# Who could defeat Batman if he WEREN'T prepared? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 16, 2006, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-could-defeat-batman-if-he-werent-prepared/364747 "2006-07-16T15:49:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-could-defeat-batman-if-he-werent-prepared/364747/21 "2006-07-16T21:37:04Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > I notice nobody has mentioned **Robin.** That may be the only comic book hero who Batman could defeat, anytime, anyplace, prepared or not. Eh, I’m not so sure. Nightwing and Tim Drake would give him a run for his money. ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-could-defeat-batman-if-he-werent-prepared/364747/22 "2006-07-16T22:15:41Z")
I’m surprised no-one’s given any thought to whether the rest of the Justice League could whup him. ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-could-defeat-batman-if-he-werent-prepared/364747/23 "2006-07-16T22:17:17Z")
> [@ianzin](#): > > I’m surprised no-one’s given any thought to whether the rest of the Justice League could whup him. Without prep pretty much anyone of them could beat him. On the Marvel side I’d add Spiderman, Captain America, Iron Fist, Black Panther, and pretty much every other Avenger accept for Hawkeye. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-could-defeat-batman-if-he-werent-prepared/364747/24 "2006-07-16T22:20:28Z")
> [@ianzin](#): > > I’m surprised no-one’s given any thought to whether the rest of the Justice League could whup him. Together or individually? ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-could-defeat-batman-if-he-werent-prepared/364747/25 "2006-07-16T22:21:20Z")
> [@Revenant Threshold](#): > > Eh, I’m not so sure. Nightwing and Tim Drake would give him a run for his money. Dick, maybe, but not Tim. Tim’s pretty much the worst fighter of the currently able-bodied members/former members of the extended Batfamily. (With the likely exception of the new Batwoman) He’s less experienced than just about any of the others (except Batwoman), less focussed on the combat side of things (MAYBE except Batwoman) - he’s a detective in training, not a fighter - and, unlike Dick, didn’t have a background he could adapt for it. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-could-defeat-batman-if-he-werent-prepared/364747/26 "2006-07-16T22:45:30Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > I notice nobody has mentioned **Robin.** That may be the only comic book hero who Batman could defeat, anytime, anyplace, prepared or not. I dunno . . . ya gotta take into account that Robin is younger, and remember who he studied under. ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-could-defeat-batman-if-he-werent-prepared/364747/27 "2006-07-16T22:48:14Z")
Point taken, **Tengu**. Out of the rest of the Bat-people, I think Cass could probably take him. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-could-defeat-batman-if-he-werent-prepared/364747/28 "2006-07-16T22:49:36Z")
> [@ianzin](#): > > I’m surprised no-one’s given any thought to whether the rest of the Justice League could whup him. Depends on the kind of contest, of course. Batman has always relied on his wits more than anything else – he might have an advantage in any kind of intellectual contest. I wouldn’t give Green Arrow or Wonder Woman any odds against Batman in a chess match, even if Batman hadn’t played chess since he was 12. Dr. Fate or the Phantom Stranger, OTOH . . . there’s really no telling. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-could-defeat-batman-if-he-werent-prepared/364747/29 "2006-07-16T22:51:43Z")
> [@](#): > > Tim’s pretty much the worst fighter of the currently able-bodied members/former members of the extended Batfamily. (With the likely exception of the new Batwoman) And Alfred? The answer to the OP, though, is, I think, anyone (regardless of membership in the Justice League). Even Bruce Wayne has to sleep sometime, and if he’s not prepared, I think it’s plausible to suppose someone sneaking up and smothering him with a pillow. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-could-defeat-batman-if-he-werent-prepared/364747/30 "2006-07-16T23:04:58Z")
Justice League, anyone? ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-could-defeat-batman-if-he-werent-prepared/364747/31 "2006-07-16T23:06:14Z")
> [@JThunder](#): > > Justice League, anyone? Ah, so _that’s_ what JLA stands for! ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-could-defeat-batman-if-he-werent-prepared/364747/32 "2006-07-16T23:07:20Z")
Lex Luthor and Swamp Thing are two significant DC Universe characters who HAVE beaten Batman. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-could-defeat-batman-if-he-werent-prepared/364747/33 "2006-07-16T23:15:27Z")
What, no love for the rest of the comic book world? I think the feat could be accomplished by almost anyone with actual super powers, like the rest of the Justice League, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-could-defeat-batman-if-he-werent-prepared/364747/34 "2006-07-16T23:17:21Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > Lex Luthor and Swamp Thing are two significant DC Universe characters who HAVE beaten Batman. That’s because Swamp Thing doesn’t _need_ to be prepared. Just rinse and serve. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-could-defeat-batman-if-he-werent-prepared/364747/35 "2006-07-16T23:40:01Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And Alfred? I was thinking the costumed members…Tim could take the current version of Alfred in a throwdown. Although Alfred is a fairly respectable fighter, just not on the same level as the actual heroes. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-could-defeat-batman-if-he-werent-prepared/364747/36 "2006-07-16T23:52:03Z")
> [@Love Rhombus](#): > > Captain America (kidding, don’t wanna start a huge debate). Done, in a crossover; they came out even. Anyone with unavoidable powers, like Professor X, could beat him easy. So can anyone with powers/weapons capable of widespread destruction. Dr Doom nuking Gotham comes to mind. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-could-defeat-batman-if-he-werent-prepared/364747/37 "2006-07-17T00:22:52Z")
> [@Terrifel](#): > > That’s because Swamp Thing doesn’t _need_ to be prepared. Just rinse and serve. The origin of Cajun cuisine! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-could-defeat-batman-if-he-werent-prepared/364747/38 "2006-07-17T00:41:59Z")
> [@Rufus Xavier](#): > > And, possibly, the other folks in that crime-fighting organization that has a roster of superheroes. I’m blanking on the name of it, though. The Forgotten Heroes, perhaps? Or maybe the Inferior Five? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-could-defeat-batman-if-he-werent-prepared/364747/39 "2006-07-17T00:45:38Z")
> [@JThunder](#): > > The Forgotten Heroes, perhaps? Or maybe the Inferior Five? Awkwardman could take an unprepared Batman! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-could-defeat-batman-if-he-werent-prepared/364747/40 "2006-07-17T01:18:38Z")
> [@JThunder](#): > > Or maybe the Inferior Five? The Blimp could hover over him in his sleep, then crash down and smother him, like **Chronos** said. I’m likin’ the idea of a Plastic-Man-versus-Unprepared-Batman matchup. Any ideas on how it might go? And can Woozy Winks take on Robin? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-could-defeat-batman-if-he-werent-prepared/364747.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-could-defeat-batman-if-he-werent-prepared/364747.md?page=3)