• This points out the flaw of "The Dark Knight Returns" Batman won, using a godawful lot of garbage like Superman recovering from a nuke, Green Arrow managng to sneak up past Supes hearing etc etc etc. So Miller's cheat put Superman on a downward arc. No one at DC realized how bad they've hurt themselves and said ok, this was a one time only thing. No more. Hell, they made him the whipping boy for every badass wanna be character they bring in. Classic example; Sister Superior (Vera Black) is head of the Elite after her brother's death. Superman rushes in to stop her group, she raises her hand and Supes is out could and she has her foot on his chest just like that. Assinine juvenile DC writer. I will grant you with his new partners at Man of Action, he's doing better with the Ben 10 franchise, but back then... Sheeeesh what a fan boy!

• As much as I love Batman over Superman, the issue of Tec 327 actually sold for $900,000; the auctions fees are what put it above the million mark. The Auction house that sold Action had no fees, so the issue sold for an even million. But of course, you can argue that the buyer knew of the fees and was prepared to pay the $1.075 million that he did.

• I agree with everything you said. :) Especially with how Bats is easier to connect with just because of the potential factor -- that whole inspiring good with his mission and stuff. Just wanted to add that Clark tries so *hard* to anchor himself as human in some ways, that he is, at times, displaying more humanity than Batman might. It's almost like how Bruce trained for years to be more than a man, and Clark is working just as hard to seem normal and have that sense of it for himself. I think you really have to look at both of them to even things out. DCU wouldn't be the same without either of them, so I don't really get the 'anti-' haters, even if you can have a favorite. :)

• I love all of this Batman vs. Superman rage. Seriously, it is entertaining to read the back and forth toss ups. My two cents? Batman is my favorite, but I think we have to accept that both characters have a certain symbiosis. Yes, Superman could waste Batman, but he *wouldn't* because of his morals. Batman even trusts him so much that he doesn't keep the Kryptonite ring with him in the cave, as was said in the S/B: Public Enemies run when older Superman showed up and blasted his ass for it. But, then again, does it *really* matter? They aren't meant to be at each other's throats like Lex and Superman, or Batman and the Joker. Any fight between them would be out of mind control, an illusion, or really extreme petty rage that would just end up in a tiny outburst and some terse words later on. The characters have excellent contrast/compliment dynamics going on, and I find that far more compelling than comparing fighting stats down to the last percentile. Important thing is, really, is that they keep each other in check and... y'know. Marginally sane.

• aw snap! i just read that goyer wrote Blade Trinity. there goes my optimism.

• I'm amused by (some of) the pro-Supes comments that talk about how Bats can only win if certain qualifiers are in effect -- and then go on to apply qualifiers of their own. In a stand-up fight or a "brawl" to the death, Bats would absolutely lose, some of them say. Um, yes, which is why Bats, one of the most intelligent combatants in the DCU, would not engage in a simple stand-up fight WITHOUT A FRIGGIN' STRATEGY. Oh, some write, Bats can only win if he uses his "cheater" kryptonite ring or if he has time to plan things out beforehand. Yes, again. One of Bats' greatest weapons is his tactical mind. So what...he's not allowed to bring his brain to the fight? The argument that Bats can't win without his guile, gimmicks, tactics, training, and technology is moot. Take those things away and Supes isn't fighting Batman. He's just fighting man...man. Those qualities are what make Batman a super-hero. If we're going to strip all of that away, then go ahead and take away everything that makes Supes a hero, too -- super strength, super speed, heat vision, freeze breath, invulnerability, flying, etc... And we'll just watch two buff dudes slug it out. Exciting... As far as why Bats might be more popular than Supes, I think it all comes down to his humanity. (It's the same reason I believe that the Jedi were so much cooler before midichlorians.) Deep down in my geek heart of hearts, I believe that if I dedicate myself to years and years of training, I can be Batman. I may never has his intensity, but I can acquire his skills. On the flip side, I'm pretty damn sure that I'm never going to be an alien shot to Earth from a dying planet. And flying, super strength, and all the rest will never be possible for poor ol' human me.

• Hell, didn't Supes almost kill him with heat-vision once when he'd been under an illusion?

