7 DC Heroes That Batman Has Defeated On His Own

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Batman is renowned as one of the DC Universe’s most skilled fighters. Bruce Wayne honed his abilities through extensive global training, transforming himself into a formidable force. Returning to Gotham, he became arguably the greatest hero without superpowers. Combining intelligence, peak fitness, and rigorous training, Batman significantly improved his city. Though Gotham still faces criminals, they all dread encountering the Dark Knight and facing his wrath.

It’s surprising to realize Batman hasn’t just battled criminals during his long history. He’s also fought powerful friends, including fellow Justice League members like Aquaman and Superman. He’s even gone up against members of his own Bat-Family, though they never really had a chance against their trainer. While Batman doesn’t actively seek out fights with other heroes, it has happened a few times, and Bruce Wayne usually wins. Here are 7 heroes Batman defeated all on his own.

7. Aquaman

It’s common to underestimate Aquaman, but he’s actually a very powerful hero in the DC Universe. However, even he was surprised by how skilled Batman is in a fight, as shown in Legends of the Dark Knight #27. An angry Aquaman asks Batman for help after the Joker attacks Atlantis. They briefly fight, and Aquaman quickly learns that Batman‘s martial arts skills are more than a match for his incredible strength. The fight doesn’t last long, but it does lead to Batman agreeing to team up with Aquaman and stop the Joker.

6. Robin

Okay, so the “Gotham War” storyline was pretty intense! Honestly, it was tough seeing Bruce turn on the whole Bat-Family like that. It turned out he was being messed with internally by this other version of Batman, this Zur-En-Arrh persona, that was making him want to push everyone away. When Catwoman and Bruce had their big falling out, and the others sided with her, Bruce really lost it. He went hard against Robin – poor Tim Drake really got wrecked! Bruce was totally overpowering him until Nightwing showed up and broke things up, otherwise it could have been even worse.

5. Nightwing

In the latest issue of Batman (#138), Bruce Wayne had a major conflict with his original sidekick, Nightwing (Dick Grayson). Nightwing tried to reason with Bruce, but was shocked to learn that Batman had manipulated Red Hood’s mind to experience severe anxiety during moments of high stress. Nightwing confronts Batman twice throughout the issue, and both times he’s beaten – the second fight ending with Bruce tying up Nightwing and Robin and leaving them for the police. Though they eventually escaped, it was surprising to see Batman willing to potentially expose his allies like that.

4. Catwoman

Okay, so Batman and Catwoman’s relationship is always messy, but there’s this one issue, Batman #614, where things get seriously intense. Batman was about to finally kill the Joker, and Catwoman actually intervened, stopping him. But then, get this, Batman turned around and punched Selina – right where she’d been shot before – and knocked her out! She did manage to prevent him from crossing the line with the Joker, which was her goal, but it just proves how easily Bruce can overpower her. It’s a really complicated dynamic, and that moment just added another layer to it all.

3. Green Lantern

Honestly, a lot of those fight scenes are just too intense. Let’s talk about that one time Batman totally won in a way that was just brilliantly funny! In Justice League #5, Guy Gardner was being a total hothead, getting on everyone’s nerves, even Batman’s. Thankfully, Batman shut him up with a single punch right to the face! The best part? Blue Beetle just bursts out laughing and yells “One punch!” It really captured the moment, and even now, it’s still one of the coolest and funniest things I’ve ever read in a DC comic.

2. Red Hood

It seems like the members of the Batman family are constantly fighting! In Batman #650, Bruce Wayne desperately tried to avoid hurting his former partner, Jason Todd. However, when Jason, as Red Hood, threatened to kill the Joker with a loaded gun, Batman had to intervene. Before Red Hood could fire, Batman threw a batarang, hitting Jason from behind and disarming him, saving the Joker’s life. It wasn’t a physical fight, but Batman achieved his goal – and in this situation, that was the only way he could.

1. Superman

As a huge fan, picking the best Batman vs. Superman fight is tough because they’ve clashed so many times! But the one in Batman/Superman Annual (2014) #1 always stands out to me. It felt like a more legitimate win for Batman. Basically, Mongul’s son forces a fight between Bruce and Clark, bringing their families into it as part of a revenge scheme. They’re told to go all-out, and Batman definitely doesn’t hold back – he comes prepared with kryptonite! He actually wins against Superman, which is amazing, but thankfully, he stops short of doing anything truly permanent to his friend. It was a really intense, but ultimately good, fight.

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2026-02-20 00:45