Everyone likes a good, epic fight, especially when they play out in the world of geekdom. There have been excellent fights throughout history. There are numerous within Dragon Ball Z. The Smallville fight in Man of Steel was adrenaline fuel. And the Mr. Freeze boss fight in Batman: Arkham City was regarded as the best boss fight in the franchise. Yet, what is better than fights that already exist are the ones that may not; theoretical fights. One of the biggest speculative fights that exist in geekdom is the fight between The Avengers and the Justice League—a fight between All-Stars. Over the years, multiple characters have been included in each team to the point it seems every character in Marvel and DC has been on the team. But the debate needs to be narrowed. To do that, the six original members of Avengers (2012) will go up against the six members of Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
First, there are some ground rules in this speculative fight. One, they fight each as if they were plucked out of their universe and dropped on a neutral site. So, none of the Avengers will know about Kryptonite. None of the Justice League members will know the rules of Mjolnir. So on and so forth. Two, instead of further narrowing this fight to one on one clashes, it will be a broad perspective by seeing how well each character will do against the opposite team. Third, in the spirit of the DCU coming, these fights will be in the lenses of the Justice League. And fourth, the lineup of the characters will be considered, NOT the iterations of the characters in the films. So all their history will be considered.
Batman
Vs. Black Widow. Batman has fought opponents similar to Black Widow and has defeated them. Black Widow will be no different from Batman. Winner: Batman
Vs. Hawkeye. Much like Black Widow, Batman has fought and defeated opponents similar to Hawkeye. Some have been more dangerous, crazier, and more bloodthirsty than Hawkeye. Winner: Batman
Vs. Captain America. Captain America can match Batman in many of his own aspects. Particularly combat. They could match each other. But again, this is a character type he has seen and defeated before. And Batman carries a little more versatility with him in a fight. Winner: Batman.
Vs. Iron Man. With Iron Man, if Batman stays in his regular suit – which in this set-up, he will- he loses. Iron Man has too much firepower and defense. Batman will be lucky if you could stick an explosive Batarang on Iron Man. Winner: Iron Man.
Vs. Thor. Thor is a god—the God of Thunder. Thor is not an illusionary force of nature that Batman tries to emulate through theatricality. Thor IS a force of nature. Too powerful for Batman to evade, which might be his best defense against Thor. Winner: Thor.
Vs. The Hulk. Against Hulk, Batman is outclassed by such a large portion it’s almost not worth mentioning. Although Batman has had some experience in defeating large monsters, he has had trouble putting them down for good without some help from an advanced suit of some kind. In this fight, he will only have wits and what he has in his belt. Hulk will only have his strength but more than enough. Winner: Hulk.
Superman
Vs. Black Widow. Winner: Superman.
Vs. Hawkeye. Winner: Superman.
Vs. Captain America. Captain America may be able to avoid Superman with help from the Super Soldier serum. He may be able to hit Superman back and have the boy scout feel those hits. But Superman’s strength alone is limitless. Cap will go down after showing his famous grit. Winner: Superman.
Vs. Iron Man. Superman has fought people who have advanced suits like Batman and Lex Luthor, or if we stretch the rules to include full robotic bodies, he has also fought Metallo. And Superman has victories in those clashes. Iron Man will have nothing that Superman hasn’t seen before or overcome. At best, Iron Man could slow down Superman with his large arsenal but will not have anything that packs enough punch to down Superman. His heat vision will cut through most of the projectiles Iron Man can hurl, and Superman’s speed alone could get him close to Iron Man and then shred it apart. In the end, Iron Man will be outclassed by the Man of Steel. Winner: Superman
Vs. Hulk. Superman has had experience fighting large brutes. Hulk has had experience fighting humanoids with immense power. Both have had wins in those fights. Superman definitely has the strength to go toe to toe with The Hulk. But the Hulk has strength of his own to thrash around Superman. Yet, as mentioned before, Superman already has access to an unlimited supply and reach of strength. At the same time, the Hulk needs to have his increased strength practically activated for him by an external factor. Even though the Hulk’s strength could get stronger, what is increased strength compared to unlimited strength? Winner: Superman.
