Batman vs Superman

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DC Comics superheroes Batman and Superman were both created in the 1930s. While Batman has no superpowers, Superman is an alien from the planet Krypton who uses his powers to help save the earth. In August 2003, DC Comics started a monthly comic book series Superman/Batman that explores the camaraderie, antagonism, and friendship between its titular characters, who are quite different in personality but regularly join forces.

Comparison chart

Batman versus Superman comparison chart
	Batman	Superman
	current rating is 4.2/5 1 2 3 4 5 (1455 ratings)	current rating is 3.72/5 1 2 3 4 5 (773 ratings)

Publisher	DC Comics	DC Comics
Created by	Bill Finger (developer, not credited), Bob Kane (concept)	Jerry Siegel; Joe Shuster
First appearance	Detective Comics #27 May 1939)	Action Comics #1 (June 1938)
Introduction (from Wikipedia)	Batman is a fictional superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics, as well as its associated media.	Superman is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, as well as its associated media. Superman is widely considered an American cultural icon.
Team affiliations	Batman Family, Justice League, Wayne Enterprises, Outsiders, Batmen of All Nations, Batman Incorporated	The Daily Planet, Justice League, Team Superman
Abilities	Genius-level intellect, Peak physical and mental conditioning, Master martial artist, acrobat, detective, escapologist, strategist, swordsman, tactician, and marksman, Use of high-tech equipment, weapons, armors, & gadgets, Master of stealth, Master	God level; strength, speed, stamina, endurance, & healing. Invulnerability to temperature, vacuum, most projectiles. Super breath, multiple sensory powers, X-ray vision. Thermal projection (heat vision). Flight.
Notable aliases	Matches Malone, Sir Hemingford Grey, Mordecai Wayne, The Insider, Lefty Knox, Minuteman	Man of Steel
Gender	Male	Male
Weaknesses	Not many, one possible is his allies turning against him	Green kryptonite is extremely toxic, red kryptonite affects his mental state or in some stories temporarily removes his powers, must protect life, typically will not kill, Sonic attacks, Psychic attacks, and Magic attacks
About	Fictional Character	Fictional Character
Species	Homo Sapiens	Kryptonian
Enemies	The Joker, Two-Face, The Court Of Owls/Talon, The Ventriloquist, Owlman, The Penguin, Catwoman, Harley Quinn, Scarecrow, Black Mask, Calculator, Clayface, Mister Freeze, Cluemaster, Deadshot, The Falcone Crime Family, Hugo Strange, The Riddler, Hush	Lex Luthor, Brainiac, Bizarro, Toy Man, Metallo, Doomsday, Darkseid, Atomic Skull, General Zod, Mister Mxyzptik, Ultraman, Livewire, Parasite, Intergang, Whisper A'Daire, Ursa
Children	Dick Grayson (Adopted), Jason Todd (Adopted), Tim Drake (Adopted) and Damian Wayne (from Talia Al Ghul)	Conner Kent (Clone), Johnathan Samuel Kent (from Lois Lane)
Alter ego	Bruce Wayne, billionaire orphan, playboy, Chairman and 51% owner of Wayne Enterprises	Clark Kent, mild-mannered news reporter from Smallville, Kansas, living in the big city of Metropolis and working for the newspaper The Daily Planet
Place of birth	Gotham City	Krypton
Real name / alter ego	The Batman is, in his everyday identity, Bruce Wayne, a wealthy businessman living in Gotham City. Wayne averts suspicion by acting the part of a superficial, dim-witted playboy idly living off his family's fortune.	Kryptonian birth name Kal-El, adopted name Clark Kent
Place of origin	Earth	Krypton
Costume	Batman's costume incorporates the imagery of a bat in order to frighten criminals. The details of the Batman costume change repeatedly through various stories and media, but the most distinctive elements remain consistent: a scallop-hem cape	Blue shirt and tights with a yellow and red 'S' on chest, red cape and red boots. Also, before New52, yellow belt and red briefs, after New52, red belt and no briefs. Sometimes, a yellow-only 'S' on the back of the cape.
Allies	Justice League, Batmen of All Nations, All of the Robins, Nightwing etc.	Perry White, Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane, other members of Justice League
Aliases	Caped Crusader, The Bat, The Dark Knight,	Last Son of Krypton, The Man of Tomorrow, Man of Steel, The Big Blue Boy Scout
Genre	Comic Books, Movies, Superhero, TV Shows	Comic Books, Movies, Superhero, TV Shows
Intellect	Very high intelligence, one of the smartest people in the world	High intelligence, photographic memory
Race	Human	Kryptonian
Family	Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne (parents), Thomas Wayne Jr. (older brother)	Jor-El and Lara (birth parents), Jonathan and Martha Kent (adoptive parents), Kara Zor-El (cousin)
Partnerships	Jim Gordon, Robin (various), Batgirl (various), Nightwing, Oracle, Catwoman, Superman, Huntress, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, Zatanna, Bluebird, The Justice League	Superwoman, Supergirl, Superboy, The Justice League
Love interests	Catwoman, Julie Madison, Vicki Vale, Talia Al-Ghul, Sasha Bordeaux, Roan Twomey (aka Red Riding Hood) and Silver St. Cloud.	Lana Lang, Lois Lane, Lori Lemaris, Wonder Woman (New52).
Head Quarters	The Batcave, a dark place filled with advanced technology. Batman is here most of the time and is occasionally sighted in Wayne Manor.	Fortress of Solitude, a facility created with Kryptonian technology. Superman only uses this occasionally and normally lives in his apartment in Metropolis as Clark Kent.
Position	Leader of the Justice League	Founding Member of the Justice League
Goals	To strike fear into criminal's hearts, then serve justice.	To serve truth justice and the American way
Greatest asset	His wealth and brains. Without them, he wouldn't have all his super-cool abilities/equipment, or his vehicles. Also the Bat-Computer would be gone, which means all of his communications would be offline.	Kryptonian birth. Without being a Kryptonian, Superman, as a normal human would be no match for his opponents.

