If You Could Only Keep One....Superman or Batman?

[The Toyroom]

If you could only keep one, which would you retroactively erase from continuity? Superman or Batman?

I love 'em both equally but I gotta think I'd have to zap Batman with my eliminator ray. The universe and the four-color comic book world needs Superman. I think it could get by without Bats.

Of course that would mean that others would vanish too (guilt by association) such as Robin, Batgirl, The Joker.....hmmm maybe I should rethink this

[Meule]

Erase Batman? :angry:
I hate you again ;) :tongue2:

Say bye bye to Superman :biggrin:
You wouldn't be loosing too many cool villains either

[joshvox]

wow--well if I HAVE to get rid of one, I'd say Superman. I just love the bat-universe too much for it to go away.

[The Toyroom]

Erase Batman? :angry:
I hate you again ;) :tongue2:

Say bye bye to Superman :biggrin:
You wouldn't be loosing too many cool villains either

Yeah I hate me too! That's why I said I might have to rethink this. To me Superman is more important than Batman BUT Batman does have the cooler toys, associates, villains, vehicles etc. I'd hate to lose all of that but I think the DC Universe could get by without Bats...Superman on the other hand is a more iconic inspiration that's definitely needed.

Maybe that's the way to look at this....

1) In the comic world, get rid of Bats, keep Supes. Batman's not as important in the scheme of things.

2) In the real world get rid of Supes and keep Bats because Batman has a more complex world with lots of the aforementioned gadgets and gizmos and whatnot and is (usually) a more enjoyable read.

And to pick up what you said Thomas about not losing too many cool villains with Supes I agree. He's never had the roster of rogues that Batman has had and that's a shame. I think he's suffered greatly in this department since the Byrne reboot. Bloodsport, Silver Banshee, et. al of the "new" creations are nothing more than minor annoyances and C or D level Batman kind of foes.
I long for the villains of the 70s...that's when Superman seemed to get some heavy hitters: Solomon Grundy, Vartox, Terra-Man (laugh if you will but cosmic space cowboy is cool!), Galactic Golem and old stand-bys Luthor and Brainiac. I don't always care for the modern interpretatoions of Lex, Brainy, Toyman, Prankster and all of those old guys either.

[thunderbolt]

Ditch the big blue boyscout.

[kingdom warrior]

Ugh what a decision......I'd have to go with Batman Better stories Better villans Better Movies Better toys.....

[The Bat]

This Tread is sacreligious!:grin: Well....My Avatar and Title says it all...BATMAN is My #1 Favorite Comic Character! I like Big Blue(buy the Comic's)...but No one's COOLER than BATMAN!

[toys2cool]

I Like Superman better,but if it means that the rest of the clan go with him,I say delete Superman,cause Batman has better people around :smiley5:

[The Toyroom]

Boy! Poor Supes can't get no love!:crying:

However, everyone is right in the fact that the Batman Universe is a much cooler playground. Makes me wonder if Superman can ever reach that #1 spot again.

The Superman Returns movie probably didn't do anything to help his "lack-of-cool" factor...if anything they should have started from square one and re-introduced him for a new generation instead of building on "our" Superman of the 70s. And the toys sucked too! (And that's a key factor for grabbing the attention of the youth market)

Meanwhile Batman has been in the spotlight continously since the '89 film, what with all of the sequels and various animated series and multi-toy lines (even though he's had his share of bad too, Bats always seems to bounce back!)

To paraphrase Batman in "Infinite Crisis": The last time Superman was popular was when he was dead.

[Comic Book Geek]

Anyone who would keep Superman over batman is wrong :grin:

[brineb]

Ditch Superman!!! Batman is way cooler!!!

[ctc]

Hmmmm....

It's an odd question, since both are prototypical superheroes. When you get right down to it; there are only three superheroes; with everyone being a derivation thereof:

-Superman: gooder than good, fights to protect the little guy
-Batman: grim vigilante who fights for justice, often using the bad guys' techniques against them
-Spiderman: average schmo who ends up a hero because of circumstance

Taking out one of them sort of throws the equation off.

Now, Starman? HIM we can do without!

*grrr*

Don C.

[jemboy2004]

throw away the first true superhero! NEVER! Batman would have to go!

Don't all hero's owe something to the first true superhero. SUPERMAN!

btw Superman Returns was perfect for the new movie. IMO anyway.

[Bionic Joe]

bye bye batman:smiley5:

[huedell]

Batman's persona is minimal to Superman's overall

and, ya know---

Superman & Green Arrow would do just fine for me

Whereas teaming Batman with say Capt. Marvel just doesn't do it for me

So---yeah---get rid of Batman

And those of you that think Joker/Penguin/Riddler/Catwoman/Scarecrow etc
are that much better than Luthor/Bizarro/Myxlpltlk/Brainiac/Parasite etc.
I think are missing the incredible worth of Supes' baddies
--------granted ya can't beat the Joker as a villain & sure, Supes
needs a classic female foil slash love interest ala Catwoman----

but

heck EVEN if ya think Batman's rogues gallery is better than Superman's-
--to say Superman has a "poor rogue's gallery" is utterly ridiculous (altho
it is something fanboys have been saying for years---more to celebrate
Flash's baddies and Batman's and just to put a thorn in Kal-El's side
because he's so dang not cool to prefer)

Putting Batman over Superman is a sign of society tho'----yeah "Batman's a
badass---so he's gotta be the better superhero" ---well, I disagree----
and put my vote in for Superman anyday

Anyone who can have THAT much power and not go ballistic one day
heat-visioning the Batman fanclub (probably based in Metropolis) to ashes
is tops in my book.