Vs. Thor. Against Thor, an interesting question arises; how fast can Thor’s magic weaken Superman? Unlike Kryptonite, which has a sudden effect on Superman, magic gets to him at a slower pace. Thor has the power to not only deliver shattering blows but could take that type of punishment as well. For all intents and purposes, these two characters are gods that have fought god-level opponents. Their powers are nearly equal, but Thor can gain the edge because of his magic. Winner: Thor.
Wonder Woman
Vs. Black Widow. Winner: Wonder Woman.
Vs. Hawkeye. Winner: Wonder Woman.
Vs. Captain America. Shield vs Shield. Warrior vs. Soldier. If the fight was solely decided by combat, Wonder Woman gets the win. She is one of the best combatants in DC. But this fight is not decided on combat alone. Everything the character has and knows is a part of the fight. Wonder Woman has the strength, speed, and battle expertise on her side. Captain America will show his bravery, but it alone won’t win him the fight. Winner: Wonder Woman.
Vs. Iron Man. A man built on war vs. a goddess of war. Ancient vs advanced. Iron Man will prove as a challenge for Wonder Woman. He has the heavy weaponry to keep her at a distance. He has the weaponry to finish her off. But Wonder Woman has training and experience she gained over a few thousand years. Over that time, she has seen all types of threats. Wonder Woman is a goddess trained for any war. Iron Man’s suit is a great strength but a liability. She needs to get in and rip it apart. Winner: Wonder Woman.
Vs. Hulk. Two powerful beings who get stronger as the fight goes on. Wonder Wonder has the pride and the grit to keep fighting until the fight is done, no matter the opponent. Hulk’s own power goes to new levels the angrier the situation gets him. They fuel each other in this fight. Matching strength with strength. Yet, Wonder Woman has more versatility, equipment, training, experience, and composure. A perfect blueprint for a warrior to have to overcome overwhelming odds. Winner: Wonder Woman.
Vs. Thor. A battle that is worthy of their godly lineage. Being gods and trained for war, their traits are on even grounds. Strength, speed, battle experience, and IQ. What separates these two is Wonder Woman’s lack of supernatural weakness. She could go stand up against Superman as he could go toe to toe with Thor. But Superman falls short in fighting Thor because of his weakness to magic. Wonder Woman does not have that weakness. Winner: Wonder Woman.
The Flash
Vs. Black Widow. Winner: The Flash.
Vs. Hawkeye. Winner: The Flash.
Vs. Captain America. Winner: The Flash.
Vs. Iron Man. If the armored Avenger and the fastest man alive come to fight, it’ll be a stalemate for the most boring reasons if Iron Man decides to take it to the skies. Up there, he won’t be able to catch The Flash if The Flash is running around, and The Flash won’t be able to get to Iron Man at such a height. The Flash is a smart guy, though. He’ll make a series of stage 5 tornadoes to bring Iron Man exactly where he wants him, at ground level. There, The Flash will have Iron Man unarmed before JARVIS could register what is going on. Winner: The Flash.
Vs. The Hulk. The classic battle of strength against speed. But the Flash is so brutally fast Hulk will perhaps see absolutely nothing but feel everything. The Flash could build enough force into a punch by supercharging with speed and give Hulk one heck of a hit…multiple times. Hulk will be on his knees before he could start shouting ‘smash’ in his catchphrase. Strength means nothing if you can’t see or even hit what is hitting you. Winner: The Flash.
Vs. Thor. Thor is a god and a force of nature of his own, will be the one that gives The Flash a real problem. If The Flash is unable to get through Thor’s divine physiology quickly, Thor could end The Flash with one hammer stroke. That will be the main factor in this fight. Another is Thor’s own speed. Can it come somewhat close to The Flash’s own? Another case of strength vs. speed. Yet, Thor has more abilities and powers to choose from. As powerful as it is, The Flash only has his speed. He rarely uses time travel in a fight due to consequences. Winner: Thor.
Aquaman
Vs. Black Widow. Winner: Aquaman.
Vs. Hawkeye. Winner: Aquaman.
