not biased for Batman over Superman. But has Superman really ever done anything to show he's a Kryptonian genius/average intelligence by Krypton standards? He's always written as smarter than a human. That's more an excuse for the DC writers to use.

That also brings up another "excuse"...Batman is the (DC) world's greatest detective. When your company has two leading heroes, and one is given a title like that, he HAS to act the part. By making Batman look like Monk on brain steroids, he has something else to set him apart from Superman. Superman can easily be written as a character one step ahead of everyone, but DC wants Batman, and his audiences, to interpret Bats as being two steps ahead of everyone.

Well said. I agree 100% outside of preferring Supes. I love him and only wish I could be like him (on the inside, although it would be awesome to have those nifty powers lol) but I prefer Bats as a character. More interesting to me. *shrug*

 

[[A]]

So.. you were bored, right?

 

[Cain]

Superman has many times been proven to be intelligent in and out of battles, but I can't seem to recall him doing anything like design a supercomputer, mingle in the realm of genetics, etc.,

This is the same Superman that has created lifelike Super robots to do his bidding and take his place as Superman and Clark Kent when need be. This is the same Superman that has created habitats for extinct animals from different planets to adapt to and survive in. The same Superman who figured out how restore the bottle city of Kandor. Yeah sure he's not smarter than Batman lmao.

I think the problem is and I say this as someone who is more a Batman fan though I'm a DC fan in general and can't stand Marvel is that many Batman fans are not familiar with Superman comics. They just know Superman from his appearances in Batman comics and that's not quite a good way to get to know Superman.

 

[TruerToTheCore]

Its not saying anything that Superman ISN'T smart, just that Batman is smarter. Superman has many times been proven to be intelligent in and out of battles, but I can't seem to recall him doing anything like design a supercomputer, mingle in the realm of genetics, etc., like Bats.

LOL, you don't read much Superman stories?

 

[TruerToTheCore]

well, but it's a kind of rule for most writers that Superman's IQ drops by 50% as soon as Batman is around.

 

[:-}]

does it really matter which fictoinal charcter is smarter then the other?

I would assume the intelligence of each character is that of the current writer.

 

[Silverstein]

does it really matter which fictoinal charcter is smarter then the other?

I would assume the intelligence of each character is that of the current writer.

When people make comments like that, I often wonder if it really means "I'm a Batman fan. But I don't want to admit what now seems obvious".

Hmmm, discussion of fictional characters? Even discussion of the hottest of fictional women? The discussion of fictional skills and abilities? Fictional costumes and habitats? Fictional weapons and technology?


On a comic book forum? NAHHHHHHHHHHHH! No way!

 

[Silverstein]

So.. you were bored, right?

Beyond all rational thought. You were too?

 

[Batjosh]

You can give Superman everything else. However, I prefer to think of Batman as the smarter of the two and the smartest of the Justice League. I'm mainly going by everything I remember from the DCAU and not the comics, though.

Sure, it may seem like Bat-fanboyism on my part, but I always liked the idea of a Batman who was basically a dark nerd. Everyone else had things on him that he couldn't do like being faster, stronger, having telepathy, having more gadgets, etc. but nobody could outsmart him. That's the one big thing that I'd not like to have taken away from Batman.

Even if you don't like that I'm not "admitting the obvious" or whatever, I don't care. It's comics. I'm just reading them for enjoyment. I don't want to be too much of a fanboy about it.

 

[Grommers]

Smarter? Please be more specific, as that is a very broad term. You try to put Batman to run a farm, and then put Superman on a farm..well yeah, you do the math?

The advance technology doesn't mean anything, humans are constantly advancing, who is to say the kryptonians weren't around longer, or had help from other humans....what if it took them 50,000 years to accomplish what we did in one, they had just been around longer (this could also work vice versa which means they cancel each other out since you can't come to a conclusion).

There'd be so much to determine between a superman and batman fight, I mean really if it came down to it, Supes would probably just fry him with dem lazer eyes from far away.

However, if Batman got close, you know he always carries green rock on him. So it's all dependant.

 

[:-}]

When people make comments like that, I often wonder if it really means "I'm a Batman fan. But I don't want to admit what now seems obvious".

Hmmm, discussion of fictional characters? Even discussion of the hottest of fictional women? The discussion of fictional skills and abilities? Fictional costumes and habitats? Fictional weapons and technology?


On a comic book forum? NAHHHHHHHHHHHH! No way!

well its just seems kind of trivial like when 7 year olds say things like, "DUDE! what if Carnage and batman fought? oh man that would be awesome"

it can fought to any limit of a persons imagination. so i would imagine sometimes superman is more intelligent and some times batman is. either way i dont really give a **** i like both superman and batman the same.

 

[WolfCypher]

LOL, you don't read much Superman stories?

No. So Superman has mingled in the science of genetics?

 

[Evil_Meanie]

Batman is not smarter than Superman. As someone else put it, he's more clever, and much more willing to play dirty.

Sure, if Superman were to go all out against Bruce in a fight, it would be no competition whatsoever. Batman's internal monologue about Superman during their fight in Hush pretty much sums it up. Superman could crush him, burn his with his x-ray vision, or simply tear him apart limb from limb. There'd be little that Bruce could do to resist this.

However, Superman won't do that. It would totally go against his character for him to go after Batman with the full brunt of his powers. That's not Superman. That'd be Supreme, or whatever his name is.

Superman is here to protect human life. It's the same reason he hasn't killed Luthor or The Joker or any of his other human adversaries.

