7 Spider-Man Villains Who Could Totally Beat Batman

When it comes to popularity, you’d be hard-pressed to find two superheroes better-known than Batman and Spider-Man. Each is a legend and a face of their respective companies. They are iconic in every conceivable way and have transcended from the comic book medium to household names. They have a whole lot in common, from their crusade to save lives to their painful backstories. The number one thing people compare, however, is their stacked rogues galleries. There’s nobody else in comics who has as many iconic and incredible villains as Spider-Man and Batman, so it’s only natural that fans mix and match with the two most famous heroes out there.

Case in point, today, we’re going to imagine what would happen if these two titanic paragons swapped villains. Specifically, we’re talking about seven of Spider-Man’s villains that could take down the Dark Knight. To be clear, I love Batman. This list is not saying that these villains would beat Batman, only that they have the potential to. After all, despite all of his incredible achievements and skills, Batman is still just a man. He’s a man like no other, but Spider-Man has superpowers. While I’m sure Batman could beat all of Spidey’s rogues, these seven villains stand the best chance of scoring a surprise victory. With all of that established, let’s dive right into battling some non-Batman villains.

7) Rhino

Taking seventh on our list is Spidey’s resident powerhouse, the Rhino. This villain’s theme is about as simple as they come. He’s modeled after a Rhino, so he’s incredibly strong, tough, and he runs into things. Batman is well-used to fighting enemies with a physical advantage, but none of his regular villains have anywhere near Rhino’s strength. If the Dark Knight isn’t careful, he could easily find himself trampled, and it’s unlikely that Batman’s standard equipment would do more than slow him down. Obviously, Batman has adjusted and fought much stronger foes, up to and including Superman and Darkseid, but if the Rhino gets a lucky surprise rush, he can definitely take a win.

6) Morlun

This multiversal vampire feeds on the life force of animal totems, and Batman is kind of connected to a bat-themed god, so this seems reasonably in character. Morlun is one of Spider-Man’s strongest foes, hitting harder than the Hulk when he wants to. He can track his prey to the ends of the Earth after he touches them just once, making it impossible for Batman to hide and try to come up with a plan. Spider-Man had to stop him by dousing himself in radiation, which the frustratingly human Batman can’t do without dying. There are ways the Dark Knight could get the drop on this energy-sucker, but Morlun’s near-infinite stamina and willingness to murder civilians to drag his prey out make it extremely difficult.

5) Sandman

Sandman is practically a supped-up version of Clayface, all things considered. The granular gangster can morph into any shape or size, split himself into a near infinite army, and reconstitute from nothing but a single particle of sand. If Sandman wanted to, he could absorb an entire beach and bury Gotham City in an afternoon. I’d imagine Batman’s confrontation with Sandman would go a lot like the first time Swamp Thing came to Gotham, which ended with the Green’s avatar laying siege to the city. Sandman is one of those villains who could be a lot more dangerous if he chose. Heck, forget Batman, Sandman could bury most superheroes outside of the A-list power tier. 

4) Hydro-Man

If Sandman is a supped-up Clayface, then Hydro-Man is a supped-up Sandman. At least Clayface is generally restricted by his mass, and Sandman is held back by sand’s physical properties. Hydro-Man is entirely made of water and can control any water he comes into contact with, meaning he could merge with the ocean and drown the Earth. Most superheroes can’t stop a tsunami, and even fewer of them can stop one that can fight back. Thankfully, Hydro-Man is canonically too stupid to use his powers properly. Still, if he wised up or someone else was in control of him, he could easily become one of Batman’s most dangerous foes.

3) Digger

This gamma-irradiated patchwork zombie was reborn when the leftover parts of seven gangsters were resurrected by the same bomb that birthed the Hulk. He possesses strength on par with the Jade Giant’s, but is held back by his unstable body. Still, even that limited power is enough to crash Spider-Man into a wall hard enough to leave a cheek impression, so it could level Batman if it landed cleanly. Batman could find a way to wait out Digger’s energy reserves, but much like with Solomon Grundy, if the Caped Crusader is caught unawares, he’s liable to lose his life faster than he can blink.

2) Solus

Solus is the father of Morlun and the progenitor of all Inheritors. As such, he is significantly more powerful than his children, who are already able to stand on-par with the Hulk. Solus is a nearly unkillable monster with power unlike any of Batman’s usual rogues. Solus once completely drained a Spider-Man charged with the Enigma Force, meaning that he is more powerful than Captain Universe. As resourceful and skilled as Batman is, this is not the kind of threat that he can fight on his own. It took the entire Spider-Verse to bring him down once, and this list imagines Batman on his own.

1) Itsy Bitsy

This crazed assassin is a sin against all things decent, being a clone of Spider-Man and Deadpool. She has all of their powers turned up to eleven, being as agile and as strong as Spider-Man, and healing just as quickly as Deadpool. Heck, her powers are even greater than theirs, since she’s stronger than Spidey and can survive complete atomization, all packaged with corrosive spit and organic webbing. Itsy Bitsy is practically an unhinged, unkillable Spider-Man, and that’s an utterly terrifying opponent. Batman finding an opponent he can’t kill means he doesn’t have to hold back, but still, this assassin is definitely capable of beating the Dark Knight in a fair fight. Fortunately for everyone, Batman doesn’t fight fair.

So there we have seven Spider-Man foes who stand a chance at defeating Batman. I doubt any of them would actually do it if put in a room with him, but the fact remains that they have a chance. Which other Spidey villain do you think could take the Dark Knight? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!

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