One of Batman’s greatest foes is DC’s Slade Wilson, a.k.a. Deathstroke. Both are humans and great powers, with the latter being somewhat enhanced via experimentation. But is that enough to defeat the Dark Knight? Who would win in a fight between Batman and Deathstroke?
Due to Deathstroke often being written inconsistently, it is difficult to objectively evaluate their actual powers. Deathstroke might be generally stronger due to his enhancements, but it is Batman who was more successful in their encounters. Finally, taking everything into consideration, we think that they are equally strong.
Speaking of Batman vs. Deathstroke, 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 Deathstroke would play out.
Batman Vs. Deathstroke: Who is Stronger?
Unlike some of Batman’s enemies, Deathstroke is just a human, but has enhanced physical abilities which makes him stronger than a regular human, but still not as strong as a metahuman (although you’ll find stories where he defeats them, also).
He is exceptionally strong, very fast and agile and can last in a fight for a long time. He also has a regenerative healing factor which makes him practically immortal. Oh, he is also 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) tall, which makes him one of the tallest criminals in the universe. As for Batman, he remains a human, but with exceptional physical abilities.
Batman has some enhanced human attributes (strength, stamina, agility), he is extremely intelligent, but his enhancements are the result of diligent training, not secret experiments, which makes him just a level below Deathstroke on a general level.
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.
So, it seems that they are very similar, right? What little Batman lacks in physical strength, he compensates with his technology. So, who’s stronger?
What makes Deathstroke such a formidable foe are not his powers, but the way he uses them – he does not hesitate to cheat, wound or kill if it serves his purpose, something Batman would never do. If you combine that with the rest of his abilities, Deathstroke is truly a formidable foe.
Although we could approach this debate from the point of view of their individual feats and then compare them, we have a much better way of settling this – the recent “Deathstroke vs. Batman” storyline featured in Deathstroke #30-35 (2018). In this recent story, Deathstroke and Batman face each other in an epic storyline, with two major fights between them. Along with the epicness of the fights, the storyline also has some strong dramatic and psychological moments.
The main fight happens in #34 when Deathstroke and Batman face off in Wayne Manor. The two of them are completely on par with each other, with no clear winner. The fight ends with Deathstroke stabbing Batman in the stomach and Batman landing a brain-damaging punch to Deathstroke, both of them on the floor. In #35, they have to work together to save themselves from the authorities, but that is also a completely different story.
Batman, as a superhero, is naturally more successful in fighting Deathstroke, a supervillain, but that is not always a definitive sign of someone’s powers. From what we know by analyzing the most recent materials, there is no clear winner between Batman and Deathstroke, meaning that their fight would probably end up with Batman getting a knife to the stomach and Deathstroke getting a brain-damaging punch to the head, for example.
Deathstroke is physically stronger and has regenerative abilities, but Batman has fought and defeated enemies far stronger than Wilson, so there’s no doubt that he would think of a way to fight him. And because of that – our final verdict is a draw.
