By Eleanor Murray
From the glistening streets of Metropolis to the dark and dangerous alleys of Gotham. Two heroes strive to save their cities from crime.
Superman or Batman, who is the best? This has been a greatly contested topic for decades. Whether you are talking about the comic book heroes or the recent movie stars, this is a divisive question. In this article I will be comparing the two heroes, presenting all the evidence and facts so you can make a decision for yourself.
From the glistening streets of Metropolis to the dark and dangerous alleys of Gotham. Two heroes strive to save their cities from crime.
Superman or Batman, who is the best? This has been a greatly contested topic for decades. Whether you are talking about the comic book heroes or the recent movie stars, this is a divisive question. In this article I will be comparing the two heroes, presenting all the evidence and facts so you can make a decision for yourself.
Category One: Powers
This category has a pretty clear winner. Superman has an entire wikipedia page dedicated to listing his powers. Some of these are: superhuman strength and endurance, flight, superhuman speed and reflexes, superhuman intelligence, superhuman senses, e.t.c...
Basically Superman is just that, a super man. He has a massive array of powers, so many in fact that in the past writers have struggled to think up suitable challenges for him to face and were forced to reduce his powers so baddies would actually be a challenge.
Batman on the other hand has...superhuman strength? Nope. Flight? Nope. Superhuman intelligence? No not that either. In fact Batman has the grand total of zero powers. He is pretty much a normal guy. He has a lot of very cool gadgets, he’s pretty good at martial arts and hand to hand combat but he has no superpowers at all. So the scores are Superman: 1, Batman: 0.
Category Two: Overall Coolness.
Let’s be honest, Superman is not cool. He runs around wearing bright red undies over skin tight blue lycra. His voice is far too bright and happy, not fear inducing enough. His hair looks like he spent all morning styling it and he has knee high red boots? What’s up with that? And don’t get me started on capes. Superman’s looks like it’s made out of his mother’s curtains.
Batman on the other hand dresses sensibly in black. He has an entire cave full of gadgets, plus an amazing car and motorbike. His suit is actually practical. Baddies can’t see you coming in the dark, it’s protective and has lots of gadgets and weapons fitted into it. He’s actually scary, don’t say if he came up to you in a dark alley that you wouldn’t feel threatened.
If you’re feeling doubtful about my points please glance at the two images below.
Firstly, Batman looking dark and brooding. You can imagine he just beat up a few criminals, no problem.
This category has a pretty clear winner. Superman has an entire wikipedia page dedicated to listing his powers. Some of these are: superhuman strength and endurance, flight, superhuman speed and reflexes, superhuman intelligence, superhuman senses, e.t.c...
Basically Superman is just that, a super man. He has a massive array of powers, so many in fact that in the past writers have struggled to think up suitable challenges for him to face and were forced to reduce his powers so baddies would actually be a challenge.
Batman on the other hand has...superhuman strength? Nope. Flight? Nope. Superhuman intelligence? No not that either. In fact Batman has the grand total of zero powers. He is pretty much a normal guy. He has a lot of very cool gadgets, he’s pretty good at martial arts and hand to hand combat but he has no superpowers at all. So the scores are Superman: 1, Batman: 0.
Category Two: Overall Coolness.
Let’s be honest, Superman is not cool. He runs around wearing bright red undies over skin tight blue lycra. His voice is far too bright and happy, not fear inducing enough. His hair looks like he spent all morning styling it and he has knee high red boots? What’s up with that? And don’t get me started on capes. Superman’s looks like it’s made out of his mother’s curtains.
Batman on the other hand dresses sensibly in black. He has an entire cave full of gadgets, plus an amazing car and motorbike. His suit is actually practical. Baddies can’t see you coming in the dark, it’s protective and has lots of gadgets and weapons fitted into it. He’s actually scary, don’t say if he came up to you in a dark alley that you wouldn’t feel threatened.
If you’re feeling doubtful about my points please glance at the two images below.
Firstly, Batman looking dark and brooding. You can imagine he just beat up a few criminals, no problem.
