The Superman vs Batman Debate
Author: Sean Stickland (sean@stick.org.za)
Date: February 2006

Two of the most well known and beloved characters in the DC Universe (DCU) face off ... "The Man of Steel" (that would be Superman for those of you not paying attention) against "The Dark Knight" (and that would be Batman); its every comic geeks wet dream but who would win, who really is, earth's greatest hero?

It's not something you can answer in a single sentance - in fact there may not be a answer. The debate has been going on for practically as long as the publications have been in circulation, and no diffinitive answer has ever been given, largely due to the fact that there is no way to compare the two characters.

If we look at the few times that the two have met up in battle before - which is a rare thing in itself, since they both fight on the same side - the outcome of the fight has been dictated by circumstance and external factors. This is not a bad thing in the comics as it contributes to the story, but if we want to measure fighter against fighter we need a sterile environment where these third parties can't change the outcome, much the same as a scientest would have.

First, lets consider Batman (aka Bruce Wayne), there has been some debate about whether or not Batman is human. Considering some of the other characters in the DCU the idea that he is 'more than human' is intriguing and it certainly would explain some some of his seemingly superhuman qualities.

'More than human' is a bit ambiguous as it could mean that Batman is a mutant, but lets not go that far. Meta-human is a term that has been used before, and its probably more appropriate here; to imply that Batman is either a regular human man (just like you and me) who has trained himself to be faster, stronger and smarter than average joe. Or he has physically evolved and these qualities are part of the evolution, which although heightened leave him human. Personally I favour the later, and as I side note I like to think we might all get there one day.

As for Batman's skills and weapon arsenal, they are somewhat limited. Batman's greatest advantage lies in his mind, he is a master planner and brilliant strategist. Given time, and his almost unlimited resources (it certainly doesn't suck to be Bruce Wayne - one of the richest men in the world) he can work out a solution for almost anything. Weapons; well as I have just stated Batman has a multitude of resources he can call upon, but without advanced planning he is normally only aided by his utility belt, and few side arms.

Superman on the other hand is defintely not human. There is no reason to go into his orgin's and the specifics of his anatomy, that story has been told a hundred times. What is important is to note that, for all intensive purposes, Superman is immortal.

Without even going into Superman's extenisve list of superpowers (afforded to him by his alien biology), it should already be obvious that comparing the two as fighters is like comparing apples and oranges (its a cliche but a very relevant one in this case). That said, lets move on ...

In a clean enviroment, with no external influences - both fighters totally unaware of one another until the moment of the fight (ignoring personality and character), I would venture to say that Batman would be dead within microseconds of the fight actually starting. There really isn't any contest.

There are a hundred ways Superman could kill Batman, but as with any fight the key element is speed. Superman's DNA allows him to move through space/time differently to Batman and this gives him a major advantage.

Lets assume the fight is a bare knuckle fist fight. Not only does Superman have a mjor speed advantage but his strength comes into play if Batman gets this close. Before he has swung a single punch, he would have been hit many multiple times, each with a force equivalent to being rammed by a speed locomotive (and thats assuming Superman is taking it easy). Even if Batman is a little more than human his meta speed and heightened reflexes would be no match for Superman's SuperSpeed.

Moving out of the clean room enviroment, we are able to make the fight a little bit more interesting.

Batman can't win within close proximity - he needs to take out Superman without being within striking range. Unfortunately for him striking range is relative to the indivual you're fighting, and with somebody like Superman it might be a few city blocks or maybe a whole state. So theoretically Batman's attempt to use a weapon like a gun (even one loaded with a Kryptonite bullet) would fail because by the time he had pulled it from its holster, Superman could kill him in any number of different ways. Lets just say he did manage to get a shot off before Superman could get there (extremely unlikely, but not entirely impossible), and the shot was actually on target. The bullet still wouldn't hit Superman as he is moving faster than the bullet and could easly sidestep it.

If Superman decided not to move out of the way (thinking the bullet might bounce of him as regular bullets do), it is entirely possible the bullet would pierce his Kryptonian auora and the Dark Knight would win[1].

With such a slim chance of success it makes sense Batman would opt for another plan, something a little more robust where his chances of staying alives are inceased somewhat.

Maybe a trap of somekind, something that could stop and kill Superman without Batman throw a single punch. It would have to be a pretty impressive trap in itself. This is entirely offcourse, because this is no longer a fight between Batman and Superman. But lets face it - there is no way Batman can take Superman in one on one, and the only reason he has had any success in the comics is because Superman's alter ego Clark Kent is Batman's best friend (maybe not best friend, but they have a strong relationship). Thus even when under the influence of red kryptonite or hyponsis or whatever other reason there may be for Superman to attack Batman, Superman would never set out to destroy Batman (or any other human for that matter), his subconscious would always hold him back.

In fact, when at the peak of his powers Superman can actually fight entirelly on a different plane, that is to say that the entire fight takes place in the combatants minds. Supermans mind is a lot stronger than Batmans (this boils down to biology again) and its conceivable that Superman could actually kill Batman with a single thought.

There are a thousand and one different scenarios, but of all of the ones I have thought of, I can't see Batman winning. Maybe thats just me though, I am sure there are people out there who will see things quite differently, and sine these characters are all fictional, all we have is our own minds. There is no right or wrong answer for this, let everybody make up their own minds.

So coming back to that trap - what sort of trap could hold Superman?

[1] Although it would have kill Superman immediately, because if allowed a second chance Superman might use his heat vision, killing Batman and still winning the fight ...