10 Marvel Characters Who Could Beat Batman In A Fight

Batman dresses like a giant bat, speaks in a grizzled tone, and disappears into the shadows dramatically, but don't ask him if his mom made his costume for him. In his post-traumatic rage, he'll beat you until you relive the fever dream opening credits of "Peacemaker" in your unconscious state. Yes, the Dark Knight loves to dish out a platter of knuckle sandwiches with a side serving of roundhouse kicks, but he isn't immune to getting his butt kicked either. As a matter of fact, comic book writer Tom King once declared that Batman is only the third-most skilled fighter in the Bat-Family behind Cassandra Cain and Dick Grayson.

As fans, it's fun to debate what-if scenarios and pit Marvel and DC characters against each other. So, the brain obviously goes to the question: which Marvel character could beat Batman in a fight? Now, look, it's pointless picking OP superheroes like Captain Marvel or Jean Grey, because that isn't a fair fight to begin with. It's like Batman vs. Superman — if the Man of Steel wasn't such a nice guy, he could punch a hole through the Caped Crusader's chest before the Dark Knight could find another orphan to turn into a child soldier. In the interest of fairness, we have selected more street-level and melee-based characters for grounded battles. Some superpowers are allowed here, but not godlike abilities.

So, who's ready for fight night? Bandage up those hands and grab the mouthguard, because this is about to get messy!

If you think about it, Daredevil is Marvel's Batman. He sits on top of rooftops at night, moping about his life and searching for bad guys to take out all his frustration and anger on. Yet, there's another big similarity between Daredevil and Batman: they were both trained in mystical martial arts. Matt Murdock not only knows how to box — thanks to his father — but he also receives next-level combat training from Stick, the leader of the mysterious Chaste whose sole purpose is to fight the Hand. Hmm ... so Daredevil fights a demon's Hand, while Batman clashes with the Demon's Head. Interesting.

In addition to this training, Daredevil possesses superhuman senses, or what's become known as his radar sense. Through sound, touch, smell, and taste, he's able to anticipate attacks before they happen. As a trained ninja, Batman tries to operate in silence, but it's likely that even he wouldn't be able to successfully tiptoe around the Man Without Fear. The smoke-and-mirror show wouldn't work against Daredevil either, so they would have to slug it out to see who comes out on top.

Much like Batman, Daredevil doesn't know when to give up. He refuses to stay down, so he will fight until he has nothing left in the tank. Yeah, it's likely that a battle between these two heroes could end in a stalemate, as both pass out from total exhaustion, but don't bet against Daredevil's radar sense giving him the edge here.

Captain America vs. Batman: who is the strongest in this Marvel and DC crossover? Actually, the answer comes in the "DC vs. Marvel" comic book event, as Cap and the Dark Knight square off in a match for the ages. Cap warms up by knocking out Bane before he finally clashes with Batman. The pair slug it out in the sewer before a batarang unbalances Cap into a burst of filthy water. Ultimately, Batman saves Cap from drowning. The W goes Batman's way, but anyone can see that Cap had the Dark Knight's number before this stroke of fortune changed the game for the DC superhero.

While Cap might not have the martial arts training, or fancy gadgets, of his contemporary, he has military training, his mighty shield, and Super Soldier Serum running through his veins, which amplifies his mental and physical abilities. That means he's bigger, faster, stronger, and smarter than the Dark Knight. Sure, the Bat is no slouch here, as he's reached the peak of human conditioning — both in terms of mind and body — but this is like in sports when one athlete trains like a beast and the other uses performance-enhancing drugs. Sorry, but there's only one winner here, regardless of how unfair it is.

As demonstrated in "DC vs. Marvel," Cap and Batman may engage in fisticuffs, but they'll often put aside their differences for the greater good. Having said that, put them in an arena to see how they fare.

Disclaimer: when mentioning Iron Fist, this is about the comic book character — not the Finn Jones' version of Iron Fist who moves with the grace of an elephant doing ballet on ice. It's sad, though, because the Danny Rand from the comics is a legitimate fighter. After all, this is the guy, who was orphaned at a young age like Batman, but he started martial arts training in the mythical city of K'un-Lun when he was only nine years old. Not only did he master the arts, but he also received spiritual enlightenment. Thus, he received the honor of being called Iron Fist.

