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Batman has a famous rogues gallery, but how would the hero handle the worst foes of Spider-Man?
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00:00On the surface, Batman and Spider-Man are very different heroes.
00:04Batman is a somber and determined man who spent years training his body to fight crime.
00:09Spider-Man, on the other hand, is a younger, seemingly happier man who received his powers
00:12from a freak spider bite as a teen. But if you look a little bit deeper,
00:16you'll see that they are both brilliant men with incredible scientific minds
00:19that were pushed towards heroism by the tragedy in their lives.
00:23So the question then pops up, how would Batman fare if he was to go against some
00:27of Spider-Man's greatest villains? Well, that's what we're here to discuss today,
00:30as I'm Jules, this is WhatCulture.com, and this is how Batman would defeat
00:3410 of Spider-Man's most iconic villains.
00:3710. Scorpion
00:39Private investigator Matt Gargan was paid by J. Jonah Jameson to undergo a procedure to
00:44create a foe for Spider-Man. Dr. Farley Stillwell created an experiment that endowed Gargan with
00:49a variety of powers and a costume with a devastating mechanical tail. The experiment cost Gargan his
00:55sanity, though, and while he happily attacked Spider-Man, he also attacked Jameson. Gargan
01:00came to believe that the experiment had trapped him inside the Scorpion suit, and more often than
01:04not, old Webhead had to save Jameson's life. Scorpion possessed a level of speed, strength,
01:09and agility that would make a physical confrontation extremely dangerous for Batman.
01:13Scorpion's tail can strike at 90 miles an hour, and he possesses the ability to lift 15 tons. In short,
01:19meeting Scorpion in battle from inside one of his armored bat suits would be the smartest
01:23tactical move for Bats. An even smarter move would be to reach out to some of his colleagues
01:27in the Justice League. Wonder Woman or any member of the Superman family would have the speed and
01:32vulnerability to deal with Scorpion's hybrid nature and deadly tail. Batman could also secure
01:37victory by calling in Vixen or Animal Man and use a bit of Scorpion against Scorpion to win the day.
01:429. Sandman
01:43William Baker, aka Flint Marco, was a child of poverty who learned to steal at an early age.
01:49After years as a petty criminal, Marco was in the vicinity of a nuclear accident that
01:53affected a body-wide change which also gave him the ability to transform his body.
01:58Flint has flipped between being a villain, a mercenary hero with Silver Sable's wild pack,
02:03and a brief stint as an Avenger in training. Sandman has never been a villain of the world
02:07domination variety. He just wanted to get rich. And Batman may be able to appeal to Marco's better
02:12nature, or indeed his greed. Either way would prevent the fight that the Caped Crusader would rather not
02:17have against a foe that he would actually have a difficult time defeating. Using water to dissipate
02:22his form or heat to fuse his form into glass has been the way of dealing with Sandman's villainous
02:26actions previously. Batman has used extreme cold similar to what Mr. Freeze generates to deal with
02:31Clayface, so it's possible that this approach could work with Sandman if he's caught with a
02:35significant amount of his form intact. But if Marco is too spread out, the single grain that holds
02:40his consciousness may escape the cold. So Batman's going to have to go all out on this one.
02:448. The Kingpin Growing up a poor child,
02:48Wilson Fisk went on a mission of self-improvement, and extensive reading,
02:52gaining strength and physical power through bodybuilding definitely achieved that. He
02:55used his business techniques to organize the juvenile gangs, earning himself the mocking nickname of
03:00The Kingpin. Fisk worked as a bodyguard and an enforcer for crime families and advanced through
03:05the ranks until he controlled large areas of organized crime. Wilson invested the money from those crimes
03:10into legitimate businesses. He organized all of the crime on the eastern seaboard, and finally came to fully
03:15own the name of The Kingpin of Crime.
03:18Now, Batman takes a special interest in what you'd call untouchable crime bosses, especially when those
03:23corrupt individuals achieve political office, as Fisk did as mayor of New York City. Perhaps it's because
03:28his family essentially built Gotham and he spent so much time and effort improving it, but you know what?
03:32Bruce takes these actions personally. Batman might make the mistake of assuming Kingpin is fat
03:37instead of being solid muscle. And, as sumo was not one of the disciplines that Wayne delved into in his
03:43studies, it might actually give Fisk a brief advantage if he gets Batman into a bear hug. However, Batman's
03:48array of martial arts skills will no doubt send the larger man reeling in no time. Plus, when in doubt,
03:53just trip
03:53him up using a wire. That seems to happen quite a lot to him.
