The title was one of the topics of discussion on our office forum. I wrote an answer there, but the character limit got exceeded. :D Not wanting to trim down the answer, I decided to write a post out of it and leave the link in the comment section. Here's my answer to this seemingly difficult question.
In short, as much as I like the Caped Crusader, I have to go with the
Man of Steel.
Batman is one of the most epic characters created in the
comics. The reason why we all love him is because he is one of us. A normal
human with no superpowers. Yet he commands the respect of the entire Justice
League. Hell, they even fear him sometimes. He showed us what any human can achieve
with proper training and willpower. He is not an epitome of goodness. He has shades of grey. And we love shades of grey, 50 or otherwise. ;-) Although
not monetary, he too faced hardships as a child. He has flaws and at times he
fails. Making him much more human. And like they say, Batman is a symbol,
anybody can be Batman. He fights his own inner battles along with the external
ones. It is easier for us to connect with Batman.
But having said all this, my heart goes to Superman. Batman
lost his parents? Sorry, but Superman lost his entire planet along with his
parents. Yeah, he was too young to even realize that, but that doesn’t make it
any less tragic. Batman was raised by a butler? Superman was raised by alien
parents in an alien world. Batman became Batman primarily because he wanted to
avenge his parents’ death. Superman was always Superman, and he decided to show
the world how good one can be. Imagine being the most powerful person in the
world, capable of superspeed, supersonic flight, superhuman agility, X-ray
vision, heat vision, super breath, super hearing and the ability to absorb Sun’s
energy. Now imagine being humble, not wanting to hurt or kill anyone, not going
around boasting about your powers, not wanting to rule the entire world, not
wanting to make a shitload of money and just going around helping people and
saving the planet, daily and coming back to work at ‘Daily Planet’(couldn’t help
with that wordplay :P). Hard to imagine, isn’t it? And he does all this to an alien
species who call him alien even after all that he does. Because he empathizes
with the human race. He knows what can be achieved with peace and unity. While
Batman is trying hard to save Gotham from going to ruins, Superman is trying to
take Metropolis into the bright and prosperous future. He is the quintessential good guy and better than all of us in every aspect. And we don't like it when others are better than us.
And all the people who say Supes is dumb, you don’t
understand his powers well. He is fast not just physically. He is pretty fast
mentally too. He has an eidetic memory. He can read an entire book in a matter
of seconds. But his physical strengths are so overwhelming that his mental
abilities are hardly highlighted. Batman knows how to diffuse a bomb? Well,
Superman would just hold it between his palms and let it explode or throw it
into the space. Also, in the Justice League, Bats is the brains and Supes is the
strength. So there is hardly any chance or need to show his mental prowess.
Now coming to who would win in a fight, it would most
probably be Batman. If at all they decide to fight that is. Not because Batman
is better than Superman. But Superman would let the Dark Knight win. Because
Superman knows he can take it all. Blow after blow after blow. Even if weakened
by Kryptonite, he knows he can gain back his strength with a short trip to the
space. He was able to live inside the Sun for God’s sake. He is literally
God-like. Also Superman is always holding back. Never letting himself fully go.
That is one of the reasons why no one knows the limit of Superman’s power. He
knows no one can take it when that fist comes down with all its might. Above
all, he will let Batman win because he is a good person deep down and a true
incorruptible being.
Adding a dialog from the movie Kill Bill 2 where Bill
explains why Superman is special and what makes him, him. This is one of my
favourite dialogs from any movie and gives one of the best perspectives about Superman.
“Now, a staple of the
superhero mythology is there's the superhero and there's the alter ego. Batman
is actually Bruce Wayne, Spider-Man is actually Peter Parker. When that
character wakes up in the morning, he's Peter Parker. He has to put on a
costume to become Spider-Man. And it is in that characteristic Superman stands
alone. Superman didn't become Superman. Superman was born Superman. When
Superman wakes up in the morning, he's Superman. His alter ego is Clark Kent.
His outfit with the big red "S", that's the blanket he was wrapped in
as a baby when the Kents found him. Those are his clothes. What Kent wears –
the glasses, the business suit – that's the costume. That's the costume
Superman wears to blend in with us. Clark Kent is how Superman views us. And
what are the characteristics of Clark Kent? He's weak, he's unsure of himself,
he's a coward. Clark Kent is Superman's critique on the whole human race.”
So who's you hero.??
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