Batman has such an iconic stature among the public that they tolerated even Ben Affleck playing the Dark Knight, but, what about Black Panther? He is not that loved. The truth is, whatever Batman is, Black Panther is a better version of it.
In case you are clueless, Batman is among the earliest globally known superheroes, but, T’Challa, the Black Panther deserves all the accolades too. He is the first genuine mainstream black superhero of repute. Agreed, that there have been some less than impressive black superheroes I the past, and some who might have been worthy of attention, but, never got going among the comic book readers, however, Black Panther’s debut was in the world’s most iconic Comics magazine: The Fantastic Four. On the other hand, DC shied away from having a black hero among their Legion of Superheroes.
Similar to Batman, Black Panther is a very intelligent and incredibly wealthy man who also happens to be one of the best fighters and is a member of the world’s mightiest superhero team. On every parameter, Black Panther is superior.
1. Resources: City’s Richest Man vs. World’s Richest Man
According to the estimates by Forbes.com, Bruce Wayne’s net worth is a cool $9.2 billion. The fortune inherited from his father and reigns of his company gives Bruce free access to any technique or tools that he might need to tackle road-side crime (even though he might not be great at using those resources). Still, it is not bad for the richest Casanova from Gotham City.
Whereas T’Challa’s net worth (hold your breath) is approx. $90.7 trillion as reported by Time.com. Just like Wayne, T’Challa also inherited his wealth from his late father, but, while Thomas Wayne left for Bruce an economic empire, T’Chaka left behind the keys to a whole kingdom called Wakanda and the Great Mound – the only place on Earth where you could find pure Vibranium.
The imaginary metal is where the most marvelous Marvel technology comes from, and it is the key material in the Captain America’s shield. The metal’s extreme powers and the fact that it has been fiercely guarded for several centuries, the people of Wakanda can demand any price for it and dominate the global trade. (There is another metal called the Antarctic Vibranium too, but, that one destroys every other metal and is not as useful as Wakanda’s Vibranium).
2. Smartness: World’s Greatest Detective vs. One of the Universe’s Smartest Men
Batman is highly regarded for his detective skills, and he can find almost anything, and it is his intellect rather than his muscular strength which has seen him prevail over every adversary. He has created a lot of his own tech, while some of the versions also show that he has the Bat-computer which was invented by his father or the Batmobile which was built by some random engineers employed by Lucius Fox.
Similarly, T’Challa also received most of his technology in inheritance, as the small country called Wakanda has continuously been the most developed human civilization in the world for several generations. Despite that, T’Challa is the smartest man ever born in Wakanda. He is ranked among the Eight Smartest Men in the Marvel Universe, the list that has names such as Reed “Mr. Fantastic” Richards, Hank Pym (the original Ant-Man), and Henry “the Beast” McCoy. Being one of the smartest men, T’Challa joined the all men club called The Illuminati (a super team of secretive heroes and not the backup singers for Justin Timberlake).
3. Origin: Childhood Trauma vs. International Incident
A street criminal shot dead Batman’s parents when he was just a child. He faced such severe trauma that he committed his life to become a vigilante which will drive fear into the hearts of all the criminals and chose to dress up like a bat because he saw one fly through his window once upon a time.
T’Chaka, the father of T’Challa aka Black Panther was killed by a supervillain (Ulysses Klaw) in an incident which had once again cut off Wakanda from the rest of the civilization for several decades before T’Challa once again opened the doors under his supervision. And yes, T’Challa instantly exacted revenge for the murder of his father by destroying the villain’s hand and pushing out all outsiders from Wakanda. T’Challa wears a Panther’s costume because that is the ceremonial dress of his country’s most revered champion. It didn’t come to him just because of his royal origin, but, he earned the title of Black Panther by winning various challenges.
4. Skills: Trained by World’s Greatest Fighters vs. Heir Of Greatest Fighters From History
Whether he learned to fight by revered ninjas or sleight of hand by a renowned magician, the world’s best taught the young Bruce Wayne to become the master of all types of combat. Hand-to-hand, there is no superior fighter in the DC Universe. Even those who might be more adept in a particular combat style or enjoy some kind of battle advantages have succumbed to the Batman’s punches.
However, T’Challa is the latest of an illustrious and long list of warrior kings, each of whom learned from the successes and failures of his predecessor. As the best warrior in his warrior nation, T’Challa has another advantage which his ancestors didn’t have. He is not only King of Wakanda but, T’Challa was recently blessed by his patron, the Panther God, to be the King of the Dead. This not only leaves at his discretion, the skills handed down the generations, but, he is capable of summoning his forefathers and seek their advice at any point in time.
5. Power Boost: Temporary High of the Lazarus Pit vs. Permanent High of the Heart-Shaped Herb
There have been many occasions when Batman died, and he has primarily relied on the Lazarus Pits of Ra’s al Ghul to revive himself. Comic back from the pit gives him energy like nothing else can, and he momentarily becomes a god-like being. However, the side effect is that it can impact the mind and can even drive someone crazy if adequate care is not given. Then, of course, there is Venom, the most preferred drug for Bane. When high on Venom, Batman became nearly unbeatable, though, he was almost beaten by the drug itself.
Black Panther needed to take the traditional Wakandan drug only once. After he was worthy of becoming Black Panther, T’Challa was given the heart-shaped herb and also got some subtle yet capable powers from the Panther God such as enhances senses, reflexes, and physical strength. T’Challa also got the perfect human physique.
6. Toys: Bat Ex Machina vs. Vibranium Ex Machina
A great deal has been interpreted from Batman’s gadgets. He is known to carry a device for every occasion (even a gun for that matter). Damn it; he even had a shark-bat-repellant just in case he ever got attacked by shark-bats. Typically, he has the Batmobile (some of its versions can fly too), various Bat styled planes (apparently some of them might be driveable), Batarangs, glove-knife objects and various other multi-purpose weapons. It might sound crazy, but, Batman is always ready. Even for stupidity!
