Batman and Superman are two of the biggest heroes in comics, and as such, fans love to see them clash. For years, fans speculated on who would win a battle between the two, with multiple comics showing how the battle would go. Of all of these comics, none is more iconic than The Dark Knight Returns, a seminal work in the comic medium that many believe is one of the greatest Batman stories of them all.
In the end, Batman is able to overcome Superman's vast powers advantage with good old-fashioned brain power and planning. However, even with Superman in a weakened state like he was in that comic, there are still plenty of ways he could have defeated the Caped Crusader.
10 He Could Have Used A Super-Speed Cyclone On Batman
Superman is one of the fastest heroes on the planet. This is a guy who can travel through the void of space at faster than light speeds to take down some of the most dangerous threats in the universe. In the past, Superman has taken a page out of the Flash's book and used his super-speed to create cyclones to deal with foes, which would have helped him against Batman.
Trapping Batman in a cyclone would have stopped him from using any of his weapons and disoriented him in a way that would have pretty much prevented him from fighting altogether. The same can't be said of Superman, who could have also been hitting Batman while he was in the cyclone.
9 Used His Heat Vision To Disarm Batman, Literally
Batman isn't used to losing. It's happened in the past, but he's known for coming out on top. A big part of that is the fact he has arms. Arms can be a very useful thing, and Superman easily could have deprived Batman of them with his heat vision.
Usually, that's not something Superman would do but the Superman of TDKR was under orders to take Batman down, and he had already disarmed Green Arrow, so him using his heat vision on Batman wouldn't be that out of character. A disarmed Batman couldn't have beaten Superman.
8 He Could Have Just Let The Helicopter Gunships Do All The Work
Batman is the man who always has a plan, so he was ready for Superman. However, Superman didn't come by himself; he was joined by detachments of the US military, including helicopter gunships. Superman knows that Batman makes a lot of plans, so he could have just as easily let the helicopters do the job.
It's not like the government wanted Batman alive or anything, so just letting the helicopters rain missiles down on him would have easily taken care of the whole problem. Air superiority is a hard thing to overcome, and Batman was definitely not ready for a bunch of gunships.
7 He Could Have Used His Super-Speed More
Beyond forming cyclones at super-speed, Superman's found a lot of uses for his super-speed over the years. As one of the most formidable members of the Justice League, Superman has had to think outside of the box with his powers, and using his super-speed has often been part of that. The fact that he didn't use it at all makes no sense.
Sure, he was weakened but even then, he still was much, much faster than Batman and could have rushed in, disarmed him, taken apart his armor, and had him restrained before Batman blinked. Or he could have just hit him a hundred times in the span of a few moments. Either way, Superman's super-speed would have made a huge difference in the fight.
6 He Could Have Used His Flight Powers More Tactically
One of Superman's most useful powers is his ability to fly. It's not just a great way of getting around but a perfect offensive and defensive weapon, allowing him to keep out of an enemy's way and hit them from multiple angles. Batman has faced down a lot of dangerous foes but fliers are always tough for him.
Superman barely used his flight powers at all in the fight, which makes no sense. His mobility is one of his biggest advantages, and it's something that Batman with all of his brains and plans just couldn't match. Using his power to fly more would have made a huge difference in the fight and let him come out on top.
5 He Could've Frozen Batman Solid With His Freeze Breath
Superman's vast repertoire of powers gives him a whole lot of advantages over his foes. One power that has been used less frequently in modern times is his freeze breath, which allows him to freeze his foes solid when he needs to. This actually would have been perfect to use against Batman, and it could've easily gotten Superman the victory.
It may have been something that Batman was ready for, but it's hard to be completely ready for that sort of attack--even a system in his armor that de-iced it would run out of juice eventually or could have been rendered useless if the temperature was too low.
4 He Could Have Used His Super Breath To Blast Batman With The Force Of A Hurricane
Superman's freeze breath isn't his only breath-related power; he also has quite a set of lungs on him and can blast hurricane winds at his opponents if need be. He could have even controlled it rather easily, concentrating the gusts on Batman himself and limiting damage to the surrounding buildings.
Batman's offense all depended on him having sure footing of some kind, and Superman could have ended that with mighty blasts of super-breath. Hitting someone, even an armored someone, with blasts of air that were moving at hundreds of miles per hour would wreck anyone's day and would have allowed him to beat Batman.
3 He Could Have Stayed Out Of Batman's Reach & Thrown Stuff At Him
While Batman had some long-range weapons, they depended on Superman being relatively close to him to have a huge effect on the Man of Steel. Superman's powers and abilities are such that he didn't even have to get close to Batman. He pretty much could have stayed way out of Batman's reach, grabbing abandoned cars or any heavy objects and throwing them at Batman.
TDKR Batman wasn't the super agile Batman of his youth, and he was wearing clunky armor. He wouldn't have been able to avoid anything Superman threw at him, and as long as Superman stayed far enough away, there was nothing Batman could do to him.
2 He Could Have Melted Batman's Armor
Batman's armor was his best weapon. It allowed him to take and dish out damage, and it contained some of his best weapons. However, it was still armor and made of metal, which meant it had a melting point. That made Superman's heat vision one of the best weapons to use against it.
Melting the armor would have gone a long way toward defeating Batman. He would have lost the protection and strength enhancement, making him much more vulnerable. On top of that, he would have had molten metal all over his body, which would have ended things for him pretty quickly.
1 He Could Have Went All Out With The Super Strength
Batman had picked the perfect time to challenge Superman; the nuclear blast he was caught in had leached some of his powers, and he was rather weak in relative comparison to his usual self. However, even a weak Superman is still massively strong, and that should have allowed him to defeat Batman rather easily.
Superman was pulling his punches a lot against Batman and could have ended the fight very quickly if he really went hard with the super-strong blows. He showed how easily he could deal with the armor later in the fight, so if he just threw a couple of full-strength punches at Batman's head right off the bat, the fight would have been over in a heartbeat.
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