Batman vs. Superman - The polls are closed.

At the time of this posting the final poll results were:

14 - Batman all the way
9 - Superman by a mile
5 - Batman but just barely
1 - Superman by a hair
0 - Fight to a draw
1 - Both would die

Ok, if you take into a account that Jennifer #2 stuffed the ballot box for Batman this came out very close, but still in Batman's favor. To be honest I'm surprised, I thought you would have taken the Man of Steel. Well, done and I agree with you, I think it would be Batman.

The 4 Reasons I think Batman would win:

1) Superman has a known weakness. - Kyrptonite turns Superman into a weakling. He has trouble standing in it's presence. The movies and comics have made it clear that there is enough of this "rare" stuff around to get your hands on if you've got the time or the cash. Batman has both. Batman's only weakness is the possibility that Superman could bend him into a pretzel, but he'd have to get his hands on him.

2) Batman has all the toys. - This is an extension of point one. Batman has stuff for all occasions. In fact, he keeps some kyptonite in his Batcave, he does this to keep it out of enemy hands and in case Superman goes AWOL again. Ryan posted that Batman was just a normal guy with gadgets and that Superman could get gadgets too then he'd win. But this isn't really true. Bruce Wayne developed, invented and paid millions of dollars for those gadgets. Kalel shows none of that technical prowess, and definitely doesn't have the cash on a newspaperman's salary.

3) The Training Factor - Superman was that guy in high school you hated because he got all A's and never had to study, it all came naturally to him. Batman was the guy who busted his hump getting ready for a term paper. Superman has never had to train to defeat an enemy, in fact the concept of training his powers is completely foreign to him. The only mention of it I can remember is from Action Comics where it mentions he had to train himself to slow down over populated areas to avoid a sonic boom when flying. But he's defeated every enemy with ease.

Batman on the other hand has prepared for all contingencies. He has a large database on all supervillans, with tactics for each. When there became a dangerous trend of "good guys" from the Justice League occasionally switching sides, he starting keeping records on heroes. (They occasionally switched because of magical coercion, mental control, alternate reality versions and just going bad.) So if you had a file on Superman what would you need, kyptonite.

4) Documentation
If you've only seen the movies and old TV shows you may not know these two have tangled a number of times. Usually the comic writers call it a draw because of the popularity of these two character, but occasionally we see a clear winner.

First, the handful of fights to a draw. What should this tell you? It tells me Batman won't be roasted to a crisp in the first 5 seconds. Also it shows that Batman could survive a few blows from Superman (although recently in OMAC Project they fought and Batman spent a week in intensive care). Batman knows Superman's fighting style and can dodge his punches and even his heat vision (also the heat vision is usually a last resort as it tends to drain Kalel). Now that we have allowed for the possibility of Batman not being paste we give him time react and counter attack.

Second, the fights that were not to a draw, Batman won. In the popular "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns" Batman gave Superman the beating of a lifetime. (This comic was so cool it appeared on the OC.) In this fight Superman crashes through a hundred feet of rock to try and surprise Bruce in his Batcave. Only to find the proximity alarms have given time for Batman to don his Kryptonite-Brass-Knuckles.

Ok, there it is as clearly as possible. Batman would win. Feel free to offer rebuttals as a comment.