In the DC Comics canon, no hero is more iconic than Batman. With all due respect to the Man of Steel and the Amazonian Princess, the Dark Knight is DC’s biggest figure, arguably the most famous and beloved comic character ever created and the hero we all wanted to be when we were young. Superman can fly, sure, but Batman has the gadgets, the Batmobile, the Batcave, the trauma! And, as Chandler perfectly said, “Batman has Robin.” In short, no hero can compare in terms of sheer influence and impact. But what about strength? Now, that’s another matter entirely.
Batman is widely recognized as one of the prime fighters in the DC universe, with very few equals when it comes to technique, skill, stamina, athleticism, and knowledge of multiple martial arts. In fact, one could easily argue that Batman could defeat most DC heroes in a fair, hand-to-hand fight — most. Indeed, at least 5 DC heroes have proven themselves strong and skilled enough to beat Batman in combat. Now, it’s important to mention that this list will only include non-powered heroes, since putting Batman in the ring with Wonder Woman or Doctor Fate would not exactly be fair. He might still beat them using his intellect, but that’s another story. We’re focusing on pure human-level brawn and skill, so don’t expect to see Big Blue here.
Advertisement
Bronze Tiger
Image via DC Comics
Debuting during the Bronze Age of comic books, Bronze Tiger is a Black martial artist widely considered one of the best fighters in the DC canon. His real name is Benjamin “Ben” Turner, and he trained under the tutelage of O-Sensei alongside Richard Dragon and Lady Shiva, who are most often considered his peers and rivals. Following a stint at the League of Assassins, where he’s severely brainwashed, Bronze Tiger became a member of the Suicide Squad, serving as the second-in-command after Amanda Waller. Eventually, Bronze Tiger became a free agent, adopting more of an antihero persona that often borders on straightforward heroics.
Notably, Bronze Tiger is among the very few characters to have ever beaten Batman in hand-to-hand combat. Objectively speaking, their skill is on par, as Batman’s high intellect can make up for Bronze Tiger’s precision and control. Still, thanks to his impressive agility and skill, Bronze Tiger is a formidable opponent who wears a lifelike tiger mask, adding to his cool factor. While the ultimate outcome of their encounters usually depends on whoever is writing them, the fact remains that this shifting antihero can take pride in being good enough to best the Bat in a brawl.
Advertisement
Richard Dragon
Image via DC Comics
Moving on to another exemplary martial artist, we have Richard Dragon, who might just have the most badass name in the DC canon. Like many other comic book characters, Dragon has gone through numerous aliases, and his backstory has received its fair share of retcons. Usually, he’s depicted as either a close friend or the student of Ben Turner, but the one detail that remains consistent across his appearances is his remarkable martial prowess.
Indeed, Richard Dragon is widely considered one of the most prolific martial artists in DC Comics. Yes, he has never outright faced Batman in direct combat, but he is arguably considered a superior martial artist to the World’s Greatest Detective. In a direct brawl, chances are Batman would win, thanks to his gadgets and gizmos, but there’s also a strong possibility that he wouldn’t use those so as to keep things fair. In that case, then we have to give the win to Dragon, whose discipline and sheer skill are considerable and would successfully bring Bruce to his knees.
Advertisement
Lady Shiva
Image via DC Comics
One just doesn’t get a reputation for being the deadliest martial artist in DC Comics for nothing. Indeed, in the pantheon of lethal DC assassins, Lady Shiva reigns supreme as arguably the most dangerous and mightiest martial artist. Throughout her history, Lady Shiva has been depicted as both a dangerous villain, a tragic antihero, and a self-serving freelance agent serving multiple masters. No matter the version, Lady Shiva remains an incredible opponent who can defeat pretty much everyone in single combat.
