Fact: Batman is the best superhero. The reason is simple. Let’s just look at the Justice League. Who do we have there? Two aliens (Superman and the Martian Manhunter), two humans with powers granted by alien artifacts (Green Lantern and Hawkgirl), one human with super powers (the Flash), and one demigoddess (Wonder Woman). Then there’s Batman.
Batman is best because while his peers all have some sort of power or another, he doesn’t. He is a regular human being (albeit one with extensive martial arts training, funding and gadgetry). Still, if you shot Superman in the face, he’d laugh. Martian Manhunter? Become immaterial. Green Lantern would use his ring to create a shield. Hawkgirl would deflect it with her mace, as Wonder Woman would do with her bracers. The Flash would move almost before you pulled the trigger.
Bruce Wayne would die.
Because he’s so fragile, he must rely on his skills, (like super awesome detective work, martial arts, a keen mind and sheer cussed determination), to keep up with his fellows. And in some cases, surpass them.
Look no further than the Justice League Unlimited episode, “Only a Dream.” When Dr. Destiny, a dream-controlling, telepathic villain ensnares the majority of the Justice League in a web of their own nightmares, unable to awaken, only the Martian Manhunter and Batman are able to avoid being trapped. Now, one of the Martian Manhunter’s powers is telepathy, and it was this power that allowed him to fend off Dr. Destiny’s mental attack. He attempts to use his power to help his teammates awaken by entering their dreams.
Batman goes for a more direct approach, in punching Dr. Destiny in the face. The only problem with this strategy is that Dr. Destiny is an exceedingly strong telepath, able to read the minds of all those near him, and control the dreams of his enemies while they sleep.
So Batman does without sleep, for days, (coffee helps), until encountering the good doctor, masking his thoughts all the while by humming “Frère Jacques.”
Even John Dee (Dr. Destiny’s real name) points out to Batman that he really “only has a problem with the others…But you’re different, you don’t have any special powers.”
Batman’s reply? “Oh, I have one, Johnny. I never give up.”
And that’s why Batman is the best superhero. When all the others are other are trapped, helpless, when Batman is all alone, he never gives up. He even takes on Darkseid, a villain so powerful that he’s able to punch Superman into a temporary stupor, and when he questions why Batman fights, Superman says, “That man won’t quit as long as he can still draw a breath.”
So beware, would-be supervillians. While most heroes have a wide array of special powers with a few weaknesses here and there, Batman has only one power: He is Batman, and that’s enough.
