How Batman Would Defeat Every Spider-Man Villain
Batman has a famous rogues gallery, but how would the hero handle the worst foes of Spider-Man?
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00:00 On the surface, Batman and Spider-Man are very different heroes. Batman is a sombre
00:05 and determined man who spent years training his body to fight crime. Spider-Man, on the
00:09 other hand, is a younger, seemingly happier man who received his powers from a freak spider
00:13 bite as a teen. But if you look a little bit deeper, you'll see that they are both brilliant
00:17 men with incredible scientific minds that were pushed towards heroism by the tragedy
00:22 in their lives.
00:23 So, the question then pops up, how would Batman fare if he was to go against some of Spider-Man's
00:28 greatest villains? Well, that's what we're here to discuss today, as I'm Jules, this
00:31 is WhatCulture.com, and this is how Batman would defeat 10 of Spider-Man's most iconic
00:36 villains.
00:37 10. Scorpion
00:39 Private investigator Matt Gargan was paid by J. Jonah Jameson to undergo a procedure
00:43 to create a foe for Spider-Man. Dr. Farley Stilwell created an experiment that endowed
00:48 Gargan with a variety of powers and a costume with a devastating mechanical tail. The experiment
00:53 cost Gargan his sanity, though, and while he happily attacked Spider-Man, he also attacked
00:58 Jameson. Gargan came to believe that the experiment had trapped him inside the Scorpion suit,
01:03 and more often than not, old Webhead had to save Jameson's life. Scorpion possessed a
01:07 level of speed, strength, and agility that would make a physical confrontation extremely
01:11 dangerous for Batman. Scorpion's tail can strike at 90 miles an hour, and he possesses
01:16 the ability to lift 15 tons. In short, meeting Scorpion in battle from inside one of his
01:21 armored bat suits would be the smartest tactical move for bats. An even smarter move would
01:25 be to reach out to some of his colleagues in the Justice League. Wonder Woman or any
01:29 member of the Superman family would have the speed and vulnerability to deal with Scorpion's
01:33 hybrid nature and deadly tail. Batman could also secure victory by calling in Vixen or
01:38 Animal Man and use a bit of Scorpion against Scorpion to win the day.
01:42 9. Sandman
01:44 William Baker, aka Flint Marko, was a child of poverty who learned to steal at an early
01:48 age. After years as a petty criminal, Marko was in the vicinity of a nuclear accident
01:53 that affected a body-wide change which also gave him the ability to transform his body.
01:58 Flint has flipped between being a villain, a mercenary hero with silver sables, wild
02:02 pack, and a brief stint as an Avenger in training. Sandman has never been a villain of the "world
02:07 domination" variety. He just wanted to get rich, and Batman may be able to appeal to
02:11 Marko's better nature, or indeed his greed. Either way would prevent the fight that the
02:15 Caped Crusader would rather not have against a foe that he would actually have a difficult
02:19 time defeating. Using water to dissipate his form, or heat to fuse his form into glass,
02:24 has been the way of dealing with Sandman's villainous actions previously. Batman has
02:28 used extreme cold, similar to what Mr. Freeze generates to deal with Clayface, so it's
02:32 possible that this approach could work with Sandman if he's caught with a significant
02:35 amount of his form intact. But if Marko is too spread out, the single grain that holds
02:40 his consciousness may escape the cold. So Batman's gonna have to go all out on this
02:44 one.
02:45 The Kingpin
02:46 Growing up a poor child, Wilson Fisk went on a mission of self-improvement, and extensive
02:51 reading, gaining strength and physical power through bodybuilding, definitely achieved
02:55 that. He used his business techniques to organize the juvenile gangs, earning himself the mocking
02:59 nickname of "The Kingpin". Fisk worked as a bodyguard and an enforcer for crime families,
03:04 and advanced through the ranks until he controlled large areas of organized crime. Wilson invested
03:09 the money from those crimes into legitimate businesses. He organized all of the crime
03:13 on the Eastern Seaboard, and finally came to fully own the name of the Kingpin of Crime.
03:18 Batman takes a special interest in what you'd call "untouchable crime bosses", especially
03:22 when those corrupt individuals achieve political office, as Fisk did as Mayor of New York City.
03:27 Perhaps it's because his family essentially built Gotham, and he spent so much time and
03:31 effort improving it, but you know what, Bruce takes these actions personally.
03:34 Batman might make the mistake of assuming Kingpin is fat, instead of being solid muscle.
03:39 And as sumo was not one of the disciplines that Wayne delved into in his studies, it
03:43 might actually give Fisk a brief advantage if he gets Batman into a bear hug. However,
03:48 Batman's array of martial arts skills will no doubt send the larger man reeling in no
03:51 time. Plus, when in doubt, just trip him up using a wire. That seems to happen quite a
03:55 lot to him.