• So people on here are calling Blackest Night "Crappest Night?" No matter how well written and exciting a story can be, people just hate on events. This is getting ridiculous. Any of you people that feel that way should be ashamed for being such trolls. In case of Batman's $1,000,000 comic, in a business sense, it probably netted a higher amount because of the Action Comics sale.

• What is with this heat vision facination, if you look close you will see Batman's kryptonite ring. With that in Superman's face, his heat vision is about as warm as a fart. He is lucky it is brighter than a laser pointer. Superman's unlimited power makes him a little slow in the draw. Whenever he loses some of that ability to be super, he has a panic attack. Being invincible most of the time means he never has to think of his options, or use his mental abilities to beat opponents. Batman is a master of wit, a real Sherlock Holmes, a detective. He prefers to outsmart his adversaries rather than overpower them. His art of war is finely tuned to a razor sharp edge. Supes is more of a butter knife in the mental blade arsenal. He just doesn't have to try most of the time. He has two weaknesses, kryptonite and humans. Batman cares about people, but he would kill a few if he had too. If Batman had to kill Superman to save a city, Supes would be a dead son-of-a-bitch.

• so you are aware of it, yet you jest.

• Batman and/or Superman are both sub-par when compared to Green Lantern. I am speaking of Hal Jordan of course (no smart comments about crappest night please...).

• Wow, you're the most clueless person I've ever seen posting on here. Have you read a Superman story... well, ever? Or are you just playing the part of the most ignorant troll to ever troll? I mean, geez, they haven't done the 'clumsy Clark' routine since 1980 or so.

• "Batman uses his mind and outsmarts Supes EVERY DAMN TIME!!!! " Batman plays on the fact that, deep down, he knows that Clark has such a conscience that he'll never do anything immoral. He knows that a conscienceless Superman would turn him into paste in about half a second.

• "Seeing as superman can't even seem to hit Batman with his heat-vision when he standing two-feet away, I'd say it's pretty clear who DC's #1 guy is" You left out the part about Batman, supposedly the greatest hand-to-hand fighter in the DC Universe, completely whiffed that punch against a 6-Foot-plus target that's painted red and blue and NOT EVEN LOOKING AT HIM.

• Yeah basically you pay a company to grade and then seal the book in this pretty awesome clam shell thingy.It's pretty much the only way to make money a an expensive book, i believe it costs about 30 bucks. But it can more then double the price of a book

• And I bet the Detective comics buyer just paid the extra money to make havoc among the fanboys XD

• That's a fight from the Jim Lee run - in it, Superman has come under mind control, and so is forced to fight Batman. Being Superman however, he has just enough willpower to force himself to miss Batman with his deadlier techniques (heat vision, deadly use of his super-speed and super-strength, etc.). And the only reasons why Batman can even get in punches without shattering his hands irrevocably is because a)he's wearing the kryptonite ring and b)he's wearing Kevlar gloves (that look remarkably likely skintight leather gloves and not the gargantuan gauntlets that they would be if there actually were Kevlar plating...). Most telling is Batman's internal monologue during the fight that says he's only alive because Superman's decency is preventing him from instantaneously killing Batman, despite the powerful mind control.

• Yeah..Tarrantino has no fucking clue about Superman. There is no Superman...Clark Kent is the real identity. And yes,Clark Kent is actually an adopted alien from the planet Krypton,but his IDENTITY is that of Clark Kent. Clark may pretend to bumble and fumble at the daily planet,but that doesnt mean he's secretly judging humanity or whatever the hell it was they accused him of in Kill Bill. Clark Kent/Superman is in his heart and mind a farmboy from Kansas. He doesnt like hurting people or breaking the law or even using his powers. Supermans greatset weakness isnt Kryptonite-its his mindset. Thats what always holds him back and keeps him from going all out-and Batman knows it. Batman uses his mind and outsmarts Supes EVERY DAMN TIME!!!! Thats why Bats rules and Supes is a chump.