03:567. Electro
03:57Electric company lineman Max Dillon was struck by lightning while holding onto an electrical line. This caused a
04:03body-wide change that turned him into a living electrostatic generator. Donning a costume and
04:08using his electrical powers to rob banks and accumulate the wealth the perpetually poor man
04:12always desired saw him become Electro. This brought him into conflict with Spider-Man, who definitely
04:17beats him on a regular basis, either alone or as part of the various incarnations of the Sinister Six.
04:22Now, it's important that Batman keeps Electro from recharging from any source. The Dark Knight would also
04:27have to keep any of his own equipment from being disrupted by either electrical or electromagnetic
04:31discharges from Dillon's powers. Max could even disrupt the electrical currents of Batman's brain
04:36if he gets close enough. So, clearly, this would be a challenging fight for the world's greatest
04:40detective. But with water and overloading his powers being two of the few ways to overcome Electro,
04:45Batman will definitely have a fight on his hands, even in a suitably grounded Batsuit.
04:49One of the things that will definitely work in Bats' favour, though, is that Dillon is not very
04:53intelligent, if we're being honest. And secondly, he's an extremely greedy individual,
04:57so Batman could, if all else fails, just simply give him a better offer.
05:006. Lizard
05:02Gifted surgeon Dr. Kurt Connors lost his right arm while saving soldiers in a war-torn region.
05:08Connors then began experimenting with lizards that had the capability to regenerate limbs
05:12in order to create a serum that he might use to regrow his own. Connors created a serum and used
05:16himself as the first subject, and his arm did begin to regrow, but he also began to mutate into
05:22a vicious reptile creature called the Lizard. Over time, Connors' mind has controlled his lizard form,
05:27while his lizard mind has likewise controlled his human form.
05:30Batman's adventures with members of his own rogues' gallery could help him with dealing
05:33with the lizard. Helping Dr. Kurt Langstrom's alter-ego Man-Bat may turn Batman towards working
05:39with Connors to finally cure his transformation into the lizard, and perhaps even refine it enough
05:43that it could replace the doctor's arm. If Batman has to fight the lizard, though,
05:47his altercations with his own reptilian menace killer Croc will definitely come in handy.
05:52Whilst the lizard is smaller and more agile, he possesses the sort of super-strength that makes
05:56him Croc superior. The lizard's speed, while not superhuman, will require Batman to either take
06:01his foe by surprise, or utilize one of his many vehicles to bridge that gap.
06:055. Mysterio
06:06Quentin Beck was a movie special effects artist and stuntman that initially committed his first
06:11crime on a dare. But after an accident on one of the sets, got him blackboard from the industry,
06:16Beck pursued crime in earnest as Mysterio. He suffered numerous defeats at the hand of Spider-Man,
06:21causing Beck bouts of depression, but he continued to plague Spidey both solo and as part of the
06:26Sinister Six. Although Mysterio is unlike most villains Bruce Wayne has ever faced,
06:31some of his methods mirror that of several Batman villains. Mysterio's hallucinogenic gas is not
06:36unlike the Scarecrow's fear toxin. His use of psychological mind-controlling methods is similar
06:40to those employed by Hugo Strange, and the minor villain film freak has trapped the Caped Crusader and
06:45others in seemingly lifelike but inventive scenarios. Mysterio will ultimately have a very hard time
06:51fooling Batman, as Bats is obsessive about details and is the most observant man in the world.
06:56If their fight was in Gotham, it would have to be the perfect Gotham down to the smallest detail.
07:01Bruce knows every Gotham street and every alley, meaning if the villain got even the smallest
07:05detail wrong, the illusion would literally be shattered with one well-placed Batarang.
07:094. Venom
07:11Spider-Man acquired the alien symbiote on Battleworld during the Secret Wars event. When Peter discovered
07:16that it was a sentient being that had been controlling him in his sleep, he tried to remove it.
07:20It took the bells of Our Lady of Saints Church to make the creature retreat from Parker's body,
07:25and failed photographer Eddie Brock was in the church below, and the creature then bonded with
07:29him. Having absorbed Spider-Man's powers, the pair became known as Venom.
07:33Batman would definitely be in trouble if it comes down to a purely physical altercation with Venom.