Unlike other entries on this list, Lady Shiva and Batman have actually fought quite a few times. In fact, Batman has actually trained under Lady Shiva, most famously after Bane breaks his back and he needs to not only repair his body, but his spirit, too. Moreover, it isn’t a case of the student surpassing the master, but it’s not a straightforward matter, either. Often, the result is indecisive, with one or both being incapacitated or hindered in some way. However, all these encounters establish that Lady Shiva is more than capable of kicking Batman’s butt. She’s among the deadliest
Advertisement
Collider Exclusive · Action Hero Quiz Which Action Hero Would Be Your Perfect Partner? Rambo · James Bond · Indiana Jones · John McClane · Ethan Hunt
Advertisement
Five legends. Five completely different ways of getting out alive — with style, with muscle, with charm, with luck, or with a plan so intricate it probably shouldn’t work. Ten questions will reveal which action hero was built to have your back.
🎖️Rambo
🍸James Bond
🏺Indiana Jones
🔧John McClane
Advertisement
🎭Ethan Hunt
Advertisement
01
You’re dropped into a dangerous situation with no warning. What do you need most from a partner? The first few seconds tell you everything about who belongs beside you.
Advertisement
02
You have to get somewhere dangerous, fast. How do you travel? How you get there is half the mission.
Advertisement
03
You’re pinned down and outnumbered. What does your ideal partner do? This is when you find out what someone is really made of.
Advertisement
04
The mission is paused. You have one evening to decompress. What does your partner suggest? Who someone is when the pressure drops is who they actually are.
Advertisement
05
How do you prefer your partner to communicate mid-mission? Good communication is the difference between partners and a liability.
Advertisement
06
Your enemy is powerful, well-resourced, and has the upper hand. How should your partner approach them? The approach to the enemy defines the partnership.
Advertisement
07
Things go badly wrong and you’re captured. What do you trust your partner to do? Who someone is when you need them most is the only thing that matters.
Advertisement
08
What does your ideal partner bring to the table that you couldn’t replace? A great partner fills the gap you didn’t know you had.
Advertisement
09
Every partnership has a cost. Which of these can you live with? No one comes without baggage. The question is whether you can carry it together.
Advertisement
10
It’s the final moment. Everything is on the line. What do you need from your partner right now? The last question is the most honest one.
Advertisement
Your Partner Has Been Assigned Your Perfect Partner Is…
Your answers have pointed to one action hero above all others. This is the person built to have your back — for better or considerably, spectacularly worse.
Rambo
Advertisement
Your partner doesn’t talk much, doesn’t need to, and will have assessed every threat in your immediate environment before you’ve finished your first sentence. John Rambo is not a man of plans or politics — he is a force of nature shaped by survival, loyalty, and a capacity for endurance that goes beyond anything training can produce. He will not leave you behind. He has never left anyone behind who deserved to come home. What you get with Rambo is the most capable, most quietly ferocious partner imaginable — one who has been through things that would have broken anyone else, and who chose to keep going anyway. You’ll never need to ask if he has your back. You’ll just know.
James Bond
Your partner will arrive perfectly dressed, perfectly briefed, and with a cover story so convincing it’ll take you a moment to remember what’s actually true. James Bond is the most professionally dangerous person in any room he enters — and the most disarmingly charming, which is the point. He operates in a world of layers, where nothing is what it appears and every advantage is used without apology. You’ll never be bored. You’ll occasionally be furious. But when it matters — when the mission is genuinely on the line and the margin for error has collapsed to nothing — Bond is exactly the partner you want. He has survived things that have no business being survivable. He does it with style. That is not nothing.
Advertisement
Indiana Jones
Your partner will know the history, the language, the cultural context, and exactly why the thing everyone else is ignoring is actually the most important thing in the room. Indiana Jones is brilliant, reckless, and occasionally impossible — but he is also one of the most resourceful, most genuinely knowledgeable partners you could find yourself beside. He approaches every situation with a scholar’s eye and a brawler’s instinct, which is an unusual combination and a remarkably effective one. He hates snakes and gets personally attached to objects of historical significance, both of which will slow you down at least once. It doesn’t matter. What Indy brings is irreplaceable — and the adventures you’ll have together will be the kind people write books about. Assuming you survive them.
