Superhero Showdowns

Without a doubt the most popular and widely debated showdown between any two superheroes is the one between Batman and Superman.  The possibility that a man who has sacrificed a normal life in an effort to excel in every mental and physical aptitude can overcome the power of a being who was born with nearly limitless power has spurned a wildfire of debate as fans rally to either side with a hundred reasons as to why their favorite half of America's Finest is superior to the other. Capable of bench pressing 1,000 lbs, running neck-to-neck with Olympic athletes, dodging bullets, and trading blows with metahumans, all while maintaining a genius level intellect as the world's greatest detective and one of the leading tactical and scientific minds, Bruce Wayne isn't anything short of a one man army.  A master of dozens of martial arts as well as weapons training with just about every inanimate object that can fit in his hands, strenuous mental training and studies, and an unhealthy dose of paranoia that leads to his infamous obsession with preparation, Bruce forged his way into becoming the definition of peak human abilities across the board as the Batman: the perfect example of human potential. Even with his vast array of bat-themed gadgetry and technological devices, his cutting-edge vehicles, armor, and Olympian physique, Batman's greatest weapon is his mind.  Widely known for intricate and convoluted plans, obsessive preparation, and tactical finesse, Bruce has felled countless giants with nothing but a proverbial stone and string.  His ability to detect a chink in the armor of his opponent and exploit that flaw with extreme prejudice has not only landed him a spot on the Justice League, but is also the reason he is feared by all- including his closest friend Clark Kent. While Superman's strength isn't exactly unparalleled, it is uncalculable.  Many of DC's superpowered beings rival his strength: Capt. Marvel, Black Adam, Wonder Woman, Power Girl and many others boast strength that can only be described as astronomical.  At full tilt Superman is fully capable of shattering a planet, withstanding the blast of a supernova, and pushing a planet out of orbit. And if that's not enough, Superman has as many powers as Batman has gadgets.  He can both run and fly at speeds faster than light, blast beams of intense heat from his eyes capable of vaporizing steel with surgical precision, exhale hurricane-force winds at temperatures low enough to flash-freeze objects, as well as x-ray vision, telescopic vision, vibrate his molecules to phase through solid objects, and the list goes on.  

Does the Batman, with all his skill, technology, and intellect stand a chance against Superman's godlike abilities?

Heck nope.

Superman's power level is simply far too high to fall within Batman's margin of potential victory. No amount of intellect or resourcefulness or tactical precision could exploit Superman's weakness before Superman could exploit Batman's weakness: his humanity.

In the time it takes for Batman's neural synapses to send the electrical impulse from his super-genius brain to his  toned Olympian body (53.6 meters per second from central nervous system to muscle systems, for you nit-pickers) to execute whatever excessively brilliant scheme he had concocted decades before the fight even began, Superman could kill him a dozen different ways, a hundred times over. Considering the following showdown parameters: 1. Both opponents are aware of when the showdown begins 2. Any amount of preparation time granted to one combatant is also granted to the other 3. If bloodlust is granted to one combatant it is granted to the other 4. No third party contenders are allowed to join the match, it is an absolute victory for Superman.

Although they are affiliated with major superhero organizations, many heroes  roam the city's streets defending against crime and upholding justice for the innocent on a more intimate level.  Among those who choose to get their hands dirty in the city's underground are Daredevil and Green Arrow, two popular street-level heroes from two different universes who both utilize their skills to uphold the greater good.

Oliver Queen is arguably the greatest archer the world of DC has ever seen.  Renowned for his proficiency with a bow, he fights alongside his fellow Justice Leaguers taking on foes far out of his depth with an arsenal of trick arrows; from bomb arrows to acid arrows to his notorious boxing glove arrow.  But his role as an archer doesn't make the Green Arrow a one-trick pony by any means.  Oliver has trained with the world's greatest martial arts teachers, including Natas, the same man who trained Deathstroke.  But frankly, his martial arts mastery doesn't quite stack up to that of his foe Matt Murdock, who's skill is enhanced by his superhuman ability.

Daredevil, a boxer-turned-ninja, is ranked among Marvel's top martial arts masters, a rank bolstered by his super-sensory powers.  It is true that Murdock's senses go far beyond that of the baseline human, but also his sense of balance is greatly enhanced which grants him agility beyond an Olympic level.  In hand-to-hand, although it would be a difficult match-up, Oliver just wouldn't be able to keep up with a guy on Daredevil's level- but he might not have to.

