Originally written by me in 2005 on BlueTights.net as TheFlash
When people say: “Batman can kick Superman’s ass” they really mean one of three things:
- I like Batman more and think he can do anything.
- I think Batman can win a one-sided battle where he’s prepared and Superman isn’t; and I’ve read comics like that.
- I think Batman can beat Superman under specific circumstances, but all things being equal, Superman will almost always win.
With Case 1, there’s no arguing with these people. No matter what you say they are so blindly devoted they won’t listen to the other side. Don’t bother. With Case 3, I think the individual is reasonable enough and there’s no need to force them to say Superman will ALWAYS win unless we’re suffering from a bit of Case 1 ourselves, but with a Superman bent. I think a mixture of Case 2 and a little bit of 1 is the predominant viewpoint of people who say it.
The thing is, they typically don’t acknowledge the inequality in preparation or technology… it’s almost always a contrived circumstance to bring about a Bat-victory by the skin of Bruce’s teeth. Even if they do, they put their faith in Batman’s preparation and planning (and sometimes technology) to rule the day. The following addresses that (reposted):
Despite the incredibly persistent and wide-spread belief that Batman has a dozen plans up his sleeve to take out Superman, historically it’s been proven otherwise again and again. Let’s take some examples: read more