[Hulk]

People can relate to Batman more easily. The loss of your parents is obviously a common theme between the two, but the concept of seeing them murdered resonates a lot more than "My planet was detroyed shortly after my parents plopped my infant *** in a spaceship". We all want to be Superman, we can all see ourselves as Batman. Not to mention he gets away with things we all feel, opposed to being limited to the strictr moral code placed upon Supes.

Be a reporter who's main goal in life is to protect an annoying woman who treats you like crap and gets herself in impossibly ridiculous situations, and can do virtually anything he wants... OR..

Be a Playboy millionaire with all the best things in life, woman falling at their feet for him, is knowledgeable in all subjects and specialities, and is among the most fit and physically able people on the planet...

Bye Bye Superman.

[SlipperyLilSuckers]

Superman (and Supergirl) will be my number one til the day I die. I am not getting this tattoo removed. :bleh:

[Goblin19]

Ugh, that's hard. My favorite boyhood superhero (Supes) or my favorite from my twenties (Bats). I think Superman has to stay, though I might change my mind. Thank god, you didn't throw Spidey in to the mix.

[The Toyroom]

I thought that the Crimson Avenger was the first, Superman only leant the genre his name.

Nope, Crimson Avenger first appeared in Detective Comics #20 (October 1938). Superman already had debuted in Action #1 (June 1938). Crimson Avenger beats Batman though by 7 issues.

[Megotu]

Well...If I actually lived in a city protected by either one of them, I would pick Superman as the keeper. I would not live in Gotham. No way. Nuh-uh.
You could NEVER drink the water. You couldn't even shower with it. Even the underarm deodorant has been weaponized.
screw that.

[Surfsup]

Definately Superman, the character is boring and for the life of me, I can't see why he's so popular.

Batman on the other hand has an edge and has a far more interesting set up and character's. The villains alone are some of the most colourful ever created.

[number 6]

I'd hate to see either go.

But if I was pushed, I'd have to say Superman.

I love Superman in theory. I really enjoyed Alex Ross's treatment of him in Kingdom Come.

But the vast majority of Superman stories aren't like that. And I find I just don't enjoy them as much as Batman.

[Flynne]

It strikes me that the answers to this question seem to bear a resemblance to "Why do good girls date bad boys?" - When given the choice between the straight laced boy scout - solid, reliable, and guaranteed to meet their needs - or the troubled, brooding bad boy - breaks laws, rides a motorcycle, and emotionally incapable of commitment - so many go girls for the bad boy. Sound familiar? Sure they want marry Superman - eventually - but they also want to date Batman for a while first.

For myself - If I answered this question a decade ago, I would have said keep Batman. However, as I've gotten older, and my outlook has been irrevocably altered by world events, I've developed a new appreciation for Superman and how much it would mean to the World to really have someone like him, and how much someone would have to sacrifice in order to do it. With regard to the comics being boring or the character of Superman being one dimensional - I think the one thing his comics have consistently lacked for years that the Batman comics have not is decent writing.

The World has scores of vigilantes, but it really needs the Big Blue Boy Scout. Keep Superman.

[number 6]

- I think the one thing his comics have consistently lacked for years that the Batman comics have not is decent writing.

Yeah, that's my thing. The core concept of Superman I love.

But after tons of stories about 'what if Superman and Lois were married', 'what if Superman got split 4 ways', 'what if Jimmy Olsen had 2 heads', etc. I have to wonder is that really worth keeping? It's just a bunch of outlandish stuff that in the end 'doesn't count' continuity wise anyway.

Some better writing and yeah, I would probably pick Superman.

[Wolverine1969]

I grew up a Superman fan. After college I started reading Batman more and really developed an appreciation for the character. So much that I consider myself more a Batman fan than Superman. So I would have to go with Batman.

[Blue Meanie]

Not a really big fan of either Supes or Bats....I am a HUGE fan of the original JSA. If it was up to me Supes and Bats could both be dropped...as long as you don't touch All-Star Comics(Original JSA) then I'm Happy.

[The Toyroom]

But how do you like your JSA? With Golden Age Superman or Golden Age Batman? :grin:

[jayihdz]

Composite Superman Batman....problem solved...

[samurainoir]

Grant Morrison is one of my favourite writers and it's great to see him penning both Superman and Batman these days. I have to say that I'm actually enjoying All Star Superman much more than his run on Batman (although they are both excellent). All Star Superman just seems to be stuffed full of imagination and innovative ideas.

In terms of putting Superman back into the A-list, I think the creative team of Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch could prove to be magical if they were handed Superman. Millar's Superman Red Son was an excellent compelling take on Superman and Luthor that felt as classic as anything since the Crisis on Infinite Earth reboot and no one does wide screen action like Hitch.

Alternately, I know it will never happen but Alan Moore was born to write the Silver Age Superman. Just look at the two classic stories Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow and For the Man Who Has Everything. Not to mention his loving tribute to the Silver Age Supes using Liefeld's Supreme character.

[YANOULI]

Get rid of Superman.

[LadyZod]

If choosing to keep Superman over Batman is wrong, I don't want to be right. :no:

Supes stays, Batman finds himself on the curb. Sorry Bat-fans.