03:56 7. Electro
03:57 Electric company lineman Max Dillon was struck by lightning while holding onto an electrical
04:02 line. This caused a body-wide change that turned him into a living electrostatic generator.
04:07 Donning a costume and using his electrical powers to rob banks and accumulate the wealth
04:10 the perpetually poor man always desired, saw him become Electro. This brought him into
04:15 conflict with Spider-Man, who definitely beats him on a regular basis, either alone, or as
04:19 part of the various incarnations of the Sinister Six.
04:22 It's important that Batman keeps Electro from recharging from any source. The Dark
04:26 Knight would also have to keep any of his own equipment from being disrupted by either
04:29 electrical or electromagnetic discharges from Dillon's powers. Max could even disrupt
04:34 the electrical currents of Batman's brain if he gets close enough. So clearly this would
04:38 be a challenging fight for the world's greatest detective.
04:41 But with water and overloading his powers being two of the few ways to overcome Electro,
04:45 Batman will definitely have a fight on his hands, even in a suitably grounded Batsuit.
04:49 One of the things that will definitely work in Bats' favour, though, is that Dillon
04:52 is not very intelligent, if we're being honest. And secondly, he's an extremely
04:56 greedy individual, so Batman could, if all else fails, just simply give him a better
05:00 offer.
05:01 6. Lizard
05:02 Gifted surgeon Dr. Kurt Connors lost his right arm while saving soldiers in a war-torn region.
05:08 Connors then began experimenting with lizards that had the capability to regenerate limbs,
05:12 in order to create a serum that he might use to regrow his own. Connors created a serum
05:16 and used himself as the first subject, and his arm did begin to regrow, but he also began
05:21 to mutate into a vicious reptile creature called the Lizard. Over time, Connors' mind
05:25 has controlled his lizard form, while his lizard mind has likewise controlled his human
05:29 form.
05:30 Working with Connors with members of his own rogues' gallery could help him with dealing
05:33 with the Lizard. Helping Dr. Kurt Langstrom's alter-ego Man-Bat may turn Batman towards
05:38 working with Connors to finally cure his transformation into the Lizard, and perhaps even refine it
05:43 enough that it could replace the Doctor's arm.
05:45 If Batman has to fight the Lizard, though, his altercations with his own reptilian menace
05:49 killer Croc will definitely come in handy. Whilst the Lizard is smaller and more agile,
05:54 he possesses the sort of super strength that makes him Croc's superior. The Lizard's
05:58 speed, while not superhuman, will require Batman to either take his foe by surprise
06:02 or utilize one of his many vehicles to bridge that gap.
06:05 5. Mysterio
06:07 Quentin Beck was a movie special effects artist and stuntman that initially committed his
06:11 first crime on a dare. But after an accident on one of the sets, got him blackballed from
06:15 the industry, Beck pursued crime in earnest as Mysterio. He suffered numerous defeats
06:20 at the hand of Spider-Man, causing Beck bouts of depression, but he continued to plague
06:24 Spidey both solo and as part of the Sinister Six.
06:27 Although Mysterio is unlike most villains Bruce Wayne has ever faced, some of his methods
06:31 mirror that of several Batman villains. Mysterio's hallucinogenic gas is not unlike the Scarecrow's
06:36 fear toxin. His use of psychological mind-controlling methods is similar to those employed by Hugo
06:41 Strange, and the minor villain Film Freak has trapped the Caped Crusader and others
06:45 in seemingly lifelike but inventive scenarios.
06:48 Mysterio will ultimately have a very hard time fooling Batman, as Bat is obsessive about
06:53 details and is the most observant man in the world. If their fight was in Gotham, it would
06:57 have to be the perfect Gotham, down to the smallest detail. Bruce knows every Gotham
07:02 street and every alley, meaning if the villain got even the smallest detail wrong, the illusion
07:06 would literally be shattered with one well-placed Batarang.
07:09 4. Venom
07:11 Spider-Man acquired the alien symbiote on Battleworld during the Secret Wars event.
07:16 When Peter discovered that it was a sentient being that had been controlling him in his
07:19 sleep, he tried to remove it. It took the bells of Our Lady of Saints Church to make
07:23 the creature retreat from Parker's body, and failed photographer Eddie Brock was in
07:27 the church below, and the creature then bonded with him. Having absorbed Spider-Man's powers,
07:31 the pair became known as Venom.
