We are going to compare DC Comics’ Batman and Marvel’s Black Panther, two superheroes with a very noir theme connecting them to each other. Now, Batman is one of DC’s best-known superheroes, while Black Panther is a character that has only recently become a pillar for Marvel Comics. But, who is stronger – the Bat of Gotham, or the Black Panther of Wakanda?
Black Panther would win in a fight against Batman. Without preparation, Batman would certainly lose to Black Panther in a fight, but as soon as the Dark Knight would discover Black Panther’s weakness(es), he would easily defeat him just as he did with stronger opponents such as Superman or Darkseid.
Speaking of Batman vs. Black Panther, there’s still a lot to be said. Throughout the rest of this article, we will look at their powers and abilities in more detail and see how the fight between Batman and Black Panther would play out.
Batman vs. Black Panther: strength
Before getting into any details, we’d like to talk about the basic powers and skills these characters have.
As for Batman, his powers are very, very – human. Batman does have some enhanced human attributes (strength, stamina, agility), and he is extremely intelligent, but despite all of that – he is still human and has all the limitations of a regular human being.
He is heavily reliant on technology and is a great engineer, inventing and designing a lot of different utilities he uses in fights. This pretty much covers Batman’s basic powers and skills.
When we talk about Black Panther, we have to take consider the fact that due to his consuming the Hear-Shaped Herb, T’Challa has a lot of superhuman attributes (strength, speed, agility, endurance, senses), which are somewhat similar to Batman’s but on a higher level.
Also, as King of the Dead, T’Challa has some magical powers which are inaccessible to Batman. If you add all of this to his regular peak human attributes, you can get a general sense of just how powerful Black Panther actually is.
A simple comparison of their basic powers reveals that Black Panther is stronger than Batman. Although the two of them don’t have many different powers, Black Panther’s powers are a level above Batman’s.
Where Batman is extremely strong, Black Panther is super strong. Where Batman is fast, Black Panther is super fast.
Their intelligence levels are very similar, with Batman probably being a bit more knowledgeable than T’Challa, but that wouldn’t be of much help in a direct physical confrontation.
Batman 0, Black Panther 1
Batman vs. Black Panther: magical abilities & resiliency
T’Challa’s suit is much more resilient than Batman’s and the Dark Knight would have trouble piercing through it and actually wounding Wakanda’s ruler. When it comes to their knowledge of martial arts, they are on a very similar level.
The one thing where Black Panther definitely beats Batman is the magical abilities that he gains as King of the Dead.
Batman is a regular human and he does not have any magical powers. Sure, Peter Tomasi did make him a God at one point, but that isn’t really Batman’s basic form which we can use to compare with Black Panther.
So, the conclusion would be that Black Panther would defeat Batman in a direct physical confrontation – he is more powerful – but there is a catch.
Batman 0, Black Panther 2
Batman vs. Black Panther: Intelligence
The catch is Batman’s famous “preparation”. Namely, throughout DC Comics’ history, Batman has demonstrated his ability to defeat even the strongest of foes, some of them being the strongest in the whole DC Universe.
He is a tactical genius and if a character has a weak spot – Batman will certainly find it. He has defeated Superman and Darkseid by managing to exploit their weaknesses, which makes him a very formidable foe.
Black Panther, on the other hand, never had to and never did fight such strong opponents as Superman or Darkseid and the two of them would easily defeat Black Panther.
So, seeing that Batman can defeat opponents that are stronger than T’Challa, he should be able to defeat T’Challa as well, right? Well, technically yes, but he would need to study his opponent and find a way how to defeat him.
T’Challa is a human so he has no specific weaknesses like Superman or Darkseid, which means that Batman would only have to think of a way to outsmart him in a fight, and he is definitely able to do so.
Batman 1, Black Panther 2
The Bottom Line
So, yes – Black Panther is stronger than Batman and would win in a fight between the two, but given enough time to think of a plan, Batman would certainly find a way to defeat the Wakandan ruler.