Batman isn't the same. I can buy him beating Superman if it's done properly. And honestly, I don't even think you could call Batman's famous win over him in DKR "decisive" by any stretch of the imagination. Batman was clearly over-matched, until Oliver shot the Kryptonite at Superman. It was the same way in Hush. Batman beat him down with the Kryptonite ring until he was about to shatter "every bone in his hand." When they got back to the surface, Superman was ready to end it..until Batman pointed out that Lois was in danger.

Batman fanboys (and I'm one of them) love to go around and say that Bats could totally take Superman anyday, and I agree with you that it's sheer ignorance to do so. If Superman were to truly go rogue, and decided to take out Batman, there's nothing in the world that could stop him from doing so. However, in the fights that they have had, Batman usually cheats. As long as Superman is aware of his actions, he's never going to smash Batman into the ground, no matter how much of a jerk the writer decides to make Bruce. And as long as Superman isn't willing to dispose of Bruce, he's always going to susceptible to Bruce's little tricks, and end up on the "losing" end.

Batman knows what Superman is going to do. It's Superman that can't really predict what Bruce is going to do. Bruce has, in the past, created Kryptonite, and experimented with it. He also has access to the technology of the JLA. His resources are extraordinarily vast. He's perfectly capable of exposing Superman to red sun radiation, Kryptonite, or even a trasporter into the Phantom Zone. (I seem to remember Bruce having this, but I could be wrong on that. However, he does have access to the League's technology, which does indeed make him a very dangerous man.) As long as he's written in this way, and as long as Superman is true to his character, I can always accept Bruce gaining the upper-hand.

On the other hand, if Superman were to truly turn evil and abandon his morals, then no amount of Kryptonite is going to stop Superman from taking him out of commission. I've seen debates rage for many, many pages about that very notion on the internet. The fact is, way too many people take DKR as gospel, and love to elevate Batman at the expense of Superman. I personally think that making Bruce capable of taking him down makes for an interesting dynamic, but like I said...Bruce can only take him down if Superman isn't willing to mess up Bruce permanently. To assume anything else is insanity.

 

[[A]]

I think we've found our own Anthony Michael Hall

 

[Silverstein]

well its just seems kind of trivial like when 7 year olds say things like, "DUDE! what if Carnage and batman fought? oh man that would be awesome"

it can fought to any limit of a persons imagination. so i would imagine sometimes superman is more intelligent and some times batman is. either way i dont really give a **** i like both superman and batman the same.

With all due respect, that's a horrible example and further acts as a testament to my previous statement regarding you.


Batman is a DC Hero. Carnage is a "dead" Marvel villain. The two would never meet up in an official story and have no place together. Superman and Batman are not only in the same universe but team up to form the world's finest and represent the best in the business. These heroes are like Jason and Hercules.

But no one says anything stupid like "Jason can beat Hercules because he had prep time."

These are fictional characters but discussion of them and their abilities has nothing to do with immaturity or stupid conversation and EVERYTHING to do this being a comic book message board.

My advice: Stop taking the "high and mighty" route, calling it trivial, and either pick a side or stop posting in the thread. If it's so useless and trivial why does it matter to keep explaining as much?


*proceeds to read the other comments of members who took the time out to respond with actual answers*

 

[Finlandman]

IMO Batman is slightly smarter than Superman. Batman is greater strategic, but otherwise they're equally intelligent. Superman would still defeat Batman in a fair fight and maybe even in an unfair fight as well.

 

[Ace of Knaves]

One word for the Batman beating Superman in a fight non believers.........Kyrptonite ring!! Well thats two words!

 

[Ace of Knaves]

I think the reason so many people prefer Batman over Superman is simply because Batman is a man. People will identify with that, and the writers obviously do. To me personally i find it much more interesting to just have a man (even though he isn't exactly average joe) getting the upper hand over basically a god. Why would anyone want to see Superman win every single time? It would just be sooo boring. And to be honest, I find Superman boring. Granted i haven't read that many of his comics but a invincible god just doesn't interest me. I want my heroes to have human traits, to have human weaknesses and strengths.

 

[Cain]

That's funny cause I've always found Superman to be one of the most relateable characters in comics. In many ways he is more humane than Batman which is ironic. This thread just proves as I said that many batfans are not familiar with Superman comics. They just judge him based off Batman crossovers.

To me Batman has always been my favorite but that doesn't stop me from acknowledging that Superman is the best and the smarter of the two. If DC's own stories didn't contradict this notion that Batman is smarter than Superman that would be another thing. Superman could read in an entire library in less than an hour.

 

[Ace of Knaves]

That's funny cause I've always found Superman to be one of the most relateable characters in comics. In many ways he is more humane than Batman which is ironic. This thread just proves as I said that many batfans are not familiar with Superman comics. They just judge him based off Batman crossovers.

To me Batman has always been my favorite but that doesn't stop me from acknowledging that Superman is the best and the smarter of the two. If DC's own stories didn't contradict this notion that Batman is smarter than Superman that would be another thing. Superman could read in an entire library in less than an hour.

It's not entirely that I don't find him relatable. I admit i don't read much Superman, i haven't read a Superman comic in years. But I do understand the difficulties he faces juggling being mankinds saviour and a lowly reporter and the like. But to be honest, I don't really find it that interesting. And i've just never believed his disguise, a pair of glasses and a different hair style! WOW it's a different person! But seriously, I'm just not intested in Superman. I can't really explain it fully, maybe it's because I like my heroes to have a edge, to be close to being a villain. eg. Batman and Deadpool. They are my favourite comic characters because they are not boy scouts like Superman.