07:37With Venom being able to lift 70 tons and having Spider-Man's powers, Batman's athleticism and
07:42fighting skills might fall short. If any of the symbiote broke off and infected the Dark Knight,
07:47it's hopeful that his indomitable will would be enough to allow him to break free. But given the
07:51symbiote's susceptibility to loud noises and sonic blasts, Batman may want to ask Black Canary for
07:56her assistance. Once the symbiote has left Brock's body, it wouldn't be too hard to contain it in a
08:01vessel with a sonic emitter built in. Although getting the creature off-planet would definitely
08:05be the best bet.
08:053. Dr. Octopus
08:07Dr. Otto Octavius was a brilliant, if arrogant, scientist who created a harness with four mechanical
08:13arms to better handle dangerous material. An accident bathed him in radiation that fused
08:18the harnesses to his body and made the connection to the arms a mental one and turned the Doctor
08:22into the criminal, Doc Ock, who almost married Peter's Aunt May once and also took over Pete's
08:28body for a time, but was pushed to become a superior Spider-Man. Now, if Batman has one superpower,
08:33it's his incredible mind. Bruce Wayne has such a strong mind and will that it is unlikely that
08:38Dr. Octopus would be able to switch minds with him unless Bruce was caught completely by surprise.
08:43And if he did, Batman would fight viciously to get control of his own mind back. Even if Otto
08:48succeeded, it's unlikely that he could have done much to make a superior Batman. Otto's arrogance
08:53and assumption that he is always the smartest person in the room is an easy target for Batman
08:58to attack. It will immediately cause him to make mistakes. Also, if the Caped Crusader can keep
09:02Ock's mechanical arms otherwise engaged, it would only take a single punch to deal with this Doctor.
09:072. J. Jonah Jameson
09:09There is no single person to have a greater effect on the life of Spider-Man than J. Jonah Jameson.
09:14The Daily Bugle publisher has allowed Spidey's alter ego of Peter Parker to continue to live
09:18independently in New York City, but did so at the expense of the costume identity of Spider-Man.
09:23Jameson has turned public opinion against the wallcrawler from the beginning of his career,
09:27and J.J. claims that he'd distrust all vigilantes, but he has a particular ire for old Spider-Man.
09:32It is possible that Batman would completely ignore the loud-mouthed Jameson. I mean,
09:36historically, Bats would prefer that he be thought of as an urban myth or as some kind
09:40of inhuman monster to the criminal community, so it's highly possible that he would just let
09:43Jameson rant on while the Dark Knight continued his mission. Alternatively, Bruce might also grow
09:49tired of the noise and buy the entire paper and the building that houses it. Then,
09:53he'd kick Jameson out and promote Robbie Robertson as the editor of the Daily Bugle.
09:57It's likely that when Batman discovered that Jameson paid for the creation of several villains
10:01and Spider-Slayer robots, he would treat him like any other criminal and just send him to prison.
10:051. The Green Goblin
10:07No costume villain has had as much of an impact on Peter Parker than the Green Goblin.
10:12Norman Osborn threw Peter's girlfriend from the George Washington Bridge leading to her death.
10:16Norman's son Harry, Peter's best friend, donned his own villainous costume to make the hero pay for
10:21his father's death. Going further than that, Norman had actually lived on and engineered the cloning
10:25of Peter, and these are just a handful of things that the Goblin has done. Now, Batman would probably
10:30try to reach Norman Osborn first. Bruce would try to speak to him as a fellow scientist and meet
10:35Norman on an intellectual level to try and defuse the fight before it even starts. He would probably
10:39also play on Norman's heroic accomplishments and make Osborn think that he is helping Batman.
10:44Now, if it does come down to a fight, the Dark Knight needs to get the Goblin down to his
10:48level.
10:48In the comics, Batman doesn't have any flying equipment that equals the manoeuvrability of
10:52the Goblin glider. Once that's dealt with, though, the Pumpkin bombs aren't much more than
10:56overpowered explosive batarangs, and Batman's fighting prowess is more than a match for the
11:01increase in strength that his formula provides Osborn. So when it comes down to a physical
11:05altercation, our money's on the Batman.
11:07And there we go, my friends. That was how Batman would defeat 10 of Spider-Man's most iconic villains.
11:12I hope that you enjoyed that, and please let me know what you thought about it down in the
11:14comments section below. As always, I've been Jules. You can go follow me over on Twitter
11:18at RetroJ, but the O is a zero, and it'd be great to see you over there. As always,
11:23I've been Jules. You have been awesome. Never forget that, and I'll speak to you soon. Bye.
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