# Batman Vs. Lupin the 3rd **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 7, 2003, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/batman-vs-lupin-the-3rd/200086 "2003-09-07T13:23:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2003, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/batman-vs-lupin-the-3rd/200086/1 "2003-09-07T13:23:54Z")
**Batman** , the Dark Knight. Obsessed crime fighter. The World’s Greatest Detective. His associates– **Robin** , **Nightwing** , **Catwoman** (his girlfriend/opponent) and his faithful butler **Alfred**. [LINK](http://www.darkknight.ca/dknight.html) **Lupin the 3rd** –the World’s Greatest Thief, Con Artist, & Criminal Mastermind. [LINK](http://www.lupinthethird.org/cast.htm) His associates-- **Goemon** the renegade samurai, matial arts master; **Jigen** , hoodlum, master getaway car driver & possibly the greatest pistol marksman of this age; and **Fujiko Mine** , temptress, vixen, siren, sex bomb, con artist, thief, motorcyclist extraordinaire, good-time girl in search of a sugar daddy, and Lupin’s girlfriend/opponent. Dropped down in Gotham City, they are both in search of a hidden treasure, a certain _falcon_, stolen from the Knights of Malta. Batman wants to return it, Lupin wants it period. Both sides have to deal with “the hazards of the course”–Batman faces Gothams underworld, from the various costumed freaks through the Mob and street punks. Lupin is pursued by his Nemisis, Inspector Zenigata of INTERPOL, and the Gotham City Police. Both sides have a hidden base (Lupin’s is one of the many abandoned warehouses), both sides have access to appropriate vehicles, both sides have their favorite weapons/equipment, their Law Enforcement/Criminal Underworld contacts/informers, both sides have their associates to help them. Who gets the Black Bird? Sam Spade is not eligible. ---
**Author:** ![Nekosoft](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c2a13f/32.png) [@Nekosoft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nekosoft)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2003, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/batman-vs-lupin-the-3rd/200086/2 "2003-09-07T13:36:13Z")
Even if Batman does get ahold of the prize, I’m certain that the authorities he returns it to will turn out to be Lupin in disguise. Even Batman can’t prepare for Anime logic. ---
**Author:** ![Menocchio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Menocchio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Menocchio)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2003, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/batman-vs-lupin-the-3rd/200086/3 "2003-09-07T15:04:25Z")
Inspector Zenigata is notoriously incompetent. Batman and Commissioner Gordon are not. If they put their minds to it, Lupin leaves town empty-handed, if he leaves at all. Batman’s a master martial artist and crack driver himself, with tons of experience at dealing with excellent marksmen. He’s turned down better than Fujiko on several occasions (Catwoman, Poison Ivy). Unless Lupin pulls a Bane and tries to pull this on the week that all of Arkham asylum has escaped and is roaming the streets willy-nilly (which could be bad for them, since the Joker and co. are a tad more lethal than the average Lupin foe), he’s toast. Oh, **Nekosoft** , even if Lupin could do that, the person he eventually tries to sell the thing to will inevitably be Batman in disguise. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2003, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/batman-vs-lupin-the-3rd/200086/4 "2003-09-07T15:29:03Z")
Didn’t Lupin appear in an episode of Samurai Jack? As much as I dislike most anime, you can’t discount the Samurai Jack factor. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2003, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/batman-vs-lupin-the-3rd/200086/5 "2003-09-07T15:33:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Johnny Bravo \* > \*\*Didn’t Lupin appear in an episode of Samurai Jack? > > As much as I dislike most anime, you can’t discount the Samurai Jack factor. \*\* Where in Jah’s Name did you get _that_ idea? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2003, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/batman-vs-lupin-the-3rd/200086/6 "2003-09-08T15:13:20Z")
Terribly minor bump for the Monday crowd. Deucedly sorry, old bean. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![hebesphenomegacorona](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b9e5f3/32.png) [@hebesphenomegacorona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hebesphenomegacorona)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2003, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/batman-vs-lupin-the-3rd/200086/7 "2003-09-08T15:35:47Z")
Batman does have the nutkick factor… ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2003, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/batman-vs-lupin-the-3rd/200086/8 "2003-09-08T15:37:02Z")
I think what’s more important is that while Batman always wins if he’s prepared, Lupin is always prepared. So that means Lupin should always beat Batman. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2003, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/batman-vs-lupin-the-3rd/200086/9 "2003-09-08T19:40:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Johnny Bravo \* > Didn’t Lupin appear in an episode of Samurai Jack? No, but a thief who looked a _lot_ like Jigen was Jack’s competitor/ally in one episode. I had a serious “which show am I watching” moment when the guy’s silhouette first appeared. He had a rather Lupinesque attitude, too. As to the OP–this one is tough to call. I think it will end with Lupin escaping Gotham empty-handed (he often doesn’t get what he wants, but he always gets away). Batman won’t have the bird, though. Some third party, probably one of Gotham’s resident psychotics, will have it. The Joker would smash it just for laughs, and Two-Face would deface it, but the likeliest candidate would obviously be the Penguin. That’s good for Batman, since he would keep it safe until Bats managed to take it from him. At that point, Batman could claim victory…but would probably be better off in the dignity department if he just pretended that the whole sorry mess had never happened. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2003, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/batman-vs-lupin-the-3rd/200086/10 "2003-09-08T19:59:25Z")
I agree **asterion**.