Batman is one of the greatest fighters in the entire world. He spent a decade traveling the world, learning every discipline he could from the best masters alive. By the time he returned to Gotham City, he had forged himself into a weapon like no other. Batman has reached the pinnacle of an unreal number of skills. Deduction, manhunting, criminology, chemistry, mechanics, stealth, fighting, and much, much more. He’s a human being whose sheer willpower and ingenuity have let him stand alongside and even defeat veritable gods. However, being almost the best at everything means that Batman can’t specialize, meaning that there are a few heroes who surpass him in any number of these disciplines. Sometimes, there are walls that skill just can’t climb.
Given his popularity and extraordinary skill set, Batman is regularly pitted against his fellow heroes. After all, who doesn’t love to see who’s stronger between their favorites? Batman has a reputation for insane plot armor and winning fights he has no business winning, but not even the Dark Knight can win them all. Today, we’re taking a look at seven superheroes who have actually defeated Batman in a fight. Some of them have even beaten him more than once. With that said, let’s blast into the history of Batman’s battles.
7) Superman
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Getting the obvious one out of the way first, Superman and Batman often find themselves at opposite ends of the ring. They’re DC’s most popular heroes and embody two different styles of saving the day, so it’s only natural that the World’s Finest fight now and again. Batman has made it his mission to be the one who can bring Superman down if he ever loses control, but Superman is much, much stronger than the very human Caped Crusader. One example came in Batman: The Dark Knight (2011) volume two #5, when Batman was drugged by a mix of Venom and Fear Toxin. He attacked Superman, and when words proved too little to calm the enraged Batman, Superman took him down in a single punch.
6) Nightwing
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Batman and his first-ever protege have duked it out plenty over the years. The original Boy Wonder has proven that he’s taken all of Batman’s lessons to heart and then some, even beating the legendary Batman just as much as he’s gotten beat. In Nightwing (2011) #30, the Dynamic Duo had a no-holds-barred brawl where Bruce convinced the legally-dead Dick to become a secret agent to infiltrate Spyral. Even though Bruce convinced his son, Dick won the fight, proving once and for all that he was at least as good as his mentor. Nightwing is all the best parts about Batman, and that includes his incredible fighting skills.
5) Green Lantern
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Hal and Batman have had a rocky relationship ever since the former became the supervillain Parallax. When Hal returned to the world of the living in Green Lantern: Rebirth, Batman refused to believe that Hal’s crimes could be written off as him being possessed. Hal responded by knocking Batman down with a single punch. This fight was short, sweet, and came from a comic infamous for some of the Dark Knight’s worst characterization outside of All-Star Batman and Robin. Obviously, Green Lantern has the advantage in just about every way, but this was just straight-up embarrassing. It was a callback to when Bruce famously took Guy Gardner down with one punch, which at least fit with the characters.
4) Black Canary
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Black Canary is one of DC’s most underrated fighters. She’s had a long-running rivalry with Lady Shiva, who is considered by many to be the deadliest assassin in the world and one of the world’s greatest fighters. Batman can’t beat Shiva on his own, but Canary has, and sure enough, she proved that the transitive property applies here. She’s never had a full-on fight to the finish with Bruce, but she’s beaten him in two separate spars. One in Detective Comics #1107, and another time in Black Canary: Best of the Best #3. The latter one was far more personal, with Dinah beating Bruce without much effort at all. She’s consistently shown to be a top-level fighter and is definitely one of the best.
3) Wonder Woman
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Diana and Bruce are two of the closest friends there could be, but that doesn’t mean they’ve never come to blows. They most famously fought in Wonder Woman: Hiketeia, after Wonder Woman swore her protection to a scared woman on the run. What Wonder Woman didn’t know was that she was on the run from Batman for murder, leading to their fight. Batman never stood a chance. Not only is Wonder Woman nearly as strong as Superman, but she’s on his level for pure skill. She threw him out of her house with one punch. They fought again in the same story, but it ended the same way, with Diana coming out on top.
2) Swamp Thing
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Swamp Thing is the Avatar of the Green and has the incredible power to control plant life wherever it is. He’s fought the Dark Knight a few times, but their first clash came in Swamp Thing (1982) #53. Swamp Thing’s wife was arrested for having relations with a non-human, and in response, he laid siege to Gotham City. Batman tried to fight him with a flamethrower, but Swamp Thing simply grew more bodies and surrounded him. He left Batman a broken mess, and after the Caped Crusader learned of the situation, he helped free Abby. Batman realized that fighting Swamp Thing was definitely not a good idea.
1) Batgirl
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Cassandra Cain is one of the very few people who outclass Batman in pure martial arts. He’s long said that he wouldn’t be able to take her in a fight, and that was proven in Batgirl (2000) #50. Both heroes were subjected to a rage-inducing drug called Soul. Cass has long-buried anger that roared to the surface, but Bruce resisted the effects, even while he fought Batgirl to let her vent her frustrations. She kept Batman on the backfoot the entire time. He used every gadget he had, and she just used her fists, but she had the clear advantage as their fight spilled over Gotham. Batman was forced to blast himself off a bridge with an explosion to bring her back to her senses, making Cass the clear winner in this fight.
Which heroes do you think could take Batman in a fight? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts on the ComicBook Forum!