Superman Vs. Batman

Anyone who's been on a playground knows that the debate goes something like this:

Child 1 - Who wins in a fight between Batman and Superman?

Child 2 - Oh, Superman just friggin' shoots Batman with heat vision.

Child 1 - Yeah, but what if Batman has kryptonite?!?!?

(end of discussion.)

Most people, when asked to list superheroes will most likely first come up with Batman and Superman (Spider-Man if you're naughty, Green Lantern if you're an idiot). It is quite likely that the two of them are quite possibly the two most popular characters in all of comic-bookdom (it's a word because I say it is). Yet although both heroes share a comic book publisher (DC Comics), and were even created within a year of each other (Superman in June of 1938, Batman in May of 1939), both represent two very different ideologies and personalities, and really, two different versions of World War II-era America.

On one hand you have Superman / Kal-El / Clark Kent, Last Son of Krypton, the Man of Steel. He is famous throughout pop culture as both the first real superhero, and also one of the most powerful, possessing flight, heat vision, superhuman strength, near-invulnerability, and is faster than a speeding bullet (as opposed to bullets that aren't speeding).

And on the other side, you have Batman / Bruce Wayne, The Caped Crusader, The Dark Knight. Unlike Superman (and most super-heroes) Batman has no superhuman abilities, but rather represents a man with as many attributes as one person could have: mastery of martial arts, peak physical condition, genius intellect, and enough wealth to allow for a great deal of spare time to chase wrongdoers and bankroll an enormous crimefighting arsenal.

But as I said, there are other notable differences in both characters, particularly on political and philosophical levels. I submit to you that Superman and Batman represent two sides of America, that of the Democratic, working-class hero, and that of the affluent, law-and-order Republican respectively.

"...the thing that bothered me about Greg Poirier's draft: they were trying to give Superman angst. They had Clark Kent going to a psychiatrist at one point. Superman's angst is not that he doesn't want to be Superman. If he has any (angst), it's that he can't do it all; he can't do enough and save everyone...Batman is about angst; Superman is about hope."

-Kevin Smith, on a previous draft of the screenplay for the fifth Superman movie. Smith himself penned a draft that was eventually scrapped by Warner Brothers.

We'll start with Superman. Those familiar with his origin are aware that he was born Kal-El on the planet Krypton, but sent to Earth, landing in rural Kansas (as opposed to urban Kansas, I guess), where he was raised on a farm by Jonathan and Martha Kent. There he was raised Clark Kent, and instilled with traditional American values and a strong moral code. Indeed, Superman's ethics are so deeply held that other characters have been known to refer to him disparagingly as "the Big Blue Boy-Scout".

In this way Superman can be easily seen as fitting into the archetype of a Democratic, or even Socialist hero. He comes from a rural, working-class upbringing, with a clear moral compass. Indeed it's easy to read Superman as a metaphor for the empowered, yet incorruptible proletariat. This is especially true considering that his most famous nemesis is Lex Luthor, owner of Lexcorp who is frequently dressed symbolically in green and is, of course, obsessed with the destruction of Superman, who he perceives as a threat to him. Indeed, Marx would have had a field day with the Man of Steel and his bourgeoisie enemy.

Yet perhaps the most notable thing about Superman is the fact that, in spite of his tremendous abilities, he would never think to exercise power over others. To him, humanity is to be served and protected from all of those who wish to do them harm (and there are many who do). And is this not a large part of the traditional American ideology (though obviously not traditional American behavior)? You know, that our role is defender of the rights of others, and never to use our incredible power to exact the slightest cruelty upon them? Hell, the guy doesn't even like violence, as he (in his Clark Kent persona) stipulates in Superman II:

Perry White: Get your head out of the closet, Kent! Where've you been for the past twelve hours?
Clark Kent: Home.
Perry White: Well, don't you watch television?

Clark Kent: Frankly, Mr. White, I really don't enjoy television. Too much violence. I was just reading Dickens.
In contrast is Batman, who is unquestionably the darker of the two characters. Practically every facet of Batman's identity and environment is lifted from the gothic tradition. He dons a gray outfit, dwells in his Bat-cave and operates in Gotham City, a relentlessly gloomy urban center which seems never to see the light of day (in stark contrast to Superman's Metropolis). Where Clark Kent's childhood was one of farming and proletarian ethics, Bruce Wayne's was affluent and cosmopolitan, due to being raised by Martha (interesting that our heroes' mothers' have the same first name) and Thomas Wayne, Thomas being owner of Wayne Industries (though simply a wealthy physician in other versions). The primarily formative event of Bruce's life is, of course, the murder of his parents at the hands of a mugger, as he therefore devotes his life to combatting crime.