Batman vs Iron Man. Vigilante vs Superhero. Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist vs genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. Who would win, and which versions of Batman would win or lose to one of Earth’s mightiest heroes? Just like me, I’m sure that many of you have pondered this question, considering how similar these two characters are. I find this matchup especially intriguing since they are very similar but also have plenty of recognizable differences. Before I get into the details, I want to be as clear as possible by saying that during my analysis, I will be focusing solely on the serious live-action movie adaptations of these characters. So, to be clear, I will be comparing Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man to the many great actors who have played Batman, starting with Michael Keaton all the way to Robert Pattinson. However, Adam West’s Batman is a reputable mention and is still a fan favorite among many people.
Let’s start with the original, who many argue is the best Batman of all time…Michael Keaton. Keaton made his big screen debut in 1989 and returned to the role in Batman Returns in 1992. The movies were fantastic, from the plot and the costume designs all the way to the characters. However, it appeared as though Keaton’s Batman has severe difficulty moving around in the suit to the point he could barely turn his head. He may have been able to fend off villains such as the Joker and the Penguin along with their goon squads, but if he was to face off against Iron Man, a man who has the ability to fly around at a rapid rate of speed shooting lasers from his hands and chest amongst other technology then Batman’s defeat would be inevitable. However, after seeing Keaton’s appearance in the new Flash movie, it was clear that his mobility improved significantly, and he looked like an absolute badass. If there is any version of Tim Burton’s Batman that can defeat the mighty Iron Man, it’s Michael Keaton’s Batman who appeared in The Flash.
Following Michael Keaton’s portrayal as the dark knight was Val Kilmer. Keaton certainly made a lasting impression on fans, which made it a difficult feat to bring a unique perspective to life. Kilmer was able to perform well under the pressure but had only appeared in one movie. Overall, his take on Batman was alright, but as I recently rewatched these movies, I noticed that as he dawned the famous cape and cowl that his Batman made a lot of rookie mistakes that Batman would normally never make. For example, he walks straight into what is clearly a trap not once but multiple times. Due to his poor judgment in addition to the mobility problem that most of the Dark Knight’s face, Val Kilmer’s Bruce Wayne would not be able to hold his own against Tony Stark.
As I rewatched all the Batman movies prior to Christopher Nolan’s trilogy, I realized something very interesting. After I finished watching Batman Returns starring Michael Keaton, I realized that he did not complete a full trilogy. Instead, the next Batman movie (Batman Forever) starred Val Kilmer, but the same actor who played Alfred with Keaton was portraying Alfred again, only this time alongside Kilmer. Another small detail you may have missed is that at the end of Batman Returns, you can see a brand new all-black Bat suit in the Batcave, which you see Kilmer suit up with in the next movie. Batman Forever was also the first time in that era that Robin, played by Chris O’Donnell, was introduced as Batman’s partner. After Two-Face causes the death of Robin’s family, Bruce Wayne decides to take responsibility for him. However, the iconic duo only got to suit up for a brief time, as Kilmer did not return to the role.
Following Batman Forever was the infamous Batman and Robin, now starring George Clooney as Batman. Although Batman was recast for a second time, Chris O’Donnell returned to his role as Robin and Michael Gough to his role as Alfred. Considering this movie and the previous installment had characters coming over from their previous films leaves me with one of two theories. It is either similar but different storylines taking place in a multiverse of Batmen or Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, and George Clooney are all the same version of Batman, and the plan was for the fans to either not notice or to just go along with the ride.
As a child, I always enjoyed anything relating to Batman, whether it was a movie, a TV show, or even a video game. Even when everyone was giving Batman and Robin bad reviews, I still stood by it because it was the first time I saw the iconic duo suit up together in a live-action movie, which was a cinematic milestone for me! Alas, as I recently rewatched it, I understood why it did so poorly. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed it, but it seemed as if it was a movie trying too hard to provide the audience with comedic relief when in reality, we all just want to see the caped crusader kick some butt. Due to the comedic nature of the film, I have to say that out of any live-action Batman, George Clooney’s would have the worst chance of survival against the mighty Iron Man.
Fast forward eight years later, and Christian Bale is now the legendary Batman. Bale starred in three total Batman movies directed by Christopher Nolan, which are arguably the best Batman movies of all time. A huge part of the reason fans loved Bale’s take on Batman is because of his unique voice beneath the mask. While previous actors used their regular voices or altered their voices only slightly, Bale concocted a truly menacing voice that the criminals of Gotham would come to fear. To achieve this unforgettable voice of a vigilante, he embraced Bruce Wayne’s inner anger and hatred for the gruesome world that took his parents away from him. There were many memorable scenes and characters in all three movies in the Dark Knight trilogy, but as much as we all loved those movies, can we say without any hesitation that he could beat Iron Man just because he had the most successful movies?
