So I hear fans argue about this all the time. I've heard many of them say stuff like "Batman always beats Superman" or "Batman can never beat Superman". So I decided to write a take on every fight that they've had while being as unbiased as possible. I'm usually not a fan of seeing them go at each other, but I figured a lot of people would be interested ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I'm probably gonna get asked why mind-control only counts in some cases, so let me clear that up:
If the losing character was under mind control, the fight is thrown out because you can reasonably argue that the character would have performed better in his right mind.
However, if the winning character was under mind control, the fight counts toward their win because defeating your opponent while you are not even thinking right is the equivalent of winning with a handicap.
Canon fights
These are all the fights that happened in the comics and are actually canon to any one of DC's continuities (including Pre-Flashpoint and Pre-Crisis stories).
1. JLA: Tower of Babel
Batman has always got contingency plans to take down the entire Justice League, which get stolen and used against the League. Superman is exposed to a special kryptonite that Batman's been experimenting with which turns his skin clear, forcing him to absorb solar radiation even faster than usual.
This comic does suggest that Batman can defeat Superman, but it wasn't him who defeated Superman in the comic.
Winner - Nobody
2. Batman: Hush
Batman lures a mind-controlled Superman into a lead-piping system filled with flammable gasses to incapacitate his X-Ray and heat vision. He then takes out a kryptonite ring and manages to get just a few hits before Catwoman distracts Superman, bringing him back to his senses.
Winner - Superman
A lot of fans consider this a win for Batman, but I fail to see it since he wasn't even close to winning. I'm giving this one to Superman for 3 reasons.
• Batman admits he would've broken his hand if he punched Superman harder.
• Batman says "I can't stop him, but I can stun him", which he does but Superman gets back up quickly.
• The fight ended when Superman was going to throw a car at him. Batman only survived since Catwoman saved his ass by distracting Superman.
3. Superman: Sacrifice
Superman is mind-controlled into thinking he's fighting Doomsday, but he just ends up nearly beating Batman to death. Batman only survives this because Wonder Woman shows up. This is where Batman ends up.
Superman even feels bad about hurting his own teammates.
Winner - Superman
4. Countdown To Final Crisis
Both of these characters are from completely different universes. They're just like the versions you know, except this Superman is evil and this Batman has no problem killing people. Batman did have a contingency plan but evil Superman punched his head off.
Winner - Superman
5. Justice League: Origin
Batman and Superman meet for the first time but Batman's been studying Superman from afar, which does no good. He uses up his entire utility belt but Superman just walks through it.
Winner - Superman
6. Batman: The Dark Knight (A Handful of Dust)
Batman gets Super-Strength from a modified version of Scarecrow's fear toxin and becomes hostile towards Superman. He gets a few hits but Superman knocks him out in one punch. Not counting this one because Batman wasn't in his right state.
Winner - Nobody
7. Batman: Endgame
The Joker infects the entire Justice League with a special toxin that pretty much turns them into the Joker. Batman prepares a super-suit called the Justice Buster, which is customized to utilize every Justice League member's weakness. Superman makes a building collapse on the suit, tears it apart, and flies with Batman high into the air before Batman spits a substance called kryptonite gum in his eyes.
A very impressive showing by Batman but I'm not giving this to anyone because
• The Joker toxin powers down everyone it's used on. So Superman wasn't at his 100%
• Superman was literally insane, negating any of his usual intelligence.
• Batman himself admitted that nobody won this fight.
Superman could have just dropped Batman when he spat the gum out. If he can see the Flash when he's moving faster than light, I'm sure he can see gum being spat at him.
Winner - Nobody
8. Batman/Superman: Endgame
Batman gains superpowers, has enhanced strength and agility controlled by nanotech, and his body is being controlled by 90 million gamers all across the world. Superman doesn't want to fight him and intentionally lets Batman win, so they could later team up to fight the real villain.