Back to what I mentioned earlier, about Green Arrow's arsenal of trick arrows? Well he packs what is called a sonic arrow. "Sonic" being the word to focus on here; Oli's sonic arrows are very powerful. The blast lasts a few moments, bringing opponents to their knees and even inducing vomiting from non-powered humans.  Given the fact that Matt's senses are tuned far beyond the human limit, a well-aimed sonic arrow would flat out shut down this match, incapacitating and potentially killing Murdock. But even still, this match is anything but clear cut.

Oli claims he can shoot about 29 arrows in a minute- roughly an arrow every two seconds, which falls well within Daredevil's margin of reaction time.  This is backed furthermore by his multiple displays of dodging and deflecting bullets as well as of course, catching arrows. And no impact means that the trick arrow never detonates, bringing this fight right back to Daredevil's possibly, maybe, slight advantage.

The real edge here lies in the experience of these two fighters.  Daredevil holds the advantage of experience on two fronts: first is his experience around Hawkeye.  Matt knows trick arrows when he "sees" them in his radar.  The circuitry of the odd arrowheads would immediately catch his attention and bring his focus not on the archer, but avoiding the projectiles, bringing us to his second advantage. It is a well-known fact that Daredevil's most dangerous foe is the notorious Bullseye, and Murdock has had more than enough practice dodging everything from bullets to arrows to throwing knives and random assortments of whatever was lying around in the room at the time flying at him with deadly accuracy.

Green Arrow on the other hand, has no foreknowledge of Murdock's abilities, and therefore no foreknowledge of his weaknesses either, meaning that his utilization of the sonic arrow wouldn't be something to count on. He has plenty of experience throwing down with the best of them, but that doesn’t exactly reinforce a victory.

This fight could go back and forth endlessly, and with both of these heroes starring in wildly successful television shows, there are sure to be die-hard fans willing to back their hero in this fight, but at the end of the day the slight edge goes to the Man Without Fear. Because of Green Arrow's wildcard nature, his victory in this showdown would truly be a shot in the dark.

In the depths of DC's oceans lies the kingdom of Atlantis, ruled by the very powerful yet often underrated Aquaman, known better by some as Arthur Curry.  As part of the Justice League, he uses his considerable power to defend the Earth from threats on a cosmic level along side the world's greatest heroes.   Aquaman's rule of the seven seas and it's creatures is absolute, although not unchallenged.  He has his own gallery of ocean-dwelling villains, including Ocean Master, Thanatos, and his arch-nemesis: Black Manta, who has proven to be amongst his most formidable of opponents.

Aquaman's powers do actually amount to much more than talking to fish, and I've actually already made a post that more or less thoroughly archived the entirety of Arthur's extensive powerset, which can be read here

Black Manta, as most arch-nemeses go, is an almost perfect inverse of his Atlantian foe.  His origin is shrouded in retconns and incongruence, but each of his early incarnations has lead to more-or-less the same Black Manta: a powerless human clad in his trademark armor dwelling in the ocean's depths.  He is at the peak of his fitness, and as a trained assassin with a calculating intelligent mind he's a threat in his own rights, but he'll need to bring much more to the table than some kung-fu and nefarious schemes if he wants to face off against the King of Atlantis and live to tell about it.

And he does bring more to the table. Much, much more.  Black Manta is known for his custom armor, specifically designed to function in the harsh environment of the ocean's frigid depths.  This armor also equips him with a very high degree of super strength and durability, enough to tangle with the likes of Aquaman as he has shown many times before.  The trademark helmet of the armor not only acts as a buffer between Manta's head and Arthur's devastating punches, but also is capable of delivering high-energy laser blasts from the eyes, as any self-respecting villain should be equipped with.

Speaking of equipment, Manta arms himself with quite an array of weaponry, including twin blades, a trident, gauntlet mounted energy blaster and torpedoes, as well as a taser powerful enough to nearly incapacitate Aquaman.

But even with his weaponry, his ship, and his henchmen, Black Manta still does not stack up to someone of Aquaman's stature- and he knows it.  Facing off against Aquaman is always preceded by careful planning and preparation on Black Manta's part.  His tactical mind and access to exotic technologies give him edge enough to be a legitimate threat to the Kingdom of Atlantis, but here in the Superhero Showdowns Blood-Lust Arena of Death we don't allow for such advantages.

When stripped of his tactical advantages Black Manta is suddenly a lot less threatening; it isn't a question of whether or not Aquaman could defeat his nemesis, but how quickly he could do so.  When out for blood Aquaman is far too powerful, and his speed is much much greater than anything Black Manta could cope with, especially considering the fact that he's taken the full brunt of some of Manta's most powerful attacks(optic blasts, taser, twin blades) and still come out swinging.