Superman and Batman figurines

Creation

Batman was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. He first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939.

Superman was created by artist Joe Shuster and writer Jerry Siegel in 1932. He first appeared in Action Comics #1 in June 1938.

Backstory

Batman is the alter ego of Bruce Wayne, an American billionaire playboy, industrialist and philanthropist. After witnessing the murder of his parents as a child, Wayne swore to get revenge on all criminals, and trained himself hard, both physically and intellectually, to allow himself to fight crime in Gotham City.

Superman was born Kal-El on the planet Krypton, but his father rocketed him to earth moments before the planet’s destruction. He was adopted by human parents and named Clark Kent. He grew up in Smallville and developed a strong sense of justice. As an adult, Clark Kent typically works as a news reporter at the Daily Planet.

Personality

Batman is typically a dark, brooding hero with a vendetta against injustice. He was traumatized by the murder of his parents, and is suspicious and untrusting of everyone except his butler Alfred, Robin and Batgirl. He never kills his enemies.

Superman was originally rough and aggressive, with a loose moral code, but he has since been softened. In the 1940s, he developed an idealized code of conduct that prohibits him from ever killing. He is now seen as a brave hero with a strong sense of justice.

Superpowers

Batman does not possess any superpowers. He fights crime using his intellect, his detective skills, science and technology, and his great wealth.

Superman has many superpowers, including flight, super-strength, invulnerability to non-magical attacks, superspeed, telescopic vision, super-hearing, and freezing breath.

Allies

Batman is supported by his sometimes-sidekick Robin, his butler Alfred Pennyworth, the police commissioner Jim Gordon, and occasionally Batgirl.

Superman’s allies include girlfriend Lois Lane, coworker Jimmy Olsen, newspaper editor Perry White and Supergirl.

The Villians from Batman: From left: The Penguin (Burgess Meredith), The Riddler (Frank Gorshin), and The Joker (Cesar Romero)

Villains

Batman’s most famous enemies include The Joker, the Penguin, the Riddler, Two-Face, Poison Ivy and Catwoman.

Superman has faced many villains, including Lex Luthor, Braniac, and Doomsday.

Family

Bruce Wayne’s parents, physician Dr. Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne, were murdered when he was a child. He was brought up by his uncle Philip Wayne. In modern versions, Batman was raised by his butler, Alfred. As an adult, Bruce Wayne takes in an orphaned circus acrobat, Dick Grayson, who becomes the original Robin.

Superman lost his original family when his home planet, Krypton, was destroyed. His father, the scientist Jor-El, rocketed him to Earth just before the planet’s destruction. Superman was found and adopted by a Kansas farmer, Jonathan Kent, and his wife Martha. He has a foster son, Chris Kent.

Romances/Personal Life

Batman and Superman co-starring in World's Finest comics Oct 1973 ed.

In earlier Batman comics, Bruce Wayne has a fiancée named Julie Madison. In the 1960s, Batman marries a reformed Catwoman, Selina Kyle and fathers Helena Wayne, who becomes the Huntress. This has been erased from the plot of modern Batman comics and retellings. Some critics have suggested that Batman is gay, and that he may have had a relationship with Robin.

Superman’s love interests include childhood sweetheart Lana Lang, college love Lori Lemaris, and his love interest and later wife Lois Lane.

Appearances Together

Batman and Superman have teamed up many times. They appeared together in Superman No. 76, Heroes Against Hunger No. 1, and over 200 volumes known as World’s Finest Comics, among others. Both Batman and Superman are founding members of the Justice Society of America, although they only appear occasionally.

Movie

The movie Batman vs Superman, with Ben Affleck playing Batman and Henry Cavill playing Superman, was released in March 2016. Here is a trailer from the movie:

Death

Batman was killed in Batman R.I.P. by Darkseid in 2006. Although it seemed he was dead, batman was actually back in time. He was eventually brought back.

Superman was killed by Doomsday in 1993, although he was soon resurrected.

Other Versions

Batman was first played onscreen by Lewis Wilson in a 15-part serial in 1943. This was followed in 1949 with the movie Batman and Robin. A live action TV series, staring Adam West, aired between 1966 and 1968 on ABC. He then appeared in several cartoon versions, including The Batman/Superman Hour, Super Friends, The New Adventures of Batman, and Batman: The Animated Series, among others. He appeared in Tim Burton’s movie Batman, starring Michael Keaton, in 1989, and again in 1992, 1995 and 1997. The movie franchise was rebooted again in 2005, when Christian Bale starred in Batman Begins, directed by Christopher Nolan.

Theme song from the famous animated TV Series of Batman & Robin (1966):

Outside of comics, Superman first appeared in the radio series, The Adventures of Superman, which ran from 1940 to 1951. Collyer, who voiced Superman in this series, also provided his voice for a series of Superman animated cartoons between 1951 and 1953. Kirk Alyn was the first man to portray Superman onscreen, in the movie serial Superman. The Adventures of Superman ran on TV between 1952 and 1958, and Christopher Reeve starred as Superman in the 1978 movie version Superman, which spawned three sequels. Superman also appeared in several TV series in the 1980s and 1990s, including Superman, Lois and Clark, and Superman: the Animated Series. A new live-action series, Smallville, ran from 2001 and 2011.