• batman made it on the bigscreen because he's easier to portray; he's human. he doesn't have any superpowers. if you overlook his gazillion dollars and his penchant for talking with a grating voice even among his friends, he's the closest to a regular person a superhero gets. you can almost wonder why we don't really have a batman out there, almost. superman's a challenge. what motivates him? what challenges him? besides with kryptonite, can he be beaten? when the editor was firing out similar questions in the original movie you could almost feel the writer saying, 'really, i'm really asking. i don't know.' can a story be interesting with a guy who can only be beaten by one or two ways? comic books have all sorts of fudge factors and suspense of beliefs that don't translate well into movies. when there was conflict between batman and superman frank miller would make superman out as a bit of a dunce and give batman a prescience on how to fight him and with what selfmade gadgets. can superman be smart and powerful and there still be doubt as to the outcome? in these fights, can some of his powers be permanently damaged? can his powers be overtaxed? they are all plain questions, i know, but not so plain they are moot. more than anything else, if they are not struggled with, the next superman movie will be just as glossed over, and dull.

• Yeah, comic movies are big,big,big right now, and Superman hasn't had a good movie in...well....ever.

• from the original movie, i always figured clark kent's feeble timidity was a reaction to having so much power, a defense mechanism. he hides from the fact that he can do anything for fear that the power would eventually twist him into a version of zod; that or he couldn't stand the ultimate social isolation, not to mention the ennui of getting whatever he wants whenever he wants it.

• I agree, they are united in a life and death struggle against a totally evil wall!

• yeah, like invader zim is a human with his black wig and contacts. Superman's personality makes him appear to be human, his humanity is his weakness. Hellboy was raised as a human child, he is still the harbinger of the apocalypse! Still a big red demon. Hellboy chooses to be a good guy, Superman chooses to be Clark Kent, he wasn't born Clark, he doesn't even have human dna for crying out loud. Clark Kent is a clumsy, ignorant, pussy ass bitch, it is a total act, a fake, Superman doesn't have those traits in him, it is not possible for Superman to be scared of a gun, but Clark Kent is. Clark Kent is the disguise, the alter ego.

• The interesting thing is that Action Comics is the more historically important one, which has tended to inflate its value in the past in spite of Superman not having been as popular as Batman for a couple decades now.

• No, you've got it wrong - you're spouting the lines that Tarantino got wrong in Kill Bill. Superman's the disguise, Clark's the real personality. That's what makes him such a good character; he's the most powerful man in the world, but in reality is a humble reporter from Kansas.

• You could shoot Batman out of a cannon so hard he would splatter against Superman like a blood-soaked sponge and Superman wouldn't flinch- unless, of course, Batman's actually wearing his cheater Kryptonite ring, which I now see he is. Still...

• I must have missed that, but recall that i stated a "brawl", straight up fist fight to the death. In raw hand to hand combat, the hulk wins, of cousre he can be outsmarted, but he can't be beaten to death. Superman was beaten to death.

• This is the greatest comment ever posted.

• On that marvel-dc crossover during the nineties, but it was decided by votes so superman was obviously going to win.

• The Hulk might get stronger eventually; but Superman would have ended the fight well before that could happen.

• You're both right, which is why they are the best characters.

• when did superman knock the hulk out? The Hulk would let superman punch him all day, and just get madder and madder.

• Did you steal my psych paper about how Bruce Wayne suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder which turned into disassociative identity disorder later in his life after not getting closure of his parents death?

• Maybe, but Superman just isn't the merchandising powerhouse that Batman is today. The movies really brought Batman into the 90's while Superman fell off in the 80's,.

• So, what are the odds that the person who bid on the Batman comic did so just to one-up Superman?

• NO, You superman fans are missing the point, Clark Kent does not "become" superman, Superman pretends to be Clark Kent. If a bomb exploded in Clark Kent's pocket, and destroyed his disguise, Superman would be standing there scratching his head. He "chooses" to pretend to be human, but he is a superpowerful alien 24/7. Batman thrives off the legend and the hype, the terror and the fear of "The Batman" are his greatest weapon. Oh, and being rich is good too.

• Well, true enough, if Batman is real, but in fact there is a small chance that Batman is just a split personality disorder.

• In Sandman, there's the dream where the JLU is represented by their subconscious sides. Superman shows up at Clark Kent while Batman is Batman. This article sums it up pretty well about the difference between the two: http://everything2.com/title/Superman+is+really+Clark+Kent%252C+Bruce+Wayne+is+really+Batman Remember in Arkham Asylum when Batman got captured and everyone wanted to take off his mask but Joker said no because "the mask is his face." With Superman, there is the whole Kal-el vs Superman vs Clark. Either way, Superman is who he becomes but not who he is (if that makes sense).

• The grade is the condition of the actual book. How well preserved it is, etc.