With no villainous schemes, henchmen, or special anti-Aquaman technology, Black Manta is a minnow in a shark tank.

Superman, being DC's forefront icon, is very well known in his abilities, his powers, and just about every other aspect, so we'll take a closer look at Wonder Woman before breaking this down. Diana of Themyscira is princess of a race of females known as the Amazons.  Carved from clay and bestowed with life and powers from the Greek Gods, she is the only Amazon not conceived by a man.   The powers bestowed to Diana are: Super strength, given to her by Demeter.  She is powerful enough to trade blows with DC's heaviest hitters, including Captain Marvel, Superman, and Black Adam. Although it is implied that Superman is stronger than she, they do fall into the same class of strength.  Demeter also gifted her with invulnerability and a healing factor. Super Speed, granted by Hermes, in both movement and flight.  Flash has stated that she could easily keep up with him, and she can move at faster-than-light speeds.  Her agility and reflexes go beyond Superman's capabilities. Superhuman senses, granted by Artemis, gives her senses on par with Superman's. Ares, god of war, mentored Diana in the art of combat and warfare beginning on the night of her 8th birthday, with the intention of her eventually replacing him as the Goddess of War. Although her godlike physiology matches that of Superman's his powers bring him to a level of versatility unmatched by sheer strength and speed. This is where her arsenal comes into play. Diana carries various weaponry, most iconic of which is her lasso of truth.  It is unbreakable, and forces those it holds to speak only the truth(although there won't be much interrogation going on in this showdown.) Her unbreakable bracelets of victory can protect her from any damage directed at her, as well as blast powerful bolts of lightning, being forged from Zeus's Aegis shield. Finally, her tiara is razor sharp and a useful throwing weapon, something that has proved to be effective against Superman in the past. Recently, Hephaestus has modified Diana's bracelets of victory to manifest two short blades from them for battle. Wonder Woman is one of the most thoroughly powered and well-armed of the Justice League, but to face off against its leader takes more than just brute strength and magical toys. While DC has yet to precisely quantify the stats of Superman(probably because numbers don't go that high), it's pretty firmly established that Superman is stronger, faster, and more durable than Wonder Woman, but physical superiority does not equate to combat superiority.

The deciding factor of this showdown is Superman's capacity vs Wonder Woman's capability Superman is stronger than Wonder Woman, but Wonder Woman is strong enough to kill Superman. Superman is faster than Wonder Woman, but Wonder Woman is fast enough to outrun Superman. Superman is more durable than Wonder Woman, but Wonder Woman is durable enough to take a hit from Superman and still come out swinging. In Diana's case, the potential is there, but is enough enough? Is her potential for victory applicable? In other words the question is does Wonder Woman have the skills required to compensate for her lack of raw power? And the answer is absolutely. Diana spent her youth being trained by Olympic gods in combat and her skill was enough to get the attention of Ares, the god of war himself, who privately trained her in the art of warfare.  While Diana was being trained in combat by the god of war, Clark was on a farm learning about values and responsibility, but that isn't her only advantage.  There was a conversation between Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman that established that Superman could run and fly faster than Diana, but she moved much quicker than he could in terms of movement like throwing punches and kicks, dodging, and performing other feats of agility.

When stacked up against Wonder Woman’s maximized potential, Superman is simply out of his depth.  He lacks the technique and experience to keep up with Diana and would fall victim to a flurry of blows and blade-work far superior to any level of martial arts mastery he's developed over the years. His usual advantage of strength and speed are diminished beyond any degree of leverage, so his edge would have to be maintained by the use of his other powers, although it's nothing Diana hasn't already seen before.

Raw power may give an edge, but skill and training will always be the highest contributing factor.  It is for the same reason that rich-guy-Joe buying a super-car and driving around on a racetrack will lose to a professional driver in a car with half the horsepower.  It's what makes characters like Green Arrow, Taskmaster, and Daredevil relevant. It's the foundation that Batman has built his entire career upon.  It's the idea that capability outweighs capacity; it’s not about what you have, it’s about what you can do with it.

However, skills aren't everything, and it certainly doesn't just shut down a match.  Put Batman in a room with Doomsday and watch him demonstrate his skills at being slapped into a bat-shaped stain.  Clark can take down Diana, his edge mostly lies in the versatility of his powers, but his margin of advantage is far too slim to emerge victorious against someone of Diana’s caliber.