Man, those Carfax.com folks pick up everything!
Fine. But they’re all red shirts.
Which brings up another question - Would being near another star make Dracula go up in flames? Or is only our sun? Because when Kirk or Spock take on Dracula*, that could matter.
*Dracula loses to either, of course. Dracula loses to everybody except red shirts and mooks.
Dang. None of the heroes are who I remember them being any more.
Batman isn’t Bruce Wayne.
Doctor Fate isn’t Kent Nelson.
The Spectre isn’t Jim Corrigan.
Suddenly, I feel old.
I dunno. I think a lot of you are focusing too much on the physical, trivial aspects of the contest, envisioning Dracula as the semi-comical “I vant to suck your bloooooooood! Blah! Blah!” chump.
He’s not. He’s the Lord of the Undead. He’s a subtle, vastly intelligent, amoral, ruthless, evasive target. He controls the creatures of the night. He has insubstantial forms as well as super speed. He’s next to impossible to kill. He’s a demon sent to haunt the earth from the bowels of Hell. And most of all, he’s a puppet master. He dominates and controls from within, using his target’s fears and weakness. He’s also a master strategist and a soulless killing machine (see, Vlad’s defense of Wallachia against the Turks. They didn’t call him the Little Dragon for nuthin’, folks.)
Dracula would work out a subtle, cunning way to turn Superman, and end up with a Zombie Lapdog of Steel, with his cold, undead hand wrapped irrevocably around Supes’s heart, without ever actually directly confronting him.
And his first mission for his Superman? Kill Batman, of course.
As has been mentioned before, Superman has fought vampires before, both pre- and post-Crisis. Many of the points brought up in said comics (like Superman’s magic vulnerability) have been brought up in said stories.
Of course, he’s never (IIRC) fought the literary Dracula, which seems to be the point of the OP. Whether there are significant differences in power or mind between him and the vampires Supes has already fought is another point for debate.
That’s exactly what happened in one issue of the Post-Crisis, Pre-“Whatever the current era is called” series.
Drac was able to bite Supes thanks to that whole “Kryptonians are weak against supernatural” rule, but then Drac exploded from Supes’ solar charged blood.
google turns up Superman vol. 2 #180 as the issue I’m thinking of.
A previous discussion: Space vampires: How far from the sun before a vamp could walk in daylight, safely? - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board
Testing that question, no, because Dracula was merely undead because of how his body reacted with those undead who were not going along with him. he lost the vote.
I look forward to working in a mental landscaoe in which my systems are not asked to replicate such BS for money.
Yet again, you enter a Cafe Society thread merely to indicate your contempt for the subject of a discussion and for everyone participating in it.
Your posting privileges are under discussion.
twickster, Cafe Society moderator
I think a link to an actual plot synopsis/review might be a little more helpful.
But note that that doesn’t actually answer the question of whether Dracula* could *beat Superman, merely that he tried once and failed. If I know anything about Dracula, especially in a comic book universe, even seeing him completely obliterated does not mean he can’t come back.
Superman grows old and dies. Dracula continues to exist.
Superman doesn’t know how to live well. He continues to eke out a marginal living a crappy job in a dying industry for a mean boss, lusting for his co-worker who thinks of him as just a friend because he fails to reveal his actual strengths. He doesn’t need Dracula to beat him. He has sentenced himself to a life of isolation and drudgery.
Dracula seems to live pretty well, enjoys the pleasures that his existence offers, and does not seem perturbed by any moral dilemnas. He lived a good life and then cheated death for hundreds of years before Superman came along. He’s a winner before they ever meet.
I don’t doubt that Superman would come out victorious in a physical combat situation. But is winning and losing really about who can punch or bite the best? If winning is about happiness or self-esteem, there’s no contest.
I must say that this is the most depressing take on poor Kal-El’s existence that I have ever read. Nice insight.
I see you haven’t peeked in on the life of Superman in the last 30 years or so…
I know he married Lois, who knows his identity. But, even though I am a comic fan, I don’t follow Superman (or Batman, or Spider-man, or the mutants, or anything other unlimited series with too many intertwining stories to keep track of). What else has changed?
I’m thinking this bat thing needs some more looking at.
Many bats, in the US at least, are protected. If Drac changed into one of a protected species then, given Superman’s reluctance to break laws, he’d have a perfect defense until he found a way to gather up some kryptonite.
As far as Dracula goes, his reassembled self now knows better than to bite Supes, lest he explode, again. He must also know by now he could render the man of steel powerless by gathering a bit of green kryptonite. He is certainly as resourceful, and easily more clever than Lex Luthor, so I envision the Count luring Superman to a would-be rescue, producing a quantity of the Kryptonite, and imprisoning him. Disposing of Kal-el might be a bit more problematic, but they didn’t call him Vlad the Impaler for nothing. I can almost see that big S and cape twisting in the wind atop a sharp pike of green…
Based on the most recent videographic data we have available:
Dracula < Helsing = Hugh Jackman = Wolverine < Superman
I think this problem has been solved.
Supes fought vamps in Action Comics Annual #1 (1980’s, post-CoIE).
I think the invulnerability helps Supes, the mesmerism helps Vlad. Of course, there are many writers of both characters, so mileage will vary. I don’t think Vlad has a magic to puncture Supey’s skin, but with mind control he could manipulate Supes for a while (possibly especially post-CoIE Supes); but Supey might break the conditioning & only pretend to play along, or even use super-clever-resistance-to-hypnosis from the first moment (especially pre-CoIE Supes). But as for the effect of Kryptonian blood on a vampire, I wonder if it wouldn’t do to Drac what Majesdanian blood does to them in** Runaways.** 