Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

 ScootyPuffJunior wrote:

 Compel wrote:
Batman V Ozymandias would be fun though...

Adrian would win, hands down.

"I did it all 35 minutes ago."

"I had a contingency in plan 40 minutes ago."

"I accounted for that an hour ago."

"I had that covered two hours ago."

...

*two hours later*

"And the genetically modified 'alien'?"

"Covered."

"The giant penny?"

"Well played, but also not a concern."



But all joking aside, of course it's an ongoing conceit of Batman comics, it's still part of why I enjoy them. For all his gadgets, training and brute strength, Batman hits waaaaaay outside his weight class with his intellect and contingency planning a lot of the time. He stands alongside heroes who are only really challenged by demi-gods and universe threatening opponents as a mortal man, which is what I find makes him interesting and superman boring. Batman can fight Thanatos or spit in the eye of a cosmic being, but a guy with a gun can still get lucky someday (even though we know it won't happen, duh, it's a Batman comic, not a "generic henchman number #6" comic).

Y'know, a good cross company fight would be Bats versus Deadpool....


There's no contingency planning for the Merc With a Mouth.

 Ensis Ferrae wrote:
Y'know, a good cross company fight would be Bats versus Deadpool....


There's no contingency planning for the Merc With a Mouth.

This is true. You ever watch a fight between Deadpool and Taskmaster? The guy who can copy anybody's fighting style? Deadpool hoses him each and every time. You can't plan for somebody unpredictable. It's why Batman has such a hard time dealing with Joker until the body count rolls in.

I've been watching a lot of Smallville recently, plus keeping an eye on the DC Animated films and I've come to a bit of a conclusion in my mind.

Typical Batman stories are far better than typical Superman stories.
Typical Superman stories tend to amount to, Villain A has a single gimmick that means that he may be a tiny, tiny threat to one aspect of Superman's powers. Once Superman finds out what's going on, which only takes time due to some plot induced stupidity, no drama, job done.

Typical Batman story. Villain has a gimmick, but it just introduces some flavour to the character. There's still a real threat, Batman needs to do real investigation, there's always the real likelihood of Batman not quite managing it in time. Drama, interesting story, good times.

A more... epic... Batman story, either strays into typical superman territory (which hurts "verisimilitude" sometimes (or realisim to those not pedantic), or it's just a grittier, deadlier version of a normal Batman story. EG Dark Knight Returns, Year One, The Killing Joke.

A more epic / grander scale Superman story, just seems far better to me. When you get in the realms of Brainiac, or Darkseid, or Zod, that real sense of drama missing from your typical Superman story is there, there's this feeling of actual threat now that's absent in your typical Superman stories. Or, you deal with really interesting themes like, "What's so funny about Truth, Justice and the American Way."

Also, another Penny Arcade comic for the thread.

Please don't show images that contain language we don't allow on the site.
Thanks. Reds8n

http://art.penny-arcade.com/photos/i-QHvrLCn/1/950x10000/i-QHvrLCn-950x10000.jpg

This all really comes back to the fact these characters weren't designed to be in the same world, or even are of the same genre. Superman is fantasy sci-fi with galaxy spanning adventures and enemies, and Batman is a pulp anti-hero. The only reason they are together is because each is so popular and that means there is money there. At the end of the day you end up with these narrative cheats to make Batman viable because they have to fit a square plug into a round hole for profit.

Sssspppaaawwwwwnnnnnnn

Defendor rules em all gents. Discussion is over

Deadpool beats everyone...

Yeah, with deadpool there is no question of "could he kill X?" because he has already.

I just bought Arkham City for the PC. It is the first time I have intentionally bought a game I already own (on the PS3) when the aim wasn't to replace the existing copy.

I'm the kinda guy who hates having extras of things. I gave away my (PS3) copies of Skyrim and Max Payne 3 as I hated the idea of owning two of the same game when I got the PC version. I only bought Dark Forces III: Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast for a second time because I lent my original copy to someone and he lost it.

Batman caused me to buy something extraneous that I don't need. That is his power.

