Two DC villains proved how much they fanboy over Superman and Batman by asking an age-old question.
WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Batman/Superman Annual #1 by Joshua Williamson, Gleb Melnikov, Dale Eaglesham, Clayton Henry and John J. Hill on sale now.
It’s no secret that Mr. Mxyzptlk and Bat-Mite are both obsessed with Superman and Batman respectively. But Batman/Superman Annual #1 proved that they are the biggest fanboys of both of heroes. And like many fans in the past, they asked the age-old question: In a fight between Batman and Superman, who would win? This question has plagued fans for years as the two fifth dimensional imps force the World’s Finest to duke it out in multiple no-holds-barred fights to the death.
Ironically, this argument began when Mr. Mxyzptlk and Bat-Mite tried to stop two younger imps from arguing about it. But as their moral lesson on fifth-dimensional maturity continued, they quickly lost sight of their original goal as they began arguing over which of their nemesis’ would reign supreme in a fight. Ever the Batman loyalist, Bat-Mite argued that Batman is a master fighter, a genius tactician, and rich, so he has “all the toys” as Bat-Mite put it. This argument was lost on Mr. Mxyzptlk, who stated that Superman’s powers would give him the edge over Batman.
To settle the argument they began taking turns altering realities to pit both heroes against one another. In Bat-Mite’s reality, Superman became the cause of the multiverse’s collapse, the resulting chaos pushing Batman to try to kill Superman through a variety of means that fans have seen in the past. Kryptonite weapons, Bat-Armor, magic, and even the Doomsday Formula seen in the Dark Multiverse. But Batman apparently had one more trick up his sleeve by turning the sun red, depowering Superman and leaving both heroes to fall to their deaths.
Mr. Mxyzptlk was obviously outraged. Claiming that Superman would sacrifice himself before endangering all of reality like that. Claiming that Bat-Mite doesn’t “get” Superman, Mr. Mxyzptlk took his turn, then proved himself to be a total hypocrite by having Superman just kill Batman with no context. Their arguments about both heroes acting out of character rang more true than they realized, as both Batman and Superman slowly started to recognize that reality is being altered around them.
Many fans love to debate the outcome of a fight between Batman and Superman. But while the arguments may become heated, it is essential to remember that at the core of their relationship, Batman and Superman are practically brothers. While they are entirely capable of fighting and perhaps even killing one another, at the end of the day, neither of them would be willing to go that far. At least not in the mainstream reality.
Batman and Superman proved this when they finally figured out what the two imps were doing to them. Arguing that they would never have done the things the two fifth-dimensional beings had forced them to do and that it was really them fighting each other. This causes the two debate who would win in a fight between Bat-Mite and Mr. Mxyzptlk. Before they could even begin to contemplate what they would do, the two disappeared and Batman and Superman’s reality returned to normal.
Their argument echoes many that have been had in real life. There was even a whole movie devoted to it. But in nearly every scenario, when the chips are down, Batman and Superman would never go far enough in a fight to truly decide who would win in the end. Both have their skills and enough knowledge of the other so that it may simply come down to luck. But it is out of character for both men to assume that they would ever try to kill one another.
And as for who would win in a fight between Bat-Mite and Mr. Mxyzptlk? Maybe the next annual will answer that question.
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