Why Superman is not fit to lick Batmans boots

Who is better? Superman or Batman. Two giants of DC's golden age of comics battling it out for supremacy over the hearts and minds of people everywhere. Two goliaths of modern pop culture who reach so far into the collective psyche of the entertainment world that even those who have never picked up a comic in their life have wondered and argued over this question.

So who is better? How is it judged? Comics? Films? Animated series? Inherent Coolness? These are questions which we could spend hours and hours mulling over and arguing. In this hub I will put in my two cents based on my own knowledge and opinions. Feel free to disagree.

To start off let’s examine the two contenders to the throne.

First off we have Superman, Kal El, The Son of Krypton. Launched from the dying world of Krypton as a baby, after an epic journey through the universe he finds himself on Earth. Found and raised by his human parents the Kent’s to uphold the values of truth, justice and the American way. Superman has powers of flight, heat and x-ray vision, super speed, unlimited strength and basically anything else he wants. With these unlimited powers and abilities Superman fights crime in the city of Metropolis coming up against the likes of Lex Luther, Brainiac and Bizzaro.

Next we have Batman. Billionaire industrialist Bruce Wayne who witnessed the murder of his parents on the streets of Gotham city vowed to fight crime and clean up the streets of Gotham city. Batman has trained himself to the peak of physical fitness and a master of martial arts employs the resources of Wayne Enterprises and his skills as the worlds greatest detective to fight crime. Batman teams up with the police commissioner Gordon to fight against villains such as Joker, Two - Face, Riddler and Penguin while dealing with the morally ambiguous Catwoman.

Mere mortal Batman against the Son of Krypton Kal El.

You have probably figured from the title that I am squarely behind Batman in the Batman VS Superman stakes. In my opinion Batman is far superior in appeal as a comic character and in their respective universes. I know some will regard my opinions as sacrilege and regard the blue suited boy scout as untouchable .

1. Superman is Unbeatable

Superman possesses near unlimited powers of strength, speed and flight. As long as he doesn’t stray to far from the Earths yellow sun which provided his powers then he should be unbeatable. Yet in every comic and Superman film we see him struggling against foes with a tenth of his powers. Let’s take Lex Luther for example sure he is possessed with evil genius far beyond that of normal people and backed by the considerable resources of LexCorp but does he have the same strength and abilities of Superman? No yet every time they come up against each other we see Superman struggle to deal with their mere mortal. Surely, every time Lex is up to something devious or breaks out of prison superman could just use his super speed, flight and X-ray vision to search Metropolis in seconds, track Lex down and bring him to justice.

2. The Kryptonite Factor

Kryptonite, one of the rarest elements in the universe, remains of Superman’s home planet of Krypton and Superman’s Achilles heel. If it is so rare then why does it pop up in every other Superman story. How is it that every two bit hood and pickpocket in Metropolis can somehow get their grubby mitts on it? As his only weakness surely over the course of the last sixty years or so Superman with all of his superpowers would have found some way to track all the Kryptonite on Earth down and destroy it but no time and again we see Superman falling victim to yet another "Supervillian" with Kryptonite. Lazy story telling if you ask me.

3. Batman is only a Crime Fighter

As I have mentioned Superman has superpowers he is a superhero with abilities which separate him from normal men. Batman has no powers, he is a normal man. Batman relies on his wits, fighting ability and skills as the world’s greatest detective to combat crime in Gotham. As a man he cannot rely on super strength to beat up his foes or heat vision to burn through solid steel he has to make do with what he has. Some might argue that the resources of Wayne Enterprises constitute a "superpower" but that is rubbish. Bill Gates is one of the richest men in the world but he is by no means super powered. Although most of Batman’s foes don’t posses superpowers (eg Joker or Two-Face) he still comes up against super powered enemies on a regular basis and comes out better off beating them with a combination of skills he has developed over the years yet superman still struggles against normal foes such as Lex Luthor.

4. A 60 year old Batman Kicked Superman’s Ass

Frank Millers Dark Knight Returns. A story of absolute brilliance, which sees a sixty year old Bruce Wayne return to the Batman mantle that he gave up ten years earlier after the death of Jason Todd the second Robin. In the course of the story Superman is sent to stop Batman and they fight. Using all the advantages at his disposal, and some help from an aging Green Arrow, Batman kicks the crap out of Superman. Batman a sixty year old who at this point in the story has already tackled Two-Face, Joker and the leader of the Mutants gang manages to beat Superman. In the end Superman is only saved by Batman faking his own death to escape the Authorities.

So who is better? The Sixty year old Batman or the invincible Man of Steel Superman.

The Verdict

So who is better? Obviously my vote goes to Batman. Not only is Batman the better character, the whole Batman universe is more sophisticated and complex than Superman's. Much of Batman’s strength as a character comes from his supporting cast such as Commissioner Gordon, Robin (Grayson or Todd) and Alfred. Joker and Two-Face both more compelling in their back stories (or lack of in the case of Joker) than Lex Luther. As just a man Batman has to deal with human emotions and limitations which make his character much more believable and easier to relate to rather than Superman who in my opinion is rendered as no more than a cardboard cut out of a comic characters.

What do you think? Agree or disagree post your comments below.