One of the most debated comic book superhero match-ups is Batman versus Superman. But it makes no sense why the outcome of this fight is so hotly debated when it is painfully obvious that Superman would utterly destroy Batman in, like, a second.
I know what you’re about to say: "But Batman always has a plan!" And you’re not wrong. While it’s true that he’s the world’s foremost detective/billionaire/fake-playboy/tactician, none of that helps much in a straight-up, one-on-one fight to the death. And of course we’re disregarding morality here for this “what if” scenario.



The two have fought many times in the comics, and Batman actually wins a lot, but there was usually some sort of unfair restriction placed on Superman.

 
In their most famous bout in The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller, Superman showed up to the fight having just been caught in a nuclear blast, plus Batman had Green Arrow shoot him with a Kryptonite-arrow. That’s like showing up to a boxing match after being tased and getting a snake bite to     the face.



And then in Hush by Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee, Superman was struggling against the mind control of Poison Ivy. Superman didn’t want to fight Batman and was holding back as Bats used all manner of trickery to wear him down until he could break the hold.

But here’s the thing, even though Batman has a deck full of aces up his sleeve for taking on Superman, he would never actually get the chance to use them.



To illustrate this point, let’s set the scene for a fight as fair as we can make it. And before you say that Batman should get to use his robo Bat-armor, let me stop you right there, because that’s not a true battle of hero versus hero. If you let Batman have an equalizer, then Superman should get one too, like a solar-suit to enhance his strength, and that would go back and forth, until they’re both so decked out with enhancements that it becomes more about who has better toys, and that’s not the battle we’re debating here.

So for our fair fight scenario, the two are in prime health, they have their standard costumes on, and they are standing 20 yards apart in the middle of a desert with no civilians or super villains to interfere. The bell sounds and the fight to the death begins.

And Superman is the winner!

What, you didn’t see what happened? That’s because Superman moved faster than a speeding bullet and knocked Batman’s head off. Or maybe he zoomed him up to space and left him to die. He even could have zapped him with his heat vision before Batman could reach for that Kryptonite ring he always keeps in his utility belt.

   

Look, Superman is so fast that he can keep up with the Flash, and so strong that he can trade blows with Doomsday and Darkseid, so as cool as Batman is, to Superman, he’s nothing more than a meat punching bag with pointy ears.