Comic book fans love to pit their favorite superheroes against one another. Sometimes, fans may even wonder who would win in a fight between characters from different universes, such as Marvel and DC Comics. While most of the time it's guesswork and fan theory, Marvel and DC have done crossovers in the past, and as such can provide some pretty cool answers for certain inter-universal showdowns. For example, who would win? DC's Batman the Dark Knight or Marvel's Captain America the Super Solider? JLA/Avengers has the answer.
In the second issue of JLA/Avengers by Kurt Busiek and George Pérez, Batman and Cap face off in the midst of a massive battle between the two teams who have been thrust together by the Grandmaster and Metron in order to eventually defeat the villains Krona and Galactus. When Batman and Captain America face one another, they start off very slow, assessing one another's strengths and weaknesses, which makes sense. Batman has studied several different forms of martial arts over the years as part of his training to become the Dark Knight. Captain America, for his part, has been enhanced to become more than what the average human can achieve in terms of physical strength and agility. He is the perfect Super Soldier, fighting in WWII back in the 40's as well as against daily threats to the world big and small in the modern day.
As they begin their fight, the issue says that both of them are equally cautious, determined, and experienced. Attacks are met with counterattacks, every strike and feint is met with a response in kind. Is seems as though the both of them are too evenly matched for either of them get an advantage or gain the upper hand.
Eventually, Batman calls the fight and they come to a draw. The Dark Knight admits that it certainly seems as though Captain America could eventually beat Batman, but it would take him a very long time to do so. In any case, Batman asks if Cap actually wants to do this, and Rogers declines. Captain America knows the same as Batman - that they and both of their teams are just being played as pawns in a much larger game. As a result, Batman and Captain America resolve to end their fight and work together to uncover the hidden players behind the conflict.
Eventually, Batman and Cap come to the conclusion that Grandmaster and Metron must have bigger plans than just watching the JLA and Avengers fight for their own entertainment. As a result, they hop on a time bike courtesy of the Fantastic Four, using it to follow the trail that leads right to the Grandmaster's home, where they learn about Grandmaster's desire to prevent Krona from destroying their universes.
While there's plenty of epic fights to be found in JLA/Avengers, having one come to a draw due to its heroes being too equally matched is pretty cool. It all but confirms that when it comes to combat, Batman and Captain America are at the top of the list for the most proficient fighters in both of their respective universes.