The Six Most Powerful Characters Batman Has Ever Beaten

For a man whose only superpower is a bottomless wallet, Batman sure seems to come out on top in a [...]

By Christian Hoffer - May 6, 2016 10:44 am EDT

For a man whose only superpower is a bottomless wallet, Batman sure seems to come out on top in a lot of fights. And we're not just talking about his usual battles against Gotham City's eclectic band of supervillains. He can beat EVERYONE, from superpowered aliens to evil gods. Batman might be the world's greatest tactician, but at times it feels like he's almost too good at his job. There's a popular Internet saying that "Batman can beat anyone with enough prep time," but here's seven times where Batman's victories were against opponents way out of his league:

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Superman

With the release of Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice, the entire world knows just how easily Batman can take down the Man of Steel. The fight in that movie is loosely based off a scene from The Dark Knight Returns, in which an armored Batman beats down Superman with the help of Green Arrow, who shoots a kryptonite arrow into the fray to weaken their ex-ally. Batman scored another divisive victory in Batman: Hush when the Dark Knight and Catwoman fought a Poison Ivy controlled Superman. After exhausting every other option (including a handy kryptonite ring), Batman ordered Catwoman to drop Lois Lane off the top of the Daily Planet, knowing that it would break Poison Ivy's control over Superman.

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Green Lantern

Batman has actually beaten two different Green Lanterns, the wielders of the universe's most powerful weapon. In an early issue of Justice League International, Batman sucker punched Green Lantern Guy Gardner, who was hoping to assert himself as the leader of the team. With one punch, Batman emasculated Gardner and turned him into a joke, something he wouldn't recover from for almost fifteen years. Batman also won a mental victory over Hal Jordan, a more popular Green Lantern, in All-Star Batman and Robin. When the Justice League objected to Batman's more violent methods and his use of a teen sidekick, they sent Jordan to give Batman a "talk". When Jordan tracked down Batman, he found the Dark Knight covered in yellow paint and sitting in an entirely yellow room. A Green Lantern ring doesn't work against yellow objects, so Hal Jordan was just a very vulnerable man wearing a stupid spandex costume.

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Darkseid

When Darkseid and his Apokoliptian forces prepared to invade Earth in Final Crisis, they quickly neutralized many of Earth's mightiest heroes. Batman was the first hero to fall to Darkseid's plans just after he realized the threat the Earth faces. Granny Goodness captured the hero and brought him back to their secret base on Earth for torture. Soon after, Darkseid unleashed the Anti-Life Equation on the entire planet, instantly subjugating most of Earth's population. Unfortunately, Darkseid's plan had one fatal flaw: they left Batman alive and inadvertently shielded him from the Anti-Life Equation. After escaping from his prison, Batman hunted Darkseid down and used a special god-killing bullet to mortally injure Darkseid. Batman's victory came at a high cost, though: Darkseid hit Batman with the Omega Sanction, sending him back in time and leaving everyone to think he was dead.

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The Predator

Batman's opponents aren't limited to DC characters. He's regularly defeated opponents from other popular franchises. The 1991 Batman vs Predator miniseries saw one of the fierce alien hunters arrive on Earth to stalk the most dangerous prey of all: a billionaire who dresses as a rodent at night to scare criminals. The Predator found that Batman wasn't like Carl Weathers or some other easily disposable mercenary. With the help of Commissioner Gordon and Alfred (who shot the alien with a blunderbuss), Batman sent the Predator packing. Batman's final weapon of choice to defeat the Predator? A baseball bat. Having suffered the most humiliating defeat in galactic history, the Predator commits suicide with a sword that Batman then takes back to the Batcave as a souvenir.

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Captain America

Marvel and DC had a grand crossover in the 1990s that pitted superheroes from both universes against each other in single combat. Most of the opponents had similar skills and power levels, so it makes sense that Batman's opponent was the Star Spangled Avenger, Captain America. While most of the DC vs. Marvel superhero fights had a quick resolution, Batman's battle against Captain America lasted hours, a real world tactical battle that exhausted both competitors. Batman only won thanks to the location of their battle, an underground sewer. When a sewer flush knocked Captain America off balance, Batman used the opening to knock the Avenger out with a batarang, but then quickly dived into the water to save his defeated foe. Batman claimed that by saving Captain America he had lost the fight, but readers (who voted on the winner) knew who the real victor was.

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White Martians

The White Martians are a race of aliens with the same powers as the Martian Manhunter, only with psychopathic tendencies and proclivity for conquering other races. So, when a group of White Martians posed as a superhero team called the Hyperclan to prep for an invasion of Earth, the Justice League didn't realize the danger they were in until it was too late. Outmatched and outgunned, the Justice League lost a convincing battle to the Hyperclan and were all captured in the process…with the exception of Batman, who the Hyperclan left for dead on the battlefield. That turned out to be a big mistake, since Batman wasn't dead and was now free to wage a surgical guerilla war on the Hyperclan. Batman took out four of the Hyperclan's eight members, leaving the rest of the Justice League with a much easier task when the team finally escaped.

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