The trilogy starts off with Batman Begins as Bruce Wayne finds himself crossing paths with the notorious and immortal Ra’s Al Ghul. Ra’s sees that Bruce has become lost, and he offers him a path which eventually leads to the League of Shadows. The billionaire orphan makes his journey to the League of Shadows and is immediately trained in their arts. He is taught several forms of combat along with skills of deception and the ability to face his fears in the most frightening circumstances. Things soon go haywire as he finds out the League condones murder as a form of “justice”. When he refuses to conform to their methods of justice, he is forced to act swiftly and, as a result, ends up destroying almost everything and everyone around him before escaping back to Gotham. Unlike the other versions of Batman, Bale’s Dark Knight was trained by a professional assassin, which gave him the upper hand in most battles. Although he had the knowledge and the foresight to take down many of Gotham’s worst criminals, I’m not entirely convinced he could beat Tony Stark in battle. This may be a very unpopular opinion as he is a fan favorite to a vast majority of people, but I have to look at this objectively and say that in most of his fights, he seems to move fairly slowly and lacks the mobility in his suit to be able to hold his own against a man in a flying suit with the ability to fire lasers out of his hands. Tony Stark may be able to beat Christian Bale’s Batman due to speed and agility, but it doesn’t mean he would win by much or every time. Taking his training from the league into account, this Bruce Wayne does have a good chance of winning this fight, but overall, Iron Man takes home the gold.
The Dark Knight Rises seemed to have completed Christian Bale’s Batman storyline, and it left us fans wondering, what’s next? It took a bit longer than we wanted, but we finally got news that a new Batman movie would be coming out in 2016, and it would now be starring Ben Affleck as Batman. I’ll be honest: at first, I was very disappointed that they recast Christian Bale, and I was not sold on Affleck for a while. However, after watching Batman vs Superman a few times I quickly started to realize that Ben Affleck may actually be the most comic-accurate Batman we have ever seen in live action. Affleck’s Batman was bigger than any other actor we have seen so far.
In addition to his massive size, he also seemed to be incredibly quick and agile. He didn’t seem to have the mobility problem that all the Batmen before him did, and he was able to defeat Superman. Sure, you can say it was easy because he had Kryptonite, but there were times when Superman, aka Clark Kent, was able to get the Kryptonite away from him, and Batman was still able to survive the encounter with someone who is basically a god. Shortly after the release of Batman vs Superman, we received the gift of the Justice League with Ben Affleck reprising his role as the big bad bat. Not only was Affleck’s Batman able to hold his own against the last son of Krypton, but he also managed to fend off a plethora of aliens. Given the fact that he was older, wiser, and much quicker than most of the Batmen that came before him, I would have to say that his Batman could and would beat Iron Man one-on-one if given enough prep time, especially considering he was able to defeat Superman by himself using his resources.
For years, we waited for more of Affleck’s Batman and for more of the Justice League but as we waited in suspense, we ended up getting yet another version of Batman portrayed by Robert Pattinson. I like Robert Pattinson. I think he’s a talented actor, but when I first heard this news, I thought it was a joke. After seeing the trailer, I was concerned that he did not gain nearly enough weight to be a believable Batman. This made me incredibly nervous to see the new Batman movie, but I’m glad I saw it because he did very well. I still think he needed to put on more muscle for the role but other than that, he had a great, subtle, and menacing voice underneath the cape and cowl, he had an incredible and unique new bat suit, and his fighting style was full of quick and powerful movements making it difficult for his enemies to fire any blows back. He may have put up some good fights throughout the film, but the movie takes place during his first year as the masked vigilante, and he is still getting the hang of things. Due to his short-term experience, I would easily place my money on Iron Man.
Now that I have laid out the facts regarding each live-action Batman we have seen since 1989, I’m going to tell you why Iron Man, aka Tony Stark, would be able to beat most, if not all, versions of Batman we have seen so far. Tony may not have been trained by Ra’s Al Ghul and the League of Shadows, but he is a genius. Don’t get me wrong, Bruce Wayne is just as much of a genius as Tony Stark, but in a different way. Bruce is a tactical genius, whereas Tony is a technical genius. Iron Man could create his own technology and add it to his suit and alter it whenever necessary whereas Batman relies heavily on people around him to provide him with the equipment he needs to be successful against his foes. He is constantly seeking help from Lucius Fox to gather new and improved equipment. He also relies a great deal on Jim Gordon for assistance, which essentially means getting help from several members of the Gotham City Police Department, assuming they aren’t corrupt as many of them are.
Iron Man typically works on his own except while on missions with the Avengers but even when he is working in a team, he is usually the one to find and solve the problem due to his superior intelligence. Given enough prep time, Batman will win every time due to his tactical genius. Although it seems that Iron Man has the upper hand most of the time, there are many ways Batman can win this battle. Tony Stark may have a more adaptable suit, but if these legendary heroes were to fight hand to hand without their suits, then Bruce Wayne would win with ease based on his extensive training in multiple forms of combat, whereas Tony relies on his technology to fight.