Winner - Nobody
9. Batman/Superman: Cross World
A younger and weaker Superman is from another universe is transported to Prime Earth and comes into conflict with an older and more experienced Batman. Batman has a kryptonite force-field as well a special armor, but Superman breaks through it and knocks Batman around, even though he was weakened. I'm not giving anyone this one since Batman was confused the entire time and didn't take this fight seriously. He thought this was the Superman from his universe.
Winner - Nobody
10. Batman/Superman Annual: Arena
They both get trapped on another world and are forced to fight in an arena. Batman uses kryptonite so his punches would actually work, but no one wins here since they weren't trying to defeat their opponents and only wanted to keep the fight going for as long as they could.
Winner - Nobody
11. Justice League: The Amazo Virus
Batman is infected with a virus that gives him superpowers but also puts his body under the virus's control. He can't manage to beat Superman, but he's also not in his right mind.
Winner - Nobody
Results for the canon fights:
Superman - 4 fights
Batman - 0 fights
No winner - 7 fights
Silver Age stuff
So DC did have plenty of comics during the silver age where they would make heroes fight each other. I don't really wanna spend time explaining what happened in all of these, but most of the results were pretty straightforward. Here's who won each fight:
1. Battle of the Superheroes - Nobody
2. The Bewitched Batman - Nobody
3. The Mirror Batman - Nobody
4. The Negative Superman - Superman
5. The Fued between Batman and Superman - Batman
6. The Caveman of Steel vs The Batman of 800,000 A.D. - Superman
7. The Saga of Batman vs. Superman - Nobody
8. The Court of No Hope! - Nobody
9. Superman And Batman - Nobody
10. Supermans's Perfect Crime - Superman
11. The Galactic Gamblers - Nobody
12. The Krypton Curse - Nobody
13. The Universe of Evil - Superman
14. Superman and Batman (Second fight) - Nobody
15. Superman and Batman (Third Fight) - Nobody
Results for the silver age:
Batman - 1 fight
Superman - 4 fights
No winner - 10 fights
Comics not canon
1. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
Superman has been weakened by a nuke. Batman defeats him with the help of a super-suit and a kryptonite arrow, and a lot of other tech. Some fans don't count this as a win for Batman since he had help from Robin and Green Arrow, but Superman had more help than him since the entire US Army was backing him up. It's true that Superman was weakened, but he still had the ability to fly and walk straight. Batman started the fight with a damaged spine, so the odds were in Superman's favor.
Winner - Batman
However, I'm not counting Batman's victory in the next fight.
2. Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again
A sequel to The Dark Knight Returns, this fight basically had Batman, Flash, Green Arrow, and Atom against Superman... Basically an overkill. Also, this comic sucks!
Winner - Nobody
3. Superman Annual: Execution 2001
Superman starts killing people, stealing from governments, and dismantling the world's weapons. The president asked Batman for help. Superman defeats several Justice League members before Batman steps in with a super-suit and a kryptonite ring that Lex Luthor once used.
Winner - Batman
4. Superman/Batman: Public Enemies
This one's kinda complicated... An evil Superman from the future shows up in the Batcave and slaps both Batman and current Superman around. This should be the perfect time for Batman to use one of his contingencies, but nope. Batman only survived another car being thrown at him because this Superman disappears back to the future at the right time.
Winner - Superman
5. Superman: Red Son
Batman lured Superman into a room filled with red sunlight and knocked the snot out of him. Superman only gets out of this because Wonder Woman saves him. Scared that Superman was going to lobotomize him and turn him into a robot, Batman ends up killing himself (Yeah it's a pretty weird story).
I'm not giving this to anyone though, because Superman didn't know red suns weaken him in this universe and everything about this plan came from Lex Luthor; not from Batman. We also don't know if the guy here was actually Bruce Wayne.
Winner - Nobody
6. Mythology: The Trust
Superman goes berserk because of mind-control and Batman manages to remove the mind-control while Superman didn't even realize he was there. This isn't exactly a fight since Superman wasn't even trying. This comic was more famous for the art style though. It looks pretty darn real for something originally drawn with a pencil.
