Facts are facts:Batmanis one of the best fighters in comics history. Famous for his training to attain both peak mental and physical condition, Bruce Wayne has conditioned himself to become the ultimate superhero, and all without any superpowers. That means Batman has thrown himself into outrageous situations and contests, where he’s vastly outmatched in skill, if not in power. The saying goes, however, thatall Batman needs to win a fight is prep time. And his most iconic victories prove the theory.
On the other hand, sometimes his fists and his improvisational skills are enough, because Batman is one ofthe best combatants in the DC Universe. At other times, it’s his plans within plans that help save the day. Even when heavily out of his league, Batman will always fight for victory, and these10 most unbelievable victories in Batman historycement him as one of the best heroes of DC Comics.
Batman vs The Hyperclan
The Dark Knight Rescues the Justice League From an Alien Invasion
If there’s one thing that makes Batman who he is, it’shis multiple contingency plansthat have been a heated source of debate in comics. At his core, Batman is a detective and a planner, and so when the Hyperclan challenges the Justice League inJLA,by Grant Morrison and Howard Porter, Batman moves in the shadows to save a captured Superman.He dismantles members of the Hyperclan systematically on their own turf using their own discovered weaknesses:simple items like fire and gasoline and darkness.
While Batman never had a full contingency plan against White Martians, this victory shows his contingency brain in action.Batman is well out of his league, as a non-superpowered individual facing aliens, but he uses fear to his advantage and sticks to the shadows.His impressive takedown of the Hyperclan leads their leader, Protex, to cry out with a quote that truly defines Batman:“He’s only one man!”
Batman vs Predator
Batman Wins With Both His Physical and Mental Skills
Batman goes up against aliens again in the famous ninetiescrossoverBatman vs Predator, by Dave Gibbons and Andy Kubert. At the time, this was well before Batman’s many extraterrestrial adventures as well as many of the iconic crises that would cement DC’s Universe. This story pits two master stealth tacticians against each other - and Batman more than holds his own, with both his physical prowess and his brilliant mind.
In their first altercation, Batman almost doesn’t make it out alive, but Batman is nothing if not prepared. In their rematch, he has a new armored suit to help even the odds, and he uses his Batmobile in the fight as well as an army of bats to his advantage.The winning blow, however, and surprisingly, is with his Bat-baseball Bat in a climactic moment that reveals how Batman can claim victory using anything at all.
Batman vs Kalibak, Darkseid’s Son
The New God Views Batman as Little More Than A Distraction
One of the sons of Darkseidand an incredible warrior, Kalibak is feared universally as the right hand of the dictator of Apokolips.However, when it comes down to Batman, he’s nothing more than just a distraction.During the events ofBatman and Robin #37by Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason, Batman dons his now famous Hellbat armor to retrieve the dead boy of his son Damian Wayne and bring him back to life.
Nothing will get in the way of Batman’s fatherly love, and right before a fantastic battle with Darkseid, Kalibak tries to chop off the Dark Knight’s head.Anicipating this, Batman uses a simple boom tube to send Kalibak to a different world.It’s a very simple example of the efficacy of Batman’s plans. He doesn’t always need a fantastic device or a new invention to win but a little trick up his sleeve.
Batman vs The Hulk
Batman’s Mind Shines When He’s Physically Outmatched
One of the more surprising Batman wins comes from a cross-platform fight between DC and Marvel. Back in the eighties, there were many such crossovers between the two comic titans, and iconic heroes were pitted against each other to every fan’s delight. InDC Special Series#27, by Len Wein and Jose Luis Garcia Lopez,Batman beats the Hulk in the craziest way possible.
Master tactician that he is, Batman quickly realizes he cannot beat the Hulk in a fist fight, and sohe deploys knockout gas and delivers a kick right to the Hulk’s solar plexus so that he has to breathe in the gas.The Hulk has only grown in power in the forty years that have passed since this fight, but so has Batman. If they ever had a rematch, Batman just might have enough firepower with his newer suits of armor to win again.
Batman vs Gog
Only Batman Could Keep a God Down All By Himself
During the anniversary series ofThe Kingdom, by Mark Waid, Mike Zeck, and John Beatty, writer Mark Waid brings back the villain of his laudedKingdom Comeseries, the god Gog, who ushers the apocalypse of the DC Universe. Drifting back through time, Gog threatens all of existence in his effort to kill Superman, and no single hero can stop him - without Batman’s tactical help, that is.
Batman would go on to yet another rematch with the dark god inBatman/Superman: World’s Finest #23by Mark Waid and Dan Mora!