Advertisement
John McClane
Your partner was not supposed to be here. He does not have the right equipment, the right information, or anything approaching the right odds. He has a sarcastic remark and an absolute refusal to accept that the situation is as bad as it looks. John McClane is the greatest accidental hero in the history of action cinema — a man whose superpower is stubbornness, whose contingency plan is improvisation, and whose capacity to absorb punishment and keep moving would be alarming if it weren’t so useful. He will complain the entire time. He will make it significantly more chaotic than it needed to be. And he will absolutely, unconditionally, without question come through when it counts. Yippee-ki-yay.
Ethan Hunt
Advertisement
Your partner has already run seventeen scenarios by the time you’ve finished reading the briefing, and the plan he’s settled on involves at least two things that should be physically impossible. Ethan Hunt operates at the absolute edge of human capability — technically, physically, and intellectually — and he brings the same relentless precision to protecting his partners that he brings to dismantling organisations that shouldn’t exist. He is not easy to know and he will never fully tell you everything. But he will carry the weight of the mission so completely, so absolutely, that your job is simply to trust him — and the remarkable thing is that trusting him always turns out to be the right call. The mission will be impossible. He will complete it anyway.
Advertisement
Cassandra Cain
Image via DC Comics
The Bat-family has expanded considerably to include many genuinely incredible fighters, but none can really compare to Cassandra Cain. Widely recognized as the best fighter in the Bat-family, which automatically turns her into one of the best fighters in all of DC, Cassandra is a true killing machine — or well, she would be if she actually, you know, killed. The daughter of David Cain and Lady Shiva, Cassandra was raised by the League of Assassins and forced to commit her first murder at 8-years-old, after which she vowed never to do it again.
Advertisement
Perhaps you know her as Orphan or Black Bat, or even Batgirl, the mantle she currently holds. No matter what name she goes by, one thing is for certain: Cassandra Cain can 100% beat Batman and pretty much every other member of the Bat-family. She was literally raised to do so, for crying out loud. A master of nearly every martial art under the sun, Cassandra has even managed to learn Dhritishastra, a legendary Indian technique said to be so complex that only immortals like Vandal Savage can dominate. She is also great at reading body language, which means she can anticipate her opponent’s moves. In short, Batman would put up a good fight and land a few good blows, but this fight would ultimately go to Cassandra.
Nightwing
Out of all the characters in the DC Comics canon, none is actually worthy of carrying the Batman mantle besides Bruce Wayne, other than Dick Grayson, that is. The first Robin and Bruce’s adopted son (and his favorite by far), Dick is the biggest acrobat in the DC universe, a consummate fighter at the peak of human physicality who trained under Batman to become his most dutiful student. At different points in his career, Dick has also trained under Richard Dragon and Lady Shiva, honing his leadership skills during his time with the Titans and becoming the ultimate beacon of hope in DC. Dick is what every hero should aspire to be, and he is often the one thing keeping Batman from being entirely overwhelmed by trauma.
Dick has assumed the Batman mantle a few times, matching Bruce in terms of skill and stamina. He has also actually beaten Batman in a one-on-one fight in the Batcave, largely thanks to his agility, strength, ability, and his intimate knowledge of Bruce’s techniques. What makes this confrontation better is that Bruce wants Dick to beat him; he wants Dick to be better than him, not only as a fighter, but as a human being. Their relationship is possibly the most meaningful in the Caped Crusader’s life (besides Alfred, that is), and their usual confrontations are packed with meaning and impact that goes beyond the physical bruises they could leave on each other’s skins. Out of all the fighters in DC, Dick Grayson is not only one of the few who could beat Batman, but also the only one who actually deserves to.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login