Winner - Nobody
7. Superman/Batman: Smoke and Mirrors
Batman is possessed by Kryptonite Man, who wants to kill Superman. Superman managed to paralyze him and force the kryptonite out, even though Batman was glowing with kryptonite. No one wins here since Batman wasn't in control of his actions.
Winner - Nobody
8. Superman/Batman: Enemies Among Us
Same as the previous one, except Batman gets possessed by Blackrock this time. Batman gets powers and loses his brain, but Superman punches him back to normal.
Winner - Nobody
9. Lex Luthor: Man of Steel
Batman is convinced by Lex Luthor that Superman is evil, kinda like in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. He makes a plan and grabs some kryptonite, but Superman blows the kryptonite away, drops Batman in an alley, and stops his hand just before punching Batman's head off.
Winner - Superman
11. Justice
Batman and Alfred attack Superman and Captain Marvel while under control from microscopic mechanical worms. It's a long story, but there was kryptonite involved and it didn't end well.
Winner - Nobody
12. Superman/Batman: Torment
Superman gets mind-controlled on another planet and Batman goes to save him. It doesn't go well. Superman would have killed Batman if Bekka didn't arrive on time.
Winner - Superman
13. Superman/Batman: Super/Bat
Batman and Superman have swapped powers and the unbelievable strength has caused Batman to go mad with power in order to take over the world. He beats up Supergirl, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern before a Superman without any powers lures him into a trap and gets Zatanna to switch their powers back. I'm not giving this to anyone since Zatanna technically defeated Batman but Superman did outsmart him.
Winner - Nobody
14. Superman/Batman: Nanopolis
They're both in a miniature universe and some nanobots have caused Superman to go insane. Batman knows that he can't do anything to defeat Superman but he does manage to turn him back to normal.
Winner - Nobody
15. Smallville Season Eleven: Detective
Yes. Smallville got a comic series after the show ended. One of Batman's investigations requires him to break a criminal out of jail. Superman confronts him to find that Batman already knows he's weak to red sun and has equipped his suit with weapons. It lets him hit Superman a few times but that's about it.
Winner - Superman
16. The New 52: Future's End
In the future where the DC universe is at war, Batman makes some questionable decisions which ticks off Superman. He flies straight to the Batcave, knocks Batman around, and completely destroys the place.
Winner - Superman
17. Injustice: Gods Among Us
Even though this happened in the video game, I'm counting it since the prequel comic is connected to it. The game developers pretty much said that this game would answer the question of who would win in a fight - Batman or Superman?
In an alternate universe, Superman becomes a dictator and recruits a number of other superheroes and supervillains to help him. Batman forms a resistance with the characters opposing him, but he needs to use technology created by Lex Luthor to pull parallel universe versions of himself and the rest of the Justice League to fight Superman's regime. It doesn't escalate well. Batman ends up going to the one man he believes is capable of defeating Superman in a fair fight.... Superman.... From a parallel universe.
Wtf am I supposed to get from that??? ಠ_ಠ Does it mean Batman wins the fight since he pulled over the other Superman (using someone else's technology btw)? Does it mean Superman wins because he's the only person capable of stopping himself?
Winner - Nobody
Results from comics not canon:
Superman - 5 fights
Batman - 2 fights
No winner - 9 fights
So...
It seems like Superman has won more fights and there seems to be a huge difference between the numbers, but is that really a surprise? I personally love Batman, but he was originally written as a detective who fights crime. They only started showing him along with the rest of the DC characters much later. But the fact that a man with no powers whatsoever managed to defeat an alien who can move planets even 4 times is impressive. But as I said in the start of the take, I'm not a fan of seeing them both go at it. I like seeing them as bros... Or even better, as lovers ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Overall results
Superman - 13 fights
Batman - 4 fights
No winner - 16 fights
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