One of many fights betweenthe Dark Knight and Gog, Batman and his allies are trapped in a world between worlds, but thankfully, Batman buys his allies some time.Stopping Gog with the Phantom Zone Projector, he allows the Justice League to assemble new weapons to defeat this threat.While Batman may not have the supernatural strength to beat a god, he certainly has the mind to look for loopholes, and this victory of his saved the entire future.
Batman vs Superman
The Dark Knight vs the Man of Steel Has a Clear Winner
One of the most famous Batman fights of all time is his fight with Superman - but which one is the question.The World’s Finest have fought many times, and Batman always has a secret piece of Kryptonite on him in case he needs to take down the Man of Steel. However, none of their scraps compare to Frank Miller’sThe Dark Knight ReturnswhereBatman famously dons another armored suit and beats the Man of Steel in battle.
Recently, in the main continuity, it looks likeThe Dark Knight Returnsis inevitableand not just an alternate future. Batman and Superman are best friends and the closest of allies, but apparently, as seen in nightmare visions, they are always destined to fight one way or another. In Frank Miller’s future,Batman comes out on top and has an unbelievable victory as a human against yet another practical god.
Batman vs Ares
Batman Evolves Into a Godkiller By Strength Alone
Batman’s fight with gods isn’t just the exception that proves the rule but more and more becoming a habit for the Dark Knight. Just a crime-fighting human from Gotham, Batman has no trouble squaring up against gods like Darkseid or in this case, Ares, the God of War.InBatman: the Merciless #1, by Peter Tomasi and Francis Manapul,Batman kills Aresandtakes his mantle to become the soldier he was always destined to be.
It’s true that this dark and alternate Batman had Wonder Woman’s help in defeating the God of War, but Wonder Woman didn’t survive the battle and Batman did. He’s the last one standing to be able to deliver the killing blow to Ares, showing thathe’s not solely just a tactician that works in the shadow, but a warrior that can fell a god on the battlefield.
Batman vs Darkseid
Bruce Outsmarts Darkseif, And Gains the God’s Respect At the Same Time
Yet another altercation with a god, Batman was well out of his element one of the first times he came up against Darkseid. He didn’t have his Hellbat armor, and in his and Superman’s attempts to save Supergirl, it seemed like there was no clear way out of Apokolips without Darkseid’s Omega Beams following them. Yet,Batman’s secret plan earned Darkseid’s respectas well as a clear victory.
InSuperman/Batman #12by Jeph Loeb, Michael Turner, and Peter Steigerwald, the Dark Knight reprogrammed Darkseid’s weaponry to explode at a simple click. Initially taken as a bluff, Darkseid quickly realized the ruthlessness of Batman and how he had no trouble causing an entire planet to explode. Because of this checkmate, Batman, Superman, and Supergirl returned home unscathed, andBatman outsmarted a god where he could not beat him physically.
Batman vs The Entire Justice League
Bruce Wayne Takes a Page Out of Tony Stark’s Book
Another suit of armortops Iron Man’s Hulkbusterand was even able to topple the entire Justice League. It was called the Justice Buster armor and was featured in Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’sEndgamearc in theirBatmanrun.The armor itself was created to pinpoint the specific weaknesses of Batman’s allies, and when the Joker turned the entire Justice League against Batman, the armor certainly came in handy.
With the armor, he threw the Flash off balance to make him crash into a building, and with Wonder Woman he used a relic called relic the “bind of veils” which created an illusion that made Wonder Woman believe she had already killed Batman in battle. For Superman, however, all he needed was one single sun-powered punch, showing thatBatman really does win against Superman every time they fight.
Batman vs Darkseid (To The Death)
In their Rematch, the Dark Knight Claims Another Victory Against a God
Darkseid and Batman would clash many more times, and one of the most famous times, Batman would come out on top.Breaking his long-standing rule against guns, inFinal Crisis,by Grant Morrison and J.G. Jones,Batman finally kills Darkseidusinga time bullet that pierces into the god’s heart and saves the universe from the grip of the Anti-Life Equation.Darkseid’s Omega Beams would soon come to haunt the Dark Knight, but even he would claw his way back to reality from that.
Against gods like Darkseid and against aliens and against even his most powerfully super-powered allies, Batman claims victory after victory.Sometimes due to his feats of strength but often due to the plans of his tactical mind, Batman is a force like no other.In such outmatched scenarios like this,Batman’s true superpower is being able to come out on top, no matter what.
Batman
One of DC’s most iconic heroes, Batman is the vigilante superhero persona of billionaire Bruce Wayne. Forged by tragedy with the death of his parents, Bruce dedicated his life to becoming the world’s leading martial artist, detective, and tactician. Recruiting an entire family of allies and sidekicks, Bruce wages war on evil as the dark knight of his hometown, Gotham City.