Then Superman, looking dorky and confused in his too high red underpants. Need I say more?
In conclusion Batman wins the cool category hands down. The scores are at 1 all. Time for the decider.
Category Three: Backstory
Superman has one that is more expected. Home planet is attacked (yes Superman is an alien), parents send him to earth in a spaceship, he crash lands on earth...and becomes a nerdy journalist? Oh yeah and he saves the world on the side. His gifts and powers are handed to him on a silver platter (he was born with them). He didn’t have to work hard to achieve his success. Everything comes easily to him. He seems all powerful and invulnerable. We never see his weak side. And maybe you like that about him, Batman is certainly a different story.
Batman is a much more down to earth character. Sure he is a billionaire, but he also witnesses his parents’ murder at age eight. He isn’t born with any extraordinary powers, in fact at this point, he isn’t even Batman. Bruce Wayne isn’t the type of guy you’d expect to be hero. Left with some serious anger issues after his parents’ death, he becomes a recluse. Retreating from friends, only his butler Alfred stays with him. Society seems to see him as a lost cause. But then, the turn around.
Bruce vows to spend his life fighting evil on the crime ravaged streets of Gotham. He works hard, gaining skills in combat, creating an image that will strike fear into the hearts of the most twisted criminals, using his childhood fear of bats as inspiration. He strives to protect the innocent and give a voice to those who society doesn’t value.
Batman’s is a story of rejection and redemption. He is a much more relatable character and one we can be encouraged by. He fought to overcome his demons and succeeded.
In case you can’t tell, I like Batman’s story better than Superman’s. Batman: 2, Superman: 1
The Winner is...
In conclusion Batman is better than Superman. He is much cooler, his backstory his awesome and he does pretty well considering he has no powers. Feel free to disagree with me on this topic but I wont be dissuaded. For the record I have nothing against Superman, I am quite happy to let him continue saving Metropolis with his questionable fashion sense. But for me, Batman will always come out on top. Let’s end, shall we, with this very cool picture of Batman:
In conclusion Batman wins the cool category hands down. The scores are at 1 all. Time for the decider.
Category Three: Backstory
Superman has one that is more expected. Home planet is attacked (yes Superman is an alien), parents send him to earth in a spaceship, he crash lands on earth...and becomes a nerdy journalist? Oh yeah and he saves the world on the side. His gifts and powers are handed to him on a silver platter (he was born with them). He didn’t have to work hard to achieve his success. Everything comes easily to him. He seems all powerful and invulnerable. We never see his weak side. And maybe you like that about him, Batman is certainly a different story.
Batman is a much more down to earth character. Sure he is a billionaire, but he also witnesses his parents’ murder at age eight. He isn’t born with any extraordinary powers, in fact at this point, he isn’t even Batman. Bruce Wayne isn’t the type of guy you’d expect to be hero. Left with some serious anger issues after his parents’ death, he becomes a recluse. Retreating from friends, only his butler Alfred stays with him. Society seems to see him as a lost cause. But then, the turn around.
Bruce vows to spend his life fighting evil on the crime ravaged streets of Gotham. He works hard, gaining skills in combat, creating an image that will strike fear into the hearts of the most twisted criminals, using his childhood fear of bats as inspiration. He strives to protect the innocent and give a voice to those who society doesn’t value.
Batman’s is a story of rejection and redemption. He is a much more relatable character and one we can be encouraged by. He fought to overcome his demons and succeeded.
In case you can’t tell, I like Batman’s story better than Superman’s. Batman: 2, Superman: 1
The Winner is...
In conclusion Batman is better than Superman. He is much cooler, his backstory his awesome and he does pretty well considering he has no powers. Feel free to disagree with me on this topic but I wont be dissuaded. For the record I have nothing against Superman, I am quite happy to let him continue saving Metropolis with his questionable fashion sense. But for me, Batman will always come out on top. Let’s end, shall we, with this very cool picture of Batman:
I expect World War Three will ensue below. Let me know what you think but please try to refrain from hurling abuse at each other. Don’t send me hatemail, don’t hunt me down and attack me. I will call the police.