Batman has a famous rogues gallery, but how would the hero handle the worst foes of Spider-Man?
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00:00On the surface, Batman and Spider-Man are very different heroes.
00:04Batman is a somber and determined man who spent years training his body to fight crime.
00:09Spider-Man, on the other hand, is a younger, seemingly happier man who received his powers
00:12from a freak spider bite as a teen. But if you look a little bit deeper,
00:16you'll see that they are both brilliant men with incredible scientific minds
00:19that were pushed towards heroism by the tragedy in their lives.
00:23So the question then pops up, how would Batman fare if he was to go against some
00:27of Spider-Man's greatest villains? Well, that's what we're here to discuss today,
00:30as I'm Jules, this is WhatCulture.com, and this is how Batman would defeat
00:3410 of Spider-Man's most iconic villains.
00:3710. Scorpion
00:39Private investigator Matt Gargan was paid by J. Jonah Jameson to undergo a procedure
00:44to create a foe for Spider-Man. Dr. Farley Stillwell created an experiment that endowed
00:48Gargan with a variety of powers and a costume with a devastating mechanical tail. The experiment
00:54cost Gargan his sanity, though, and while he happily attacked Spider-Man, he also attacked
00:58Jameson. Gargan came to believe that the experiment had trapped him inside the Scorpion suit,
01:03and more often than not, old Webhead had to save Jameson's life. Scorpion possessed a level of speed,
01:08strength, and agility that would make a physical confrontation extremely dangerous for Batman.
01:13Scorpion's tail can strike at 90 miles an hour, and he possesses the ability to lift 15 tons.
01:18In short, meeting Scorpion in battle from inside one of his armored Batsuits would be the smartest
01:23tactical move for Bats. An even smarter move would be to reach out to some of his colleagues
01:27in the Justice League. Wonder Woman or any member of the Superman family would have the speed and
01:32vulnerability to deal with Scorpion's hybrid nature and deadly tail. Batman could also secure
01:37victory by calling in Vixen or Animal Man and use a bit of Scorpion against Scorpion to win the day.
01:429. Sandman
01:44William Baker, aka Flint Marco, was a child of poverty who learned to steal at an early age.
01:49After years as a petty criminal, Marco was in the vicinity of a nuclear accident that affected a
01:54body-wide change which also gave him the ability to transform his body. Flint has flipped between
01:59being a villain, a mercenary hero with Silver Sable's wild pack, and a brief stint as an Avenger in
02:04training. Sandman has never been a villain of the world-domination variety. He just wanted to get
02:09rich, and Batman may be able to appeal to Marco's better nature, or indeed his greed. Either way
02:14would prevent the fight that the Caped Crusader would rather not have against a foe that he would
02:18actually have a difficult time defeating. Using water to dissipate his form or heat to fuse his
02:23form into glass has been the way of dealing with Sandman's villainous actions previously.
02:28Batman has used extreme cold, similar to what Mr. Freeze generates, to deal with Clayface,
02:32so it's possible that this approach could work with Sandman if he's caught with a significant
02:35amount of his form intact. But if Marco is too spread out, the single grain that holds his
02:40consciousness may escape the cold. So Batman's gonna have to go all out on this one.
02:45Number 8. The Kingpin
02:46Growing up a poor child, Wilson Fisk went on a mission of self-improvement, and extensive reading,
02:52gaining strength and physical power through bodybuilding, definitely achieved that. He used
02:55his business techniques to organize the juvenile gangs, earning himself the mocking nickname of
03:00The Kingpin. Fisk worked as a bodyguard and an enforcer for crime families and advanced through
03:05the ranks until he controlled large areas of organized crime. Wilson invested the money
03:09from those crimes into legitimate businesses. He organized all of the crime on the eastern
03:13seaboard, and finally came to fully own the name of The Kingpin of Crime.
03:18Batman takes a special interest in what you'd call untouchable crime bosses, especially when
03:23those corrupt individuals achieve political office, as Fisk did as mayor of New York City.
03:27Perhaps it's because his family essentially built Gotham and he spent so much time and effort
03:31improving it, but you know what? Bruce takes these actions personally.
03:34Batman might make the mistake of assuming Kingpin is fat instead of being solid muscle,
03:39and as sumo was not one of the disciplines that Wayne delved into in his studies,
03:43it might actually give Fisk a brief advantage if he gets Batman into a bear hug. However,
03:48Batman's array of martial arts skills will no doubt send the larger man reeling in no time.