Batman wins.

Superman needs super powers to fight crime.

Batman needs money to fight crime.

Judge Dredd just needs the law.

I think we know who the best hero is. ;D

As cool as he is I don't think Judge Dredd is a superhero.

Judge Dredd doesn't need the law...
He is. The Law!

 Surtur wrote:
Superman needs super powers to fight crime.

Batman needs money to fight crime.

Judge Dredd just needs the law.

I think we know who the best hero is. ;D

Defendor needs his wits and will......and hornets.





And hes Woody Harrelson. Again lads, I win the argument.

How OP would batman be if he actually did have super powers?

Well, in the New 52, there's one hero that Batman can't defeat -- Wonder Woman. She has no real weaknesses to exploit. That's why he's nervous about Clark and Diana's relationship, because his plan for stopping Diana is having Clark take her down.

Wait, why doesn't he just shoot her in the face with a shotgun?

 H.B.M.C. wrote:
I just bought Arkham City for the PC. It is the first time I have intentionally bought a game I already own (on the PS3) when the aim wasn't to replace the existing copy.

I'm the kinda guy who hates having extras of things. I gave away my (PS3) copies of Skyrim and Max Payne 3 as I hated the idea of owning two of the same game when I got the PC version. I only bought Dark Forces III: Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast for a second time because I lent my original copy to someone and he lost it.

Batman caused me to buy something extraneous that I don't need. That is his power.

Batman wins.

Hrm, to extrapolate this further, to compare them within the medium of video games themselves;

Batman: Arkham Asylum is an incredible game. Batman: Arkham City is also pretty badass.

Superman 64 is a crime against humanity.

Score another point for the Dark Knight.

 xole wrote:
How OP would batman be if he actually did have super powers?

Batman gets a lantern ring at some point (I forget which color), but he gets rid of it because he thinks it would be unfair if he kept it.

I think it was blue...

 Frazzled wrote:
Wait, why doesn't he just shoot her in the face with a shotgun?

Because she'd laugh at him in response, move faster than he can think, and crush his skull with her bare hand?

WW is a demigod and virtually on Superman's level. And Bats doesn't use guns anyway. Try to keep up.

Sorry I'm back on Linda Carter Wonder Woman.

Possessed Wonder Woman would be even deadlier.

There was a JLA ep that involved the bad guys getting all of bats contingency plans.

Wonder woman was to get her with some sort of poison/nano bots that made her hallucinate and fought till she dropped.

 purplefood wrote:
Judge Dredd doesn't need the law...
He is. The Law!

This one's better.

 Desubot wrote:
There was a JLA ep that involved the bad guys getting all of bats contingency plans.

Wonder woman was to get her with some sort of poison/nano bots that made her hallucinate and fought till she dropped.

They also made it into a cartoon movie called: JLA: Doom or something. It was okay, but not nearly as good as Under the Red Hood or Superman vs. The Elite.

Speaking of Wonder Woman, how is her citizenship worked out since she is from Thermoscyra (sp) but she wears the stars and stripes and I thought she had been an American citizen in some versions?

Also, I have seen it referenced that her armor gives her extra powers, do we know which of her powers are armor based, and which are inherent to her? Obviously, the bracelets and the Lasso fo truth, but what about others?

Never was a fan of omnipotent super heroes (or villains). Its kind of boring.

Unless its Godzilla of course.

Well, she isn't omnipotent in a universe with aliens like Kryptonians, green and white Martians, Daxamites, Czarnians (Lobo), Daemonites (Hellspont is now in the New 52), Almeracans (Maxima); heroes like Captain Atom, Shazam/Captain Marvel, Flash, various flavors of Lantern; menaces like Doomsday; and then Darkseid and other New Gods.

They all have their limits, they're just very high limits.

Batman isn't that strong when you compare him to real super heroes. Tony Stark could shoot a missile at Bats before he knew what was going on.

But Bats could spike his booze with mercury or maybe a nice Ebola virus. One of the advantages of being anonymous.