Black Panther is not any less prepared, however, most of the gadgets he carries are Vibranium based (not themed after a panther because that would be absolutely dumb). He created them on his own to achieve his goals, whether it be about non-fatally hurting his opponents to climbing vertical walls noiselessly (Vibranium cancels soundwaves). He created the technology which could temporarily contain the nearly unbeatable Silver Surfer and built the Quintjets used by the Avengers and the SHIELD. In fact, most of the Marvel Universe technology, even the one designed by Reed Richards or Tony Stark, is inspired by Wakanda’s tech, and most of the designs which Wakanda has shared with the world are the work of T’Challa.
7. Bragging Rights: Ability To Defeat Any Hero or Villain vs. Ability to Defeat Any God or Devil
In the highly appreciated Justice League of America: Tower of Babel story arc, DC’s greatest icons found out that Batman had planned to defeat each and every one of his colleagues. The plan was not motivated by a desire to defeat them, but, he just felt that the need might come someday. If any of them ever went rogue, which did happen, or had to be beaten, he had to be ready.
In the same way, The Avengers found that the reason why Black Panther joined them was to spy on them. Even though he pretended to be a friend and confidant, he observed them to understand the risk levels and their weaknesses. When he came to know this, Captain America threw him out of the team (but, later brought him back). Black Panther’s readiness is not only about that, but, he also had plans ready for himself and his army to execute if any threat looms over Wakanda. He built Galactus contingency plans aimed to beat the unbeatable cosmic entity (and later use those plans into action in tandem with the Fantastic Four). He also planned to defeat the devil himself, in case need ever arose, and it did when the devil stepped through his door. By the end of their confrontation, Mephisto (the most successful devil-version from Marvel) pleaded Black Panther to let him go.
8. Sidekick(s): Boy Wonder vs. Queen Divine Justice
Batman has a number of Robins, and Black Panther has the Dora Milaje.
It won’t be wrong to call the Dora Milaje as the eternal virgins of Wakanda: Warrior women from the country’s numerous tribes, who have resolved to marry only Black Panther and none else, but, whom he doesn’t consummate to keep the precarious tribal balance of the country going.
The mightiest of all Dora Milaje has been Queen Divine Justice, a teenager who grew up in Chicago and had more swag and a better sense of judgment than any Robin ever had. Not only that, she took the Hulk out for partying once, and they became life-long friends.
9. Archenemy: Mass Murdering Clown vs. Unkillable Living Sound
It is agreed that the Joker is way cooler than Klaw, but, the supervillain who murdered T’Challa’s father (a character played by Andy Serkis in Avengers: Age of Ultron) is better than the Joker because while the Clown Prince of Crime had to stage his death and has miraculously cheated death on many occasions, Klaw has been living as a being created from living sound and has ‘died’ on countless occasions, only for an echo to bring him back to life. He is presumed dead for now, but, that can’t be the last of him.
We also agree that Black Panther’s rogues gallery isn’t even a fraction of what Batman has, yet, Black Panther had some of the nastiest enemies. The White Wolf’s is his help as well as an obstacle because the adopted brother of T’Challa plays the role of Black Panther’s supporter in Wakanda’s protection, but, he does everything that T’Challa doesn’t want him to do. Then we see Erik Killmonger who believes to be T’Challa’s opposite number and is definitely a physical and mental danger (his name is way cooler than even the Jessica Jones’ villain Kilgrave). Then there is the weird, but, dangerous Man-Ape, who contrary to all perceptions is an enemy whom T’Challa takes very seriously courtesy his political support in Africa. Black Panther’s most worrying enemy, however, doesn’t have any superpowers and he doesn’t dress up in any superhero costume, he is just Achebe, the smartest crazy guy in the whole world.
10. Archfrienemy: Last Son of Krypton vs. Avenging Son of Atlantis
Last but not the least, which of the superheroes is the constant rival of the hero? Everyone knows who is the winner in a Batman v Superman fight (the studio is expecting they win), but, Black Panther? He has for long been having a rivalry with Namor, the king of Atlantis. These two kings have clashed more than once on the topic of international politics and superhero stuff. However, everything boiled down to an end when Namor destroyed vast chunks of Wakanda under the influence of the cosmic being called Phoenix, and T’Challa blamed him for it. In revenge, Wakanda attacked New Atlantis, slaughtering thousands in the dark waters of the night. As his next move, Namor manipulated the invading armies of Thanos (yes, the Thanos from Avengers: Infinity War) into attacking Wakanda while it was still reeling under the impact of his previous assault. As a counter-attack to that, T’Challa crushed Namor between smashing Earths in a collapsing universe. Namor survived and ever since they decided to end their enmity. At least for the time being!
Its undeniable that Superman is way more popular and mightier than the Sub-Mariner, but, the fact that the Sub-Mariner is on the list of the heavyweights in terms of strength, and he also has an army of fearsome warriors which he doesn’t hesitate to unleash at any moment. Still Namor of Atlantis is a bigger risk. Superman cries while having to kill a mass murderer. The Sub-Mariner wiped out 7 billion people in order to save two infinitely populated universes.
Bonus:
Legal Aid: Police Commissioner vs. Government Stooge
Batman has a friend in Jim Gordon who always finds the loopholes, however, now with his special federal commission, Everett K. Ross has the clout over a police commissioner such as James Gordon (according to the situation). And also Ross once bargained with the Devil for a pair of pants and sold his soul to him. Then he also had dated T’Challa’s former girlfriend. Is there anything more needed to get impressed by that guy?
Therefore, the verdict is: Black Panther is by far much better than Batman.