03:52Plus, when in doubt, just trip him up using a wire. That seems to happen quite a lot to him.
03:56Number 7. Electro
03:57Electric company lineman Max Dillon was struck by lightning while holding onto an electrical line.
04:02This caused a body-wide change that turned him into a living electrostatic generator. Donning a
04:07costume and using his electrical powers to rob banks and accumulate the wealth the perpetually
04:11poor man always desired saw him become Electro. This brought him into conflict with Spider-Man,
04:16who definitely beats him on a regular basis, either alone or as part of the various incarnations of the
04:21Sinister Six. Now, it's important that Batman keeps Electro from recharging from any source.
04:26The Dark Knight would also have to keep any of his own equipment from being disrupted by either
04:30electrical or electromagnetic discharges from Dillon's powers. Max could even disrupt the
04:34electrical currents of Batman's brain if he gets close enough. So, clearly, this would be a
04:38challenging fight for the world's greatest detective. But with water and overloading his
04:42powers being two of the few ways to overcome Electro, Batman will definitely have a fight on
04:47his hands, even in a suitably grounded Batsuit. One of the things that will definitely work in Bats'
04:51favour, though, is that Dillon is not very intelligent, if we're being honest. And secondly,
04:55he's an extremely greedy individual, so Batman could, if all else fails, just simply give him
05:00a better offer. 6. LIZARD
05:02Gifted surgeon Dr. Kurt Connors lost his right arm while saving soldiers in a war-torn region.
05:08Connors then began experimenting with lizards that had the capability to regenerate limbs
05:12in order to create a serum that he might use to regrow his own. Connors created a serum and used
05:16himself as the first subject, and his arm did begin to regrow, but he also began to mutate into a
05:22vicious reptile creature called the lizard. Over time, Connors' mind has controlled his lizard form,
05:27while his lizard mind has likewise controlled his human form. Batman's adventures with members of
05:31his own rogues' gallery could help him with dealing with the lizard. Helping Dr. Kurt Langstrom's
05:36alter-ego man-bat may turn Batman towards working with Connors to finally cure his transformation into
05:41the lizard, and perhaps even refine it enough that it could replace the doctor's arm. If Batman has to
05:46fight the lizard, though, his altercations with his own reptilian menace killer croc will definitely
05:51come in handy. Whilst the lizard is smaller and more agile, he possesses the sort of super-strength
05:55that makes him croc-superior. The lizard's speed, while not superhuman, will require Batman to either
06:01take his foe by surprise or utilize one of his many vehicles to bridge that gap.
06:055. Mysterio
06:07Quentin Beck was a movie special effects artist and stuntman that initially committed his first crime
06:11on a dare. But after an accident on one of the sets, got him blackboard from the industry,
06:16Beck pursued crime in earnest as Mysterio. He suffered numerous defeats at the hand of
06:21Spider-Man, causing Beck bouts of depression, but he continued to plague Spidey both solo
06:25and as part of the Sinister Six. Although Mysterio is unlike most villains Bruce Wayne
06:30has ever faced, some of his methods mirror that of several Batman villains. Mysterio's
06:34hallucinogenic gas is not unlike the Scarecrow's fear toxin. His use of psychological mind-controlling
06:39methods is similar to those employed by Hugo Strange, and the minor villain film freak has trapped
06:44the Caped Crusader and others in seemingly lifelike but inventive scenarios. Mysterio will ultimately
06:49have a very hard time fooling Batman, as Bats is obsessive about details and is the most observant
06:55man in the world. If their fight was in Gotham, it would have to be the perfect Gotham down to
06:59the smallest detail. Bruce knows every Gotham street and every alley, meaning if the villain
07:04got even the smallest detail wrong, the illusion would literally be shattered with one well-placed
07:09Batarang. 4. Venom
07:11Spider-Man acquired the alien symbiote on Battleworld during the Secret Wars event. When Peter discovered
07:16that it was a sentient being that had been controlling him in his sleep, he tried to
07:20remove it. It took the bells of Our Lady of Saints Church to make the creature retreat from Parker's
07:25body, and felled photographer Eddie Brock was in the church below, and the creature then bonded with
07:29him. Having absorbed Spider-Man's powers, the pair became known as Venom. Batman would definitely be in
07:34trouble if it comes down to a purely physical altercation with Venom. With Venom being able
07:38to lift 70 tons and having Spider-Man's powers, Batman's athleticism and fighting skills might
07:43fall short. If any of the symbiote broke off and infected the Dark Knight, it's hopeful that his
07:48indomitable will would be enough to allow him to break free. But given the symbiote's susceptibilities
07:53to loud noises and sonic blasts, Batman may want to ask Black Canary for her assistance. Once the
07:57symbiote has left Brock's body, it wouldn't be too hard to contain it in a vessel with a sonic
08:01emitter built in, although getting the creature off-planet would definitely be the best bet.
