Issue date: 7/17/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Chris Griffin One is a knight. One is a prince. One is a rational crusader. The other feeds on chaos. But which one holds the most power in Gotham? [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Stephanie Keske [Click to enlarge]

Comparing a superhero and his most implacable archvillain is honestly impossible. The two can't exist without each other - they feed off of each other. They are mutual foils. They each know the other's strengths, weaknesses, powers and fears. To identify strongly with a hero is to identify strongly against that hero's nemesis.

So what makes Batman the superior character? What is it about him that makes Joker merely secondary?

Imagine you are walking the corrupted, grimy streets of Gotham City. It's a cesspool of shadows, a defeated façade suffocating under a carpet of filth and despair. And everywhere, you see shades of Batman. He is the puppet master holding up the shadows. He pulls a string, and a thug screams in terror. He whips the curtain back, and his foe falls right into his trap. He is part vigilante, part genius, part enforcer and part victim. He is a human perfected and given unlimited funds and a strong streak of vengeance.

He is just too damn cool for anything. Gotham was created around Batman, not the other way around. Joker is a madman with a signature laugh and just another loon in this town. This is Batman's world and Joker is just committing crimes in it.

Fact is, Batman isn't just better than Joker, he is one of the best characters in all of comic superhero history.

He is the most enduring of all dark heroes and is responsible for making the dark hero possible. With every comic iteration of the Dark Knight, including a revolutionary storyline crafted by the master Frank Miller, Batman has reinvigorated the concept of a do-gooder with a dark streak. This is amazing given the huge superhero pantheons that have been created by comic book companies.

He is an icon. He is bigger than Joker. Joker complements Batman, and Gotham would be less interesting without the clown, but Batman doesn't need him.

That's to be expected, but it doesn't end there.

What makes Batman creatively superior to Joker is his motivation, tactics and abilities.

Although he is a rational individual, Bruce Wayne's transformation into Batman was seeded in anger and a desire for revenge on the wicked. You can see the disgust he has for criminals painted in his angry eyes, but he refrains from killing. His hatred is cold. He is dynamic in this way. That gives him depth.

Joker, meanwhile, is as static as it gets. He is a one-dimensional character: the insane criminal mastermind. Yawn. This one goes to Batman.

The Dark Knight deals in fear. He uses it to intimidate, to interrogate and to track his prey. His reliance on intimidating villains is unique among superheroes, who are too often busy earning merit badges. He knows his enemies, isolates and traps them.

In terms of raw ability, Batman outclasses Joker on every level. He is a natural detective, and in some modern versions of the Caped Crusader, he is nigh omniscient with the best surveillance technology available. He is in prime physical form, and is stronger and more agile than Joker.

But here's the most important thing: Batman always wins. Always.

How? Superman puts it best. In the first issue of Justice League of America, The Man of Steel says that Batman is the most dangerous man on Earth.

Joker would likely agree.

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