In hand-to-hand combat, Iron Fist knows all the disciplines and weapons. Imagine he's every single combatant from "Mortal Kombat" and "Street Fighter" all rolled into one — yes, including that dweeb Kurtis Stryker. That isn't all, Danny also knows how to channel all his energy into his fist, enabling it to fire blasts or take someone's teeth out. Oh, and he also has a healing factor, because why not?

Now, Batman has learned a variety of martial arts from around the globe, but he's never been to K'un-Lun. If he were to face Iron Fist, he would be Steven Seagal fighting Chuck Norris. He would make up rumors about how good he is and use the PR machine to amplify his skills, but everyone knows that Iron Fist is so scary good that he can make onions cry. Yes, that's a recycled Chuck Norris joke.

Batman is no stranger to fighting wild and unpredictable characters. More often than not, the Dark Knight applies the martial arts principle of using someone's own blinding rage and anger against them, biding his time until they tire themselves out or leave an opening for him to strike. Yet, he's never faced a living weapon like Wolverine.

Even according to Marvel's own metric system, the man known as Logan possesses a perfect score in the fighting department. He might not be the fastest, smartest, or strongest hero in this universe, but good luck to anyone who thinks he'll be a pushover in a scrap. It helps that he possesses a mutant healing factor, an adamantium skeleton, and razor-sharp claws, but even without those, Wolverine comes across like a feral bar brawler who isn't afraid to cross lines to survive. When it comes to a fight, he has one rule and one rule only: win at all costs.

For Batman, he possesses a strong moral compass about what he will and won't do to stop an adversary. In the case of Wolverine, well, it isn't uncommon for the animal in him to come out when he's under threat. If the Dark Knight hesitates for a second, that's it — game over. Seriously, in terms of the worst things that Wolverine has ever done, killing is only the tip of the iceberg. Once Wolvie gets his groove on, it's practically impossible to stop the berserker barrage that gets put in motion.

A notable billionaire who uses incredible technology to create extraordinary gadgets and futuristic devices to fight crime. You could be talking about both Batman and Iron Man here. Although, let me be clear about one thing: if you strip away the tech and armor, Bruce Wayne wouldn't only beat Tony Stark to a bloody pulp — he would also give him such a generational battering that future Starks would come out bruised and contorted.

The problem is, how does Batman isolate Tony from his snazzy super-suits? Because that's where Iron Man holds the key advantage in this battle. Sure, the Bat knows how to build his own high-tech armored suits, but Tony is just that little bit smarter than Bruce. After all, Iron Man is the unlikely superhero who has defeated gods, monsters, and titans using only his brain and scraps of metal. As a bareknuckle fighter, Tony isn't about to win any schoolyard skirmishes, but he knows how to maximize his strengths to make up for his weaknesses.

Ultimately, this war comes down to who has the better tech. In this instance, the obvious answer points to Iron Man, though no one ever knows what Batman is hiding since he's a secretive superhero with unlimited backup plans. Maybe he has an untested weapon to deal with Iron Man that he hasn't used before. In terms of Marvel characters who could beat Batman in a fight, this main event encounter might come down to minute details between competitors.

From a young age, Elektra Natchios dedicated herself to learning martial arts. She hoped to enhance her skills under the Chaste's guidance, much like Daredevil, but her path led her to the Hand, where she trained to become a deadly ninja assassin. Then, there's that whole part of Elektra dying and being revived, because hey, this is comics, where death is about as permanent as a temporary tattoo. She oscillates between hero, villain, and antihero, but make no mistake about it, she's lethal at any time, any place, and anywhere.

So, why does she stand a chance of defeating Batman? In theory, her background isn't too different from Lady Shiva of the League of Assassins, whom the Bat has defeated on multiple occasions, so Elektra should be beatable too, right? Not so fast, though. If you look back at the "DC vs. Marvel" crossover event, Elektra overcame Catwoman, who has been known to outwit the Dark Knight on occasion. Of course, the Bat is a giant simp for Selina Kyle, so there's that to take into account, but you cannot deny that Catwoman has had his number with her trickery.

In the case of Elektra, there's no sentiment between the characters. Unlike the Cat, who may hold back in her attacks, the assassin will go for the jugular if she faces Batman. Even Wolverine hasn't had an easy time with Elektra in the past, so who's to say that the Dark Knight will walk away from this encounter unscathed?