07:33 Batman would definitely be in trouble if it comes down to a purely physical altercation
07:37 with Venom. With Venom being able to lift 70 tons and having Spider-Man's powers,
07:41 Batman's athleticism and fighting skills might fall short. If any of the symbiote broke
07:45 off and infected the Dark Knight, it's hopeful that his indomitable will would be enough
07:49 to allow him to break free. But given the symbiote's susceptibility to loud noises
07:53 and sonic blasts, Batman may want to ask Black Canary for her assistance. Once the symbiote
07:57 has left Brock's body, it wouldn't be too hard to contain it in a vessel with a
08:01 sonic emitter built in. Although getting the creature off-planet would definitely be the
08:05 best bet.
08:06 3. Dr. Octopus
08:07 Dr. Otto Octavius was a brilliant, if arrogant, scientist who created a harness with four
08:12 mechanical arms to better handle dangerous material. An accident bathed him in radiation
08:17 that fused the harnesses to his body, and made the connection to the arms a mental one
08:21 and turned the Doctor into the criminal Doc Ock, who almost married Peter's Aunt May
08:26 once and also took over Pete's body for a time, but was pushed to become a superior
08:30 Spider-Man. Now if Batman has one superpower, it's his incredible mind. Bruce Wayne has
08:35 such a strong mind and will that it is unlikely that Dr. Octopus would be able to switch minds
08:40 with him unless Bruce was caught completely by surprise, and if he did, Batman would fight
08:45 viciously to get control of his own mind back. Even if Otto succeeded, it's unlikely that
08:49 he could have done much to make a superior Batman. Otto's arrogance and assumption
08:54 that he is always the smartest person in the room is an easy target for Batman to attack.
08:58 It will immediately cause him to make mistakes. Also, if the Caped Crusader can keep Ock's
09:02 mechanical arms otherwise engaged, it would only take a single punch to deal with this
09:06 Doctor.
09:07 2. J. Jonah Jameson
09:09 There is no single person to have a greater effect on the life of Spider-Man than J. Jonah
09:13 Jameson. The Daily Bugle publisher has allowed Spidey's alter ego of Peter Parker to continue
09:18 to live independently in New York City, but did so at the expense of the costume identity
09:22 of Spider-Man. Jameson has turned public opinion against the wall-crawler from the beginning
09:26 of his career, and JJ claims that he distrusts all vigilantes, but he has a particular ire
09:31 for old Spider-Man.
09:32 It is possible that Batman would completely ignore the loudmouth Jameson. Historically,
09:37 bats would prefer that he be thought of as an urban myth or as some kind of inhuman monster
09:40 to the criminal community, so it's highly possible that he would just let Jameson rant
09:44 on while the Dark Knight continued his mission.
09:47 Alternatively, Bruce might also grow tired of the noise and buy the entire paper and
09:51 the building that houses it. Then, he'd kick Jameson out and promote Robbie Robertson as
09:55 the editor of the Daily Bugle. It's likely that when Batman discovered that Jameson paid
09:59 for the creation of several villains and Spider-Slayer robots, he would treat him like any other
10:03 criminal and just send him to prison.
10:05 1. The Green Goblin
10:07 No costume villain has had as much of an impact on Peter Parker than The Green Goblin. Norman
10:12 Osborn threw Peter's girlfriend from the George Washington Bridge leading to her death.
10:16 Norman's son Harry, Peter's best friend, donned his own villainous costume to make
10:20 the hero pay for his father's death. Going further than that, Norman had actually lived
10:24 on and engineered the cloning of Peter, and these are just a handful of things that the
10:28 Goblin has done.
10:29 Now, Batman would probably try to reach Norman Osborn first. Bruce would try to speak to
10:33 him as a fellow scientist and meet Norman on an intellectual level to try and defuse
10:37 the fight before it even starts. He would probably also play on Norman's heroic accomplishments
10:42 and make Osborn think that he is helping Batman.
10:44 Now, if it does come down to a fight, the Dark Knight needs to get the Goblin down to
10:47 his level. In the comics, Batman doesn't have any flying equipment that equals the
10:51 manoeuvrability of the Goblin Glider. Once that's dealt with, though, the pumpkin bombs
10:55 aren't much more than overpowered explosive batarangs, and Batman's fighting prowess
10:59 is more than a match for the increase in strength that his formula provides Osborn. So when
11:04 it comes down to a physical altercation, our money's on the Batman.
11:07 And there we go, my friends. That was how Batman would defeat 10 of Spider-Man's most
11:10 iconic villains. I hope that you enjoyed that, and please let me know what you thought about
11:13 it down in the comments section below. As always, I've been Jules, you can go follow
11:17 me over on Twitter @RetroJ, but the O is a zero, and it'd be great to see you over there.
11:22 As always, I've been Jules, you have been awesome, never forget that, and I'll speak
11:25 to you soon. Bye.