08:063. Dr. Octopus
08:07Dr. Otto Octavius was a brilliant, if arrogant, scientist who created a harness with four mechanical
08:13arms to better handle dangerous material. An accident bathed him in radiation that fused
08:18the harnesses to his body and made the connection to the arms a mental one and turned the doctor
08:22into the criminal, Doc Ock, who almost married Peter's Aunt May once and also took over Pete's
08:28body for a time, but was pushed to become a superior Spider-Man. Now, if Batman has one
08:32superpower, it's his incredible mind. Bruce Wayne has such a strong mind and will that it is unlikely
08:38that Dr. Octopus would be able to switch minds with him unless Bruce was caught completely by
08:42surprise, and if he did, Batman would fight viciously to get control of his own mind back.
08:47Even if Otto succeeded, it's unlikely that he could have done much to make a superior Batman.
08:52Otto's arrogance and assumption that he is always the smartest person in the room
08:56is an easy target for Batman to attack. It will immediately cause him to make mistakes.
09:01Also, if the Caped Crusader can keep Ock's mechanical arms otherwise engaged,
09:04it would only take a single punch to deal with this doctor.
09:072. J. Jonah Jameson
09:09There is no single person to have a greater effect on the life of Spider-Man than J. Jonah Jameson.
09:14The Daily Bugle publisher has allowed Spidey's alter ego of Peter Parker to continue to live
09:18independently in New York City, but did so at the expense of the costume identity of Spider-Man.
09:23Jameson has turned public opinion against the wallcrawler from the beginning of his career,
09:28and J.J. claims that he'd distrust all vigilantes, but he has a particular ire for old Spider-Man.
09:32It is possible that Batman would completely ignore the loudmouth Jameson. I mean,
09:36historically, Bats would prefer that he be thought of as an urban myth or as some kind
09:40of inhuman monster to the criminal community, so it's highly possible that he would just let
09:43Jameson rant on while the Dark Knight continued his mission. Alternatively, Bruce might also grow
09:49tired of the noise and buy the entire paper and the building that houses it. Then, he'd kick
09:53Jameson out and promote Robbie Robertson as the editor of the Daily Bugle. It's likely that when
09:58Batman discovered that Jameson paid for the creation of several villains and Spider-Slayer
10:02robots, he would treat him like any other criminal and just send him to prison.
10:051. The Green Goblin
10:07No costume villain has had as much of an impact on Peter Parker than the Green Goblin.
10:12Norman Osborn threw Peter's girlfriend from the George Washington Bridge leading to her death.
10:16Norman's son Harry, Peter's best friend, donned his own villainous costume to make the hero pay
10:21for his father's death. Going further than that, Norman had actually lived on and engineered the
10:25cloning of Peter, and these are just a handful of things that the Goblin has done.
10:29Batman would probably try to reach Norman Osborn first. Bruce would try to speak to him as a fellow
10:34scientist and meet Norman on an intellectual level to try and defuse the fight before it even starts.
10:39He would probably also play on Norman's heroic accomplishments and make Osborn think
10:43that he is helping Batman. Now, if it does come down to a fight, the Dark Knight needs to get
10:47the Goblin down to his level. In the comics, Batman doesn't have any flying equipment that
10:51equals the manoeuvrability of the Goblin glider. Once that's dealt with, though, the pumpkin bombs
10:55aren't much more than overpowered explosive batarangs, and Batman's fighting prowess is more than a
11:00match for the increase in strength that his formula provides Osborn. So when it comes down to a
11:04physical altercation, our money's on the Batman.
11:07And there we go, my friends. That was how Batman would defeat 10 of Spider-Man's most iconic
11:11villains. I hope that you enjoyed that, and please let me know what you thought about it
11:14down in the comments section below. As always, I've been Jules. You can go follow me over on
11:18Twitter at RetroJ, but the O is a zero, and it'd be great to see you over there. As always,
11:23I've been Jules. You have been awesome. Never forget that, and I'll speak to you soon. Bye.