'Batman V Superman': How the Dark Knight Can Beat the Man of Steel

For over half a century, comic fans have staged theoretical match-ups between some of the biggest superheroes and villains ever to hit the printed page. The super-powered showdowns weren't limited to good guys vs. bad guys either: fans young and old have debated which iconic heroes would come out on top in an all-out brawl. Green Lantern vs. The Flash; Wolverine vs. Deadpool; Wonder Woman vs. Captain Marvel - with strengths and weaknesses on both sides, die-hard readers have enjoyed smart (and sometimes outrageous) debates - going to bat for heir personal favorites.

However, one matchup is especially fun to revisit: Batman vs. Superman. On the surface, a god-like superhuman with the Man of Steel's powers would make quick work of a billionaire in a cape and cowl; yet, Bruce Wayne is more than your usual costumed vigilante. Even before Batman V Superman was officially announced, we explained why moviegoers shouldn't assume it would be a piece of cake for the Kryptonian. But with the Batman V Superman marketing machine kicking into gear, it's time to dismiss all the naysaying and explain how the Dark Knight actually could beat the Man of Steel in a fight.

Throughout DC Comics history (not to mention non-print media), Batman and Superman have gone toe-to-toe on multiple occasions. Whatever the reason for their conflict - mind-control, differences in ideology, etc. - the Dark Knight and Man of Steel haven't always been on the best of terms. As often as they set aside their differences and fight shoulder-to-shoulder, at the most basic level, the pair have different perspectives on exactly how to best dispense justice.

Batman Superman Comic Book Fights Battles

In particular, the Caped Crusader is often depicted as wary of the Man of Steel - and has, in the past, created myriad contingency plans in the event that the Kryptonian becomes power-hungry, goes insane (recently depicted in the Injustice: Gods Among Us video game), or simply loses his patience. For that reason, it's no surprise Ben Affleck's Dark Knight in Batman V Superman seems suspicious, looking to actively knock "Metropolis' Savior" off his high horse.

But how can a mere human beat a superpowered extraterrestrial? Fans will have their own theories (which they are free to share and discuss in the comments below) but for readers who are less familiar with prior Batman vs. Superman showdowns, here are four ways the Dark Knight can beat the Man of Steel.

Weaken Superman with Kryptonite

The most obvious explanation that die-hard comic readers and casual fans will likely point out is that although Superman is near-impervious to human weapons, he does have an achilles heel: Kryptonite. Kryptonite was never introduced in Man of Steel, but without Kryptonite somewhere in the DC Movie Universe, Superman would be unstoppable - at least until magic-powered heroes (like Shazam) come onto the scene. Obviously, an invincible Superman wouldn't be very fun in a face-off with Batman or Lex Luthor, so there's reason to expect that pieces of Kal-El's home planet will eventually appear in the Justice League film universe.

That said, viewers expecting a repeat of Superman: The Movie (where the hero is harmed by any Kryptonite nearby) are seriously underestimating Batman's cunning - having, on more than one occasion, found ways to outright inject Superman with weaponized Kryptonite.

We already know that director Zack Snyder is borrowing heavily from Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns" graphic novel - which featured a brutal face-off between Batman and Superman in which Green Arrow attempts to fire a Krytonite-infused arrow into the Big Blue Boy Scouot.

Batman V Superman Dark Knight Returns Arrow Kryptonite

Still, audiences and readers have seen Superman weakened by Kryptonite again and again in prior stories - meaning that if Snyder doesn't find a new, and memorable way for Batman to weaken Superman with the substance, the highly-anticipated matchup could ultimately prove underwhelming.

Fortunately, other methods of Kryptonite delivery have been featured in the comic books: including Kryptonite gas ("Kingdom Come"), a Kryptonite ring ("Batman: Hush"), or outright Kryptonite impalement (seen on screen in Superman Returns), among others. So, assuming Bruce Wayne knows about Kryptonite, it wouldn't be too hard for the Batman V Superman writers to find a creative way for the Dark Knight to introduce Kryptonite and, in the process, put his rival on a more even playing field.

