Could Batman Beat Superman?

Today on Variant, we answer the age old comic book question, could Batman beat Superman in a one on one fight? Plus, see what comics you should buy this week!

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Variant:

Arris:

Tim (Producer)

#Batman #Superman #BatmanVSuperman

[CenoriaWoah]

“If Clark wanted to, he could use his superspeed and squish me into the cement. But I know how he thinks. Even more than the Kryptonite, he's got one big weakness. Deep down, Clark's essentially a good person... and deep down, I'm not.”

[somfplease]

"could" batman beat a good superman: YES
"could" an evil superman destroy the planet in one blow with ease: YES
is this argument ridiculous: YES

[jukeboxjohn]

Fight starts, Superman flies into space and throws the moon at the Earth. Game Over

[TherealPolar-B]

See this is why Variant is my favorite YouTube channel for being completely non bias

[CyberBolt]

You know your a true Batman fan when you can admit Batman can't win at everything 

[billnye]

Logically in reality, no way in hell.

In a comic with the writer calling the shots, yes. 

[PeterDelos]

I can really respect Arris for taking Superman’s aside even though he loves Batman. I like Batman too, but Superman would win. No bias.

[pedrotenoriomendes]

Batman fans show a strange paradox. They love him because he is human, but they want him to be able to do superhuman feats...

[Ultinuc]

Batman's Smarter? So is Brainiac. Hell, Brainiac is a lot smarter than Batman, but Supes still wins.
Kryptonite? Lex Luthor's battlesuit is filled with Kryptonite weaponry, but Supes still wins.
Mech Suit? If people argue that Iron Man would lose to Superman, then so would Batman in a mech suit. Especially since he has some sort of compulsion to leave his mouth area exposed.

The only way I could see Batman taking a win without help from an outside source is to trick Superman into going into a lead room filled with Kryptonite on the walls and ceiling, that also emits red sun radiation, with Batman in a mech suit.
Otherwise, Superman's taking it. And the only reason I say he needs to make the room out of lead is so that Superman doesn't X-Ray through it and lie about something on the other side to distract Batman.

[paigemercer]

Batman fanboys just don't understand that superman restraints himself. If superman wanted to end batman he'd just do it. Just like that. But that's not superman. Hell even batman knows he can't best superman. Also countless of times batman had to rely on superman's help on defeating a superpowered villain.

[bluevenom]

I don't understand how this is even a debate. Batman would get his ass kicked. And people alwayd bring up the prep time and how intelligent batman is.
Superman is insanely intelligent, he can learn all the information a book contains (in a few seconds) and recall it in perfect clarity, he also builds his own gadgets.
If you give batman prep time, superman also gets prep time, in the fortress of solitude he has loads of gadgets, technology taken from bad guys. An army of robots all kinds of dangerous pets.

And all of this is still not taking into account that superman could lobotomize batman from space, if you remove the no killing rule which batman is also bound to.

[WilliamVillanueva-mycv]

There are so many ways that Superman can kill Batman within 2-3 seconds and Batman wouldn't even know what hit him

[anthonyhargis]

I will go further: From the beginning, Kryptonite was never "instantaneous" in its effect on Superman. Whether an arrow, or a bullet, the Kryptonite would be traveling far too fast to have a weakening affect on Superman's skin. The arrow, or bullet, would simply bounce off or shatter upon impact, especially considering that Kryptonite is a mineral.

Add to that Superman's vision; he'd see it coming from miles away. What do you mean "lead?" Are you saying that Superman is too stupid to even be curious as to why someone his holding a lead box behind their back?

[hylianchriss]

I feel people are confusing the two "Who would win between Batman and Superman?" and "Could Batman beat Superman?". Yes. Hands down, Supes would win. 99/100 probably. But COULD Batman win? Is it possible? At least in the movie version at the end of the fight with Batman's epic speech he adds (I'm loosely quoting here) "Yes I could have used a stronger compound, more concentrated dose of Kryptonite [etc etc]" he never Wanted to kill Superman there, but he definitely could have from that position had he wanted to. We know however that Superman never went full-out in that fight, but Batman also KNEW he wouldn't go all-out, and counted on it - which counts as a win in my book, since Superman wouldn't realize his mistake until he had already lost.
Superman is no where NEAR as fast as the Flash, but he can still move at speeds close to, or just exceeding, the speed of light. Meaning if he ever wanted to (and I wish to God Superman writers would make him) he could move at the speed of light and either punch or heatvision his enemies, literally before the foe has a chance to blink, let alone realize Superman had even moved. In the New 52 Superman there are some GREAT quotes of people noting Superman's punches can shatter and topple entire Mountains! There is no way in hell any of Bat's armors can tank a hit from that.
Could Batman win, does he have a chance at all? Yes, there are possibilities, but they are insanely slim.
Would he win? If the writers made Superman go all-out and for ONCE use the actual potential of all his powers and go for the kill? No. Not even with years of prep.

