Every Time Batman Beat Darkseid on His Own (Including When He Didn’t Have Prep Time)

Skip to content Darkseid is easily one of DC’s strongest villains. He’s the New God of Evil and Tyranny, with his ultimate goal being to enslave all life in existence under his horrible rule. He’s best known for chasing down the artifact that could do just that, the Anti-Life Equation, but Darkseid definitely doesn’t need any help to bring his enemies to heel. Physically, he’s one of the most powerful beings in the multiverse, able to tank blows from all but the highest echelon of strength. He can trade blows with the Man of Steel himself, and regularly proves that he’s more than capable of winning that fight on his own. That’s not even mentioning his Omega Sanction, which grants him Omega Beams that can literally wipe people from existence and track you until they hit.

Needless to say, Darkseid is incalculably strong. In the other corner, we have Batman, who, despite pushing his body well past what the average human is capable of, is still bound by those restraints. A fight between Darkseid and the Caped Crusader is like David and Goliath, only Davis is a gnat, and Goliath is a bear. Yet, just like David, Batman has found ways to bring even the mighty Darkseid down on his own. Today we’re looking at all of the ways that Batman defeated Darkseid without direct help from other major heroes. Not only has Batman managed to win this matchup multiple times, but he only had ample time to prep for it once.

Let’s get the two times Batman prepared for the fight out of the way and discuss the moment that he managed to fatally wound the monstrous villain. Final Crisis kicked off with the Dark Knight investigating the murder of Orion, who was slain with a Radion Bullet. This special bullet was capable of going back in time to kill its target, being deadly even to gods. Everything went awry when Batman was captured by Granny Goodness to be the template for her clone army, but he, of course, escaped and confronted Darkseid himself, who had since conquered the world with the Anti-Life Equation. Then, in one of the most shocking moves of all, Batman broke his long-held rule and used a gun to shoot Darkseid with the same bullet he killed Orion with, fatally wounding the evil New God, even if it seemingly cost Bruce his life.

Batman figured out that Darkseid was the culprit pretty quickly, and prepared by storing the bullet in case he needed to bring the tyrant down, but what really captures me is what this moment showed about Batman. Using a gun to kill, even the God of Evil, goes against everything he stands for, and he died to do it. In a sense, Batman died both literally and metaphorically, killing the idea of Batman as the hero who would never break to save the day, which led to his physical death. Bruce traded his life and soul to wrench Darkseid from his throne. A bullet birthed Batman, and the progenitor of all bullets was the thing that got him killed. Batman couldn’t use a gun, so, in doing so, he had to die.

Everyone remembers Jason Todd as the Robin who died, but he wasn’t the only one who died in the line of duty. Damian Wayne was killed by an evil clone of himself, and Batman refused to accept losing a second son. He didn’t rest until he found a way to bring Damian back from the dead, and knew that his best bet was to use the defunct Chaos Shard. So, he suited up in his Hellbat Armor and invaded Apokolips to face the one being who could recharge it. The Hellbat Armor, forged with help from the entire Justice League, let the Dark Knight trade blows with even Darkseid, who wanted revenge after Batman shot him not that long ago. However, Batman used that rage to his advantage, goading Darkseid into using his Omega Beams to recharge the Crystal. Batman then used that power to KO Darkseid and resurrect Damian, depicted in Batman and Robin (2011) #37.

This specific fight shows just how much Batman can do when he’s given the time to prepare for a fight. The Hellbat Armor is the ultimate encapsulation of the idea that Batman can prepare a counter to every situation, since the suit let him fight at least on the same level as one of the most powerful beings around. Of course, the real sign of Bruce’s brilliance was in how he manipulated his opponent. He knew that Darkseid was hungry for revenge and wouldn’t stand for anything less than total annihilation of the human who humiliated him, which was actually Batman’s win condition. He set the game up so that, even if it cost him his life, he would bring Damian back. Even at his lowest emotional point, he was always three steps ahead.

We’ve discussed the two times Batman beat Darkseid when he went in with a plan, but his first win against the mad god was actually done without any prep at all. “The Supergirl From Krypton” was the storyline that brought Kara Zor-El back into DC continuity, and Darkseid immediately took an interest. He kidnapped and brainwashed the young Kryptonian, and the Trinity and Big Barda rushed Apokolips to get her back. However, instead of using muscle, Batman chose to outsmart Darkseid. He used Barda’s Mother Box to arm Darkseid’s planet-destroying Hellspores and change their password, threatening to destroy Apokolips if the evil god didn’t release the girl. Darkseid, seeing no other choice, let the heroes return to Earth.

This battle between two of DC’s biggest titans truly captured the core of what makes Batman so dangerous. Anyone can figure out a way to defeat someone if they have infinite time and resources, but Batman had to think on his feet and use every resource available to him to defeat a threat that no one stood any chance against. He did it with his cunning and incredible improvisational skills, forcing Darkseid to choose if he valued his planet or Supergirl more. He saw Darkseid’s weakness and immediately capitalized, which is the root of all of Batman’s legendary contingency plans. Nobody can find out how to cut someone’s legs out from under them like Batman, and if he has to, he can do it on the fly.

Which of these Bat-battles is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below!