Batman Versus Superman: Who Has the Advantage?

Washington: Two iconic characters in capes rocketed the comic-book industry into the American mainstream: Superman and Batman, twin pop-culture monuments who, though born in the late '30s, still reign ageless. And on March 25, these Spandex heavyweights will go (Super-)mano a (Bat-)mano for the first time on the big screen, in director Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

So who has the edge in this epic showdown of DC Comics's most popular warriors? Sure, Superman is the stronger combatant - but don't think Batman doesn't have something in his utility belt to counter him. To weigh their pros and cons, here's our tale of the tape:

BIRTH NAME

Superman: Kal-El

Batman: Bruce Wayne

Advantage: Superman, with a name so distinctive, fan Nicolas Cage even tagged his son with it.

OFFICIAL CHARACTER HEIGHT

Superman: 6-foot-3

Batman: 6-foot-2

Advantage: Push

OFFICIAL CHARACTER WEIGHT

Superman: 235 pounds

Batman: 210 pounds

Advantage: Depends of weight of Batman's gadget-laced utility belt.

HAIR

Superman: Signature S-curl

Batman: Potential "helmet hair" from the cowl.

Advantage: Superman

LOGO

Superman: Chest-spanning "S"

Batman: Fear-inducing black bat

Advantage: Batman. The "Bat-Signal" looks impressive projected into the midnight skies over Gotham.

SECRET IDENTITY

Superman: Bumbling, stumbling newspaper reporter Clark Kent

Batman: Billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne

Advantage: Superman - those media connections pay off in times of trouble.

ICONIC CRASH PAD

Superman: Icy "Fortress of Solitude"

Batman: Dank, subterranean "Batcave"

Advantage: Batman - better manservants.

PERSONALITY

Superman: Earnest do-gooder (aka "The Big Blue Boy Scout")

Batman: Dark, moody, tortured vigilante

Advantage: Superman. Batman's a real downer as a plus-one.

ORIGIN STORY

Superman: The infant Kal-El's parents rocketed him away in a capsule like a cosmos-Moses ("cos-Moses"?) before they died in the explosion of home planet Krypton.

Batman: Young Bruce Wayne saw his own parents murdered before his eyes, while old enough to remember the psyche-scarring event.

Advantage for lifelong mental torture as compelling narrative: Batman

FIGHTING ATTRIBUTES

Superman: Super-flight, super-speed, super-hearing, super-intelligence, super-near-invulnerability, super-heat vision.

Batman: Hand-to-hand combat; a street fighter's hard-won guile.

Advantage: Batman

WEAKNESS

Superman: Kryptonite radiation, love of humanity

Batman: No actual superpower, Catwoman's feline allure Advantage: Batman

SIDEKICK

Superman: Usually works alone

Batman: Most often Robin, the Boy Wonder

Advantage: Superman. Poor, ever-grieving Batman has had to endure too many sidekick deaths by nefarious means.

NOTABLE VILLAINS

Superman: Lex Luthor, Brainiac, Bizarro, Zod

Batman: Joker, Riddler, Penguin, Bane, Ra's al Ghul

Advantage: Batman - arguably the greatest rogues' gallery in comics history.

CREATORS

Superman: Nerdy, outsidery Canadian/Cleveland boys in the '30s (Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster)

Batman: Streetwise, outsidery New York lads in the '30s (Bob Kane and Bill Finger)

Advantage: You pick

OSCAR NOMINATIONS AMONG BIG-SCREEN ACTORS

Superman: Reeve, Routh, Cavill et al.= zero

Batman: Keaton, Clooney, Bale, Affleck = 14.

Advantage: Batman

MEMORABLE MUSIC

Superman: John Williams' triumphant horns in the original films

Batman: Hans Zimmer's Dolby-splitting bass synthesizers in the Christopher Nolan films

Advantage: Depends on the darkness of your mortal soul.

ROMANTIC HIGHLIGHT

Superman: Flying a charmed Lois through the gentle evening sky.

Batman: Getting face-licked by a villainous, leather-loving Catwoman.

Advantage: You pick - this one says more about you.

BEST DEATH

Superman: Memorably slain by a monster named Doomsday (before inevitable resurrection)

Batman: Flatlined by Darkseid (before inevitably cheating death via time travel)

Advantage: Superman - he "revived" much more quickly.

MOTTO/OATH

Superman: "Truth, justice and the American way."

Batman: "And I swear bythe spirits of my parents to avenge their deaths by spending the rest of my life warring on all criminals."

Advantage: Superman's for bumper sticker; Batman's for eight-decade narrative. (Also Read: Batman v Superman Trailer 2 is Out. Who is Wonder Woman With?)

© 2016 The Washington Post


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