[i.m.u]

batman killed the whole justice league

[ds]

No because Sups is ultra OP. Writers have to super nerf him down in order for mr contingency plan to stand a chance. (Batman fanboy here).

[lololol]

If we are talking about a straight up 1 on 1 fight, there is no way batman can win. Batman's main strength that gives him an edge over any superhero is his intellect and ability to out-think his opponent. He would only win if he had time to plan and prepare for the coming fight...which isn't really fair to give Batman time to prepare and not superman.

[xkboy]

A human vs .. Basically a damn god with the power to vaporize him into nothing and the human lose. I ain't even mad. Should be hella proud of batman for even trying

[Indy]

You guys do realize kryptonite is not an automatic win.

[Blackwing]

Batman has a contingency plan for taking down every member of the Justice league in case of the event that they ever went rogue, and turned on the league, leaving only him to take down the traitor. Vandal Savage even stole these plans and used them, modified for lethal effect, against the league. The originals were all intended as capture alive plans, and he even had one for Superman.

But even if you don't have him use those plans because they were already implemented before, so they would see those tactics coming, he's likely got backup plans. 

For instance, He knows that other than Kryptonite, Superman is also vulnerable to magic, and that the same super senses that make him so formidable can be used against him.

The Kryptonite that Superman himself gave to Batman as a contingency was likely not just put in a pocket of the utility belt, and never studied. He likely had it analyzed, and discovered almost all the variants of the stone, and the different ways they could effect him. He would probably surprise Superman by coming at him with a variation on Kryptonite that he wasn't prepared for, such as Blue Kryptonite, which strips Kryptonians of their powers, making them practically human. Not to mention weaponizing the material in various ways. Such as Kryptonite Gas.

Then there's the arsenal at Batman's disposal. He doesn't JUST have the various Bat suits, and vehicles, and weapons that we are all familiar with. He also has his trophy room, full of the things his enemies developed. There's the tech, that he likely studied to come up with his own variations, but there's also the tools of his magic wielding opponents through the years. Magic items that Superman would be vulnerable to.

And then there is Batman's tactical training. And one of the most relevant tactics that Batman would likely use if facing Superman in a fight to the death, one on one, is to use your enemies strengths against him. He's had samples of Superman's blood and DNA as much as Star Labs or even Lex Luthor has. If anyone could use that to determine the connection with the spectrum of the suns light and how powerful Superman is, Batman could. He'd have some Red Sunlamps in his arsenal, as well as using sonic emitters to use his super hearing against him. He'd control the field of battle so that superman would have to come in close to detect him, by using led lined walls, and some kind of a labyrinth. Some parts of the maze would have traps designed specifically for taking out a Kryptonian, by various methods. All automated from a safe control room, that would itself be automated, and just another trap.

He'd use the arsenal of various Kryptonites, his knowledge of Kryptonian physiology, his tech, his magical trophies, and a labyrinth full of traps. But that's something even a team of villains could put together. The icing on the cake, is the fact that Bruce Wayne is 100 times the man that Clark Kent is, when on even footing, any day of the week. Normally that means little, because as Superman, his powers practically make Clark a God. But in such a battle, Batman wouldn't let this be a "Normal" situation. Bruce Wayne has mastered several martial arts, could out tactic any general in history, and would likely even give Sun-Tsu a run for his money, and he always goes in prepared.

Basically, the nail in Superman's coffin, is that he's not fighting just a man. He's fighting Batman. A man that has BECOME fear. A man that has taken all comers, and never overplayed his hand. If Batman was at the point that he wanted someone dead. There isn't a thing that you could do to stop him. Even if you were Superman. Good thing for Superman that he and Batman are friends.