Vs. Captain America. Although Aquaman’s strength is high level, it is much lower than Superman’s, which will give Captain America a little less to worry about. But where Aquaman lacks in his strength, his durability picks up the slack. Combining Aquaman’s strength, training, durability, and access to limited magic, Aquaman will eventually prove too much for Captain America. Winner: Aquaman.
Vs. Iron Man. At first glance, it seems as if Iron Man has the edge in this fight. More advanced and more abundant of weaponry. But Aquaman is no stranger to enemies that have this type of access. One of his greatest enemies, Black Manta, has technology resembling Iron Man’s and has an army at his command and the King of Atlantis has defeated his enemy multiple times. Aquaman could withstand a few hits to his body and could still continue the fight as if he is fresh. One trident toss to Iron Man’s Arc Reactor is more than enough to finish him. Winner: Aquaman.
Vs. The Hulk. In the fight of King vs. Monster, the big question is whose physiology holds out longer. Both are strong and have high levels of durability. Both have experience in fighting someone else who is similar. Hulk could pummel through Aquaman’s attack, get his hands on him and defeat him with the ‘Loki Swing.’ Aquaman’s trident could be an overlooked component of the fight. It is powerful on to its own and has a magical touch to it. As tough as the Hulk’s skin is, it can be breached by something of similar power. The trident is such a thing. But Hulk is a storm of brute strength. Perhaps too much for Aquaman. Winner: The Hulk
Vs. Thor. Against Thor, Aquaman will have a true and bitter fight. What Aquaman can do in a fight, Thor could match it. AND has way more battle experience on his side. The best chance Aquaman has is to get the fight in a large body of water so he could use the full capacity of his abilities. Winner: Thor.
Cyborg
Vs. Black Widow. Winner: Cyborg
Vs. Hawkeye. Winner: Cyborg.
Vs. Captain America. In this match-up against Captain America, Cap will be able to avoid a handful of Cyborg’s projectile attacks. The one he is unable to, his shield will take care of him. He may even get in a few solid hits on Cyborg once Captain America gets in close. But, although enhanced, Captain America is still flesh and blood. One simple bullet can bring him down, and Cyborg has an arsenal that far surpasses a single bullet. Winner: Cyborg.
Vs. Iron Man. Against the Avenger’s tech expert, Cyborg does not have to move to get a win. While Iron Man creates and uses technology, Cyborg is a technopath who IS technology. Cyborg just needs to get a reading of Iron Man’s system, lock onto it, and shut it down from afar. Iron Man needs to plug into something to make his suits work. Cyborg is that something. Winner: Cyborg.
Vs. The Hulk. In the fight against Hulk, could Cyborg find a weapon that could slow down Hulk and dispose of him? The longer it takes Cyborg to find it, the angrier Hulk becomes, which makes him stronger. Plus, the Hulk has seen his fair share of robotic enemies whose main purpose was to take him out. AND has come out on top. If the Hulk is able to get through Cyborg’s weapons, a boom tube could get Cyborg out of the way. But regardless, If Hulk is able to get his hands on Cyborg, the Hulk will get a win for the Avengers with little effort not long after. Winner: Hulk.
Vs. Thor. In his fight against Thor, Cyborg will see the same hardships as his fight with the Hulk. It’ll be worse for Cyborg. Thor has training, experience, speed, and an understanding of strategy. If Cyborg can’t find a weapon fast enough to end Thor, Thor will end him. Winner: Thor.
Although the Avengers will find some success in some of the fights, the Justice League has too much raw power on their side. Black Widow and Hawkeye may provide value to the team, but in a fight against a team that has the type of strength the Justice League has, the two are dead weight. Superman and The Flash alone could take on all of The Avengers. Thor may be the only one on the Avengers that could best most of the Justice League. The Avengers are just too outgunned and too outclassed. Whatever the Avengers could throw at the Justice League, the Justice League could return. In some cases, much strong. And the Justice League has access to some elements that the Avengers don’t. The most apparent is speed. Speed kills. If these two classic teams clash, the Justice League is too much of a powerhouse for the Avengers. Winner: The Justice League.
