Batman’s collection of villains is often referred to as the most powerful lineup of villains for any comic book character ever. Many of the iconic superheroes have only a handful of main rivals, but, in the case of the Batman, almost every single villain has a well-established story of origin and history. His battles with the Joker are unending. Batman happens to be one superhero who doesn’t just raise his arm and jump into a fight, rather, he spends a considerable amount of time preparing for the battle ahead. In this article, let’s have a look at some of the superheroes who have been beaten by the Dark Knight.
1. THE JUSTICE LEAGUE
We all know how Batman is an immaculate planner who prepares for any potential situation while getting ready for an outing with the rogues. He even had a contingency plan to take out each member of the Justice League which was stolen by Ra’s al Ghul who nearly killed all the Justice league members by using their weaknesses to counter them. For example, he used liquid nitrogen to freeze Plastic Man and used Red Kryptonite to take Superman down to his knees. Somehow the Superheroes recovered, and the outcome of having nearly ensured the destruction of the league was that Batman had to be expelled from it and losing out on all his friends.
2. THE HULK
The Hulk is so powerful that nobody can take him on without having a strategy ready first. When Batman fought him, he didn’t try to challenge the Hulk physically. Instead of that he took advantage of the chemicals in the air and created a gas that would knock the Hulk out unconscious as soon as he inhaled it. Hulk countered this by filling his massive lungs with enough air and then held his breath. However, even he couldn’t help losing his breath when a powerful Bat kick rocked his chest. In no time, he was napping like a big breathing boulder after inhaling the gas and Batman stood victorious.
3. TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES
You might wonder that Batman could be hampered if he took on four rivals at once, but, even if Batman didn’t know much about the Ninja Turtles, he was much better trained and had equipment at his disposal. The turtles were severely thrashed and had to escape with the help of Splinter’s smoke bombs.
4. SPAWN
Spawn was big in the 1990sBack in the ‘90s, and he had a rundown with the Batman who insulted him by calling him a “twit”. The fight didn’t culminate in any decisive victory for either of them. The fight ended with a cheap shot from Batman which gave his opponent a famed scar that carried on into the main Spawn series later. Though Batman was beaten as severely as he hit his opponent, this final shot which ended the childish brawl might have made him feel victorious.
5. CAPTAIN AMERICA
The fight between the Captain and Batman was a battle of equals and they so perfectly matched each other in strength and skill that none of them could gain the upper hand. They kept fighting on and on and ultimately more than anything else, it was the Sewer where they had been fighting which distracted the Captain and gave Batman an opportunity to slam a Batarang which knocked his rival out. After that, Batman realized that the Captain America was certain to drown, so he took him out of the sewer and ensured his safety before walking away victorious.
6. THE PUNISHER
The Deadly Knights story showed Punisher punching Batman, but, he obviously didn’t have the power of Batman and when he tries to punch him a second time, Batman nonchalantly tosses the Punisher aside and rubs in by saying that the first shot was the only free one. Punisher backed out of that fight, but later they had a showdown in the prequel to Lake of Fire. Even this time the fight went down to the fisticuffs and Punisher quickly realized that he was doomed in that scenario, so he beat a quiet retreat by using a smoke bomb.
7. GREEN ARROW
In Pretenders to the Throne, we saw Green Arrow taking on the Batman. These two had several skirmishes over the years, but, this was a special one. This was a three-pronged battle which also involved Superman apart from these two. At one point in time, it looked as if a Kryptonite arrow had taken out the caped hero which enraged Batman so much that he pounced on the Green Arrow and started knocking the daylight out of him. The Green Arrow stabs an arrow in Batman’s chest, but, mad with fury, the Dark Knight keeps attacking his rival. Superman recovers in time to see that the Batman was likely to die if he didn’t stop, and then he proceeds to create some Green Arrow ash by using his heat vision. The fight was over and Batman, Superman duo shared the honors.
8. THE SUPERMAN
These two have on countless occasions fought alongside to defeat enemies like Green Arrow above, and at the same time, they have had an equal number of no holds barred fights among themselves. The latest and probably the most decisive fights between the two were seen in the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The Batman nearly had permanent victory on offer when he stood towering over a crumpled Superman, holding a Kryptonite spear that could have pierced the life out of the Man of Steel. Kindness prevailed, and Batman held back when he came to know that both of them had a mother named Martha.
