BY CHRISTINA RIVERO
Flying through the city of Metropolis, the strongest man in the world is on the run, or at least trying to stop a fight he didn’t wish to start. However, it has already begun and there’s no use avoiding it. He lands on top of the Daily Planet, Metropolis’s local newspaper, counting down the seconds that seem like hours. He hears the slightest movement from behind, spins around, and shoots whatever he can hit with his heat vision. Once the smoke clears there’s nothing there. Could he be imagining things? No, of course not. His hearing is infallible the best in the world. All of a sudden his senses start to become duller and he’s breathing heavily. He kneels down and feels his strength drain from his body. Taking one last glance behind him, he sees a tall, dark figure possessing a small glowing rock, the color of an emerald, but Superman knew better. He knew it was Kryptonite and he also knew Batman brought it to make the match even. This was not going to be a good day for either of them. The Man of Steel rises to stand tall and powerful. He’s ready, and The Dark Knight knows it. As Superman starts to charge at full speed, Batman holds up a batarang and aims it at Superman’s chest. He swings his arm back and throws.
With the Batman role recently given to Ben Affleck, it’s hard not to bring up the new Superman vs. Batman movie that is scheduled for release on July 17, 2015. Now, more than ever, people are contemplating which of these two heroes would win in battle. So let’s look at the facts and consider this as a bit of a guide to choosing either The Dark Knight or The Man of Steel.
Let’s start at the beginning; the beginning is Superman himself. DC Comics published comics before the creation of its esteemed superheroes. Its second title was Detective Comics, which gave DC its name. However, later on down the road this company needed something to catch reader’s attention. When Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created “The Superman,” DC took them in immediately.
Later that spring, in 1938, Action Comics #1 was released with Superman as the main character. Superman has powers and abilities beyond leaping tall buildings in a single bound. Along with extraordinary strength, he has superhuman everything: speed, breath, stamina, hearing, smell, and even scream. He also has four different visions. However, with great power comes great weakness.
Its pretty well known that green kryptonite is Superman’s Achilles heel. However, many do not know that he is also very vulnerable to magic and can be weakened while fighting other Kryptonians. Also, he cannot see through lead with any of his superhuman vision (which is why Batman lines all his suits with it).
When people think of Batman, they think of a dark figure looming over a corrupt city long after Superman. Little do they know how close the heroes were in creation. Batman was created in 1939 (a year after Superman) by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. DC wanted to bring in a second hero who could gain the popularity Superman had. They found it with the Dark Knight. In May of 1939, Batman was introduced in Detective Comics #27.
Batman is a master of acrobatics, a clever tactician and brilliant a strategist. His abilities include: peak human conditioning, martial arts, stealth, a genius intellect, and a plethora of indomitable will power that gives him the ability to possess a Green Lantern ring (the ring of willpower). The feature that makes Batman most recognizable are his batsuits, each equipped with an arsenal of weapons. Should Superman go rogue, he also has a stash of Kryptonite that he received from Superman himself.
This makes the two, Superman and Batman, more than capable of taking each other head on. But the question still remains: Who would win?
I do not agree with people who choose sides. Knowing the two characters’ by personality and fighting strategy, I have come to the conclusion that if the battle was to the death, neither one would win nor lose. Batman is the unmovable object and Superman the unstoppable force. They would both have to surrender at some point.
Sure they’ve fought multiple times throughout the DC Universe and the most famous battles can be found within the video game Injustice: Gods Among Us and Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns. Ironically, neither Superman nor Batman “won” any of these battles.
In the end, who would “win” isn’t really relevant. You have to look between the panels to realize the true message of both DC characters. They both prove that anyone can be a hero, whether you’re a small town farm boy from the middle of Kansas or a big hot shot with a multimillion dollar company. No matter who you are, you can always see the wrong that is being done and devote yourself to find peace.
