Superhero Fights
Let's put to bed the idea that Batman can be everybody cause he can't.
Awhile ago now I made this shirt to wear to a comic book convention here in Chicago. It was more or less a conversation starter with my fellow comic books fans. I either got “yep, for sure” or “nope, you got it wrong” as I made my way through the show floor.
I fully believe that Batman can beat Wolverine. Both Batman and Wolverine are highly skilled fighters, nobody disputes that fact. However, despite Wolverine having his mutant powers, adamantium skeleton, and claws, he is hindered by his berserker rage. Batman is all about control and will exploit Wolverine’s fury to his advantage. Wolverine will make mistakes in his rage and that is when Batman will strike.
The idea that Batman can take on anybody probably comes from the fact that he can beat Superman. As a result people have adopted the idea that with enough preparation Batman can beat anybody. He prepared to take on Superman by building all the kryptonite-laced gadgets and weapons he could ever want for a fight with the Man of Steel, therefore he can beat anybody.
In my opinion, this is a total misread on why Batman can beat Superman. Batman’s upper hand in fighting Superman is that he is willing to go further than Superman to win. Superman will always be hindered by his belief that people are essentially good, so he pulls his punches when it comes to fighting Batman. Batman believes that most people are bad so he is constantly preparing to take on anybody and everybody. He won’t kill, but he will cripple.
The preparation is a skillset, but not a deciding factor in every fight. So how would Batman stack up against some other characters? Let’s get into it.
Batman versus Captain America (Steve Rogers) - With the super soldier serum flowing through his veins this fight goes to Captain America any day of the week. Look, a Venom-juiced Bane was able to beat Batman so this isn’t too much of a stretch. Granted, Bane cheated by fighting a depleted Batman before breaking his back. Still, Captain America wouldn’t need to cheat like Bane did. He would be able to outlast and outmatch Batman.
Batman versus Daredevil - I think Matt Murdock, the son of "Battlin'“ Jack Murdock, cleans the rooftops with The Dark Knight. Daredevil’s advantage here is that his enhanced senses will help detect anything Batman throws at him. Then it’s just a brawl between them and Daredevil has no quit in him.
Batman versus Spider-Man - This match goes to the wall crawler and I make no apologies for saying it. Look at how Daredevil describes Spider-Man.
“He’s pure power and doesn’t even know it”
Listen, when this fight begins Batman is going to rattle Spider-Man, but once Spidey figures out how much trouble he is in then he will get smart. He’ll beat Batman by tapping into unknown power.
Batman versus Iron Man - The Battle of the Billionaires will end with Batman standing. Listen, they both got all the gadgets and gizmos in the world but at the end of the day Batman is a highly-skilled fighter and Tony outsources his fighting styles to an AI.
That’s what I got for now. What do you think? How does Batman do against others?