Cable is Batman's worst nightmare. He's a mutant from the future who loves guns — lots of guns. And the bigger, the better! Also, if comic book artist Rob Liefeld draws him, you know he's going to have more pockets than common sense, presumably to store all his bullets, spare change, packs of chewing gum, and a father's day card for Cyclops. Cable also has the additional benefits of telekinesis, telepathy, and all the other cybernetic enhancements to his body.

Would it be a fair fight between Cable and Batman, though? Eh, that's debatable. Cable receives the natural advantage with his winning combination of mutant powers, cybernetic augmentations, and battle brain. It could be a long day at the office for the Dark Knight once Cable starts blasting, and remember, Batman hates guns!

With that being said, Cable is a master strategist and tactician. He considers the odds and who he is up against. Batman might think of himself in the same way, but he's likely to struggle against the man born Nathan Summers, who really is an all-action total package. Think of him as all the best qualities of Deadshot, Deathstroke, and more! Plus, if the going gets tough, Cable can hightail it and return to an earlier timeline thanks to his time-travel devices.

One of the Marvel characters who could beat Batman in a fight is Frank Castle, aka the Punisher. If you think about it, Punisher is Batman without the no-kill rule. For him, the only way to treat criminals is in the most brutal and bloodiest fashion — and he isn't about to give them a second chance to screw up again. So, if there was ever a dispute between Batman and the Punisher, well, let's say that it wouldn't be a pretty affair. Violent is a better description.

While Punisher isn't a slouch in the hand-to-hand combat department, he won't be able to go knuckle-to-knuckle with the Caped Crusader in a straight-up fistfight. The Bat holds the advantage here, thanks to being well versed in a variety of fighting styles from across the globe and under several masters. However, Punisher possesses another special skill: guerrilla warfare. He knows how to use his environment to his advantage, utilizing weapons, sentry guns, mines, and other traps to incapacitate his opponents. That isn't the worst of it, because as someone tries to deal with this type of threat, the Punisher is watching and waiting, keeping you in his crosshairs for the perfect shot.

For the Punisher, he's willing to cross lines if you're his enemy. Batman isn't. In order to handle the Punisher, he might need to tap into his darker and violent side. If he doesn't, the last thing he may see is a bloody white skull on a black shirt.

It may be a controversial choice here, especially since the Marvel Cinematic Universe nerfed Taskmaster in "Thunderbolts*," but let's consider the original version of the skull-faced combatant from the comics: Tony Masters. The merc for hire possesses a rare and impressive skill: photographic reflexes that enable him to mimic his adversary's fighting style. If he's facing Batman, this proves to be an invaluable ability, since the Dark Knight knows an endless array of intricate combat styles and martial arts.

Think about what Batman needs to do to defeat Taskmaster. Effectively, he must forget everything he knows and fight unpredictably. That's a major gamble, especially against a formidable opponent like Taskmaster. Throw in the fact that Taskmaster isn't afraid to fight dirty too, and the Bat has a big problem on his hands.

Now, with that being said, Taskmaster may hand Batman the L on their first meeting, but it's more than likely that the Dark Knight will figure out a plan to deal with him in their next clash. According to Marvel, Taskmaster holds a 7/7 score in the fighting skills category, but he's fairly weak at everything else. Once Batman exploits this, the party's over for Tony Masters.

Oh, you think Shang-Chi is only listed as one of the Marvel characters who could beat Batman in a fight because of the Ten Rings? Sure, they give him extra strength, speed, endurance, and the power of flight, but on his own (without the mystical weapons), he's already considered the master of kung fu. It's true: Shang-Chi is one of the best combatants in the Marvel Universe — and that's according to Marvel, too.

Shang-Chi was raised in a fortress where he learned many martial arts disciplines, turning him into an unstoppable and unmatched fighter. However, it isn't only his hand-to-hand skills that set him apart. He's also trained himself to control his chi and emotions, applying a level of calm to everything he does. In fact, he's even able to dodge bullets — and probably batarangs — because of this.

For Batman, Shang-Chi would provide the ultimate test. Without the Ten Rings, he's already a machine in a melee. Now, chuck in the mythical rings into the mix, and then what? Time to call all your Robins for backup, Bats, because Shang-Chi is about to whoop you so hard that you'll wish you were George Clooney's Batman for a day.