Control Superman with Threats Against Others

While Superman's physical weakness to Kryptonite is well known, it's not his only weakness. Throughout comic history, Lex Luthor, Batman, and others have controlled the Man of Steel through the threat of violence against innocent lives - especially those closest to Clark Kent/Superman. In John Byrne's "Man of Steel" origin story, Superman interrupts Batman mid-mission (while the Caped Crusader is hot on the trail of supervillain Magpie) to express disapproval of the Dark Knight's vigilante ways.

Unable to combat Superman's brawn, Batman exploits the Kryptonian's bleeding heart - explaining that he had hidden a bomb somewhere in Gotham and the explosive will detonate should Superman breach an invisible field surrounding the Batsuit. In short, should Superman touch Batman, innocent lives could be lost. A deadly threat... except Batman, arguably, knows no lives are really in danger - since he knows Superman would never risk them.

It might be hard to imagine Batman harming innocent lives simply to prove a point - but it's important to keep in mind that there's no one definitive version of the hero (just like there isn't a definitive version of the Man of Steel either). As a result, while Adam West's Batman would never think of sacrificing innocents in favor of hunting a villain or keeping Superman off his tail, other variations of the character have been less virtuous (not so coincidentally, Frank Miller's version).

Batman V Superman Bomb Man of Steel Gotham

We know that Affleck's Batman will be a battled-hardened veteran - a man that has lost friends to the fight against crime. For that reason, it's not hard to imagine that when we first meet this Batman, he may not be adverse to collateral damage. After all, in the first Batman V Superman teaser, viewers hear Alfred Pennyworth (Jeremy Irons) speaking about good men turned cruel: "That’s how it starts: the fever, the rage, the feeling of powerlessness, that turns good men cruel."

If the Batman V Superman Dark Knight has turned cruel, after a string of personal loss and feelings of powerlessness, what's to stop Bruce Wayne from using Clark Kent's love for Lois Lane and the people of Metropolis against him? Whether using a threat of future violence, rigging explosives, or outright taking hostages, it's possible that this Batman, at this stage in his career, will use innocent lives to gain an upper hand in the Batman V Superman brawl. In which case, it won't only be up to the Man of Steel to beat the jaded former superhero, it'll also be his job to instill a new sense of purpose and hope in Bruce Wayne.

It also sets the stage for a Justice League universe in which Batman is willing to do things that his fellow heroes and "defenders of the innocent" simply aren't willing to do - one of the unexplored aspects of the hero we hoped to see in this version. It can prove useful, as it did when threatening Darkseid (and his entire planet), in "The Supergirl From Krypton."

Next Page: How a Tech Savvy Batman Can Beat Superman

Fight Superman with Technology & Gadgets

Even if Batman doesn't resort to playing on Superman's weaknesses (of the body and heart), he could still take down the Man of Steel - if he's got enough high-tech tools in his employ. Rarely has Batman engaged in a straightforward fistfight with Superman mano a mano, since all the martial arts training in the world couldn't do significant damage to a "man of steel."

However, plenty of classic tales that predate comic books have taught readers that brawn does not always beat brains - and in Batman lore, brains come in two (sometimes overlapping) varieties: strategy and technology. Movie fans are familiar with Batman's signature toys (Batarangs, Bat-vehicles, and Bat-grapple guns, among others) but comic book iterations of the character have taken Bat-gadgetry much further. Over time, Bruce Wayne has gone from a well-trained vigilante to a full-on tech genius - a man who out-maneuvers opponents in and out of his Batsuit, and designs some of the most effective crime fighting weapons in the entire DC Universe.

Batman employs both in Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns," setting up the pair's initial fight on familiar turf (Crime Alley - where Bruce Wayne's parents were killed) while utilizing an advanced mechanized Batsuit to take on Superman.

Batman V Superman Dark Knight Returns Armor

Prior glimpses at Batman V Superman's costumes revealed the Dark Knight will sport at least two suits in the film - a traditional Frank Miller-inspired cape and cowl (complete with a utility belt) and an armored variation. The specific technologies that Batman will have available on each suit remains to be seen but in Bruce Wayne's 50 plus years fighting crime in comics, the utility belt has housed laser cutters, smoke pellets, remote detonators, and even a collapsible sword - where his cowl has included night vision, sonar detection, as well as live digitized environmental analysis via Bat Computer uplink.

Any single piece of tech, not to mention high calibre Batmobile weaponry, still couldn't kill Superman. But with a brainy genius like Bruce Wayne utilizing multiple resources in the same fight, Batman could easily stay one step ahead of the Man of Steel - until Kal-El is either worn down physically (depleting his solar-powered abilities) or mentally (ready for a superhero heart-to-heart). Of course, Batman could also meld high tech gadgets with Kryptonite.

Comic readers are more than well-versed in the uses of Kryptonite-infused gauntlets - worn by both Batman and Lex Luthor to suppress the Man of Steel's abilities as well as make him more vulnerable to injury (as depicted in "The Dark Knight Strikes Again").

An Ideological, Not Physical Victory

Batman Superman Movie Dark Knight Returns Fight

Without question, fans are excited to see the two heroes battle out their differences, but achieving victory isn't always the same as winning. Given that Batman V Superman's storyline revolves heavily on superhero accountability - specifically whether or not the Man of Steel should be revered or blamed for his role in the destruction of Metropolis - Bruce Wayne can still beat Kal-El, even if Batman loses in the physical fight.

In spite of presumably good intentions, Batman V Superman appears to feature a world where Superman isn't accountable to anyone. He does not answer to a government or solitary leader - relying entirely on his own gut and subjective beliefs to decide when and where to intervene as well as what is best for humankind, prompting Charlie Rose to ask: "Is it really surprising that the most powerful man in the world should be a figure of controversy?”

In the same trailer sequence, we hear sound bites of commenters saying, "He's out of control," "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts, absolutely," as well as "The world has been so caught-up with what he can do - no one has asked what he should do." At this point we do not know if Superman has been corrupted by his power over humanity but the trailer makes it very clear that, either way, no one has been able to stand-up to him.

To that end, what if Batman doesn't need to beat Superman to a bloody pulp, but only needs to show that Superman can bleed, that he's not invincible, to beat him? Fans will have seen a similar idea played out in Snyder's breakout film, 300 (where a group of Spartans gave their lives to make Xerxes bleed - and prove he is not a god), as well as Miller's "Dark Knight Returns" - where Batman doesn't necessarily expect to kill Superman, he just wants to push back against a callous government (that wields Superman like a blunt instrument).

Taking a stand to gain an ideological victory may sound like a purely intellectual distinction, but it's one that modern comics have explored in depth - including Marvel's own "Civil War" event.

To that end, Ben Affleck's Dark Knight might simply have stepped out of retirement to show the people of Metropolis (and Gotham) that, together, they are not powerless against Superman - and that the Man of Steel shouldn't be the sole arbitrator of what is right and wrong on Earth.

If a single man in an armored suit can take on a super powered alien one-on-one, it would make Superman and the people of our world think twice.

Three's a Crowd

There is one other possible explanation: Batman isn't alone in his battle with Superman.

Depending on how the DC shared universe story takes shape, it's possible this Dark Knight already has allies (such as Wonder Woman, Lex Luthor, or Aquaman, among others) that could jump in and help take down the Man of Steel. Much like "The Dark Knight Returns" (which counted on Green Arrow to help weaken Superman), Dawn of Justice could see Batman take a beating from the Man of Steel - to distract the Kryptonian while other heroes take their positions.

It'd take sharp story-telling to fit other players into place without undermining the main conflict between the titular characters but, depending on the context of Batman V Superman's iconic brawl, a third party (be it hero and villain) could ultimately join the fray.

Until further details are revealed, we'll just have to continue speculating - so make sure to share your theories in the comment section below.