• Chantz Fortune can take on anyone...

• "Despite all the Batman romanticizing from geeks, the truth is that- short of Kryptonite or magic- Batman has NO WAY to deliver ANY damage to Superman. Ever." Agreed. This whole "Batman could beat anyone in the DCU" schpiel you hear from Bat-fanatics usually starts out with "Well, he'd have to do a bunch of pre-planning in order to come up with a way....but he could totally do it!" Lame.

• I do like both characters a great deal, but I think that all the people who are saying that it's impossible for Batman to defeat Superman need to remember thy nerd commandments.

• Allright...I dont usually justify vs threads with a response,but nobody shit-talks the Bat and gets away with it. Superman could indeed fly up into space and end every battle by frying his opponent with heat vision-but he doesnt. Superman could be a GOD but he's hampered by the humanity and humility that were instilled in him by The Kents-as someone else pointed out,he rejected his identity as Kal El.Clark Kent is the real identity...Superman is just something he DOES. Batman has no such hang ups(aside from refusing to kill his enemies). Bruce Wayne died in an alley next to his folks...there is only The Batman,and he is a mean,relentless son of a bitch. Batman is willing to be a criminal and to let the world hate and fear him if thats what it takes to get the job done. And thats why hes THE GODDAMN BATMAN!!!!

• I think you missed the Kryptonite ring on his right hand.

• I have to ask: - In that picture, why is Batman even BOTHERING to throw a punch? What does he hope to accomplish? He can't injure Superman. Hell, Superman probably wouldn't even notice it if Batman came up behind him and hit him in the back of the head or the kidneys with his best punch, even with lead-weighted gloves. - For a normal dude like Batman, throwing a punch at Superman is kinda like throwing a punch at a steel/titanium statue of Superman. Same effect: No damage. - Despite all the Batman romanticizing from geeks, the truth is that- short of Kryptonite or magic- Batman has NO WAY to deliver ANY damage to Superman. Ever.

• Using heat vision would probably kill the person. Or at least cause pretty bad burns. Superman will probably not want to take any risks to seriously hurt someone (unless it is Darkseid, or someone alike, I suppose). It is also no surprise that Batman might be the most popular one: he doesn't hold back and is a guy without super powers. With Superman each writer has to figure out a way to write Superman without under- or overpowering him and still make the story interesting. Batman has a couple of other things going for him as well compared to Superman. I like both though.

• Actually, I'd say you're both right and you're both wrong. Jestergoblin, Superman is not something Clark Kent pretends to be; Clark Kent pretends to be timid and meek so that no one will suspect he's Superman. The Monkey Machine, Bruce Wayne doesn't really exist anymore; He's Batman whether or not he's hiding behind the mask of Bruce Wayne.

• I sometimes wonder why Superman doesn't just start every fight with heat-vision. If that doesn't put the bad guy down, <i>then</i> go in for the punch.

• Both of them punch the air. The air around them is evil, so one must clear it with Falcon Punches. Bat thinks it would be a good idea to try punch the "Man of Steel" with his Krytonite-less fist and Supes believes it is only reasonable to use his heat vision to clear out the path for Bats. You can tell he is committed to that task because of his serious-rawr face. I feel safe, knowing that the innocent, those who need help or are duped, can *always* count on these magnificent efficient heroes of justice...just not right now. ATM they are busy fighting their fellow hero/crime fighter. But as soon as one of them is incapacitated, the winner will get back to saving the world/city and stuff. Just make sure you live in the city of the one who wins, if you need any help.

• If Warners ever got their act together and made the Batman Vs. Superman movie, they would have a licence to print money. If they had James Cameron make it, civilization would collapse because Warner Brothers would have all the money in existance.

• No, Batman takes off a mask and pretends to be Bruce Wayne. Clark Kent puts on the cape and pretends to be Superman. That's the difference.

• Um, what? Hell no. Superman knocked the Hulk out, as far as I remember.

• If you look at the picture you will notice Batman with his arm out in a punching motion. Now we can assume that Superman missed on purpose, or he was drugged, or we can go with the picture and see that Batman punced him in the face as his heat vision activated, causing the miss fire. Batman has no doubt done something to upset Superman because he is very, very angry. I know Batman couldn't even punch hard enough to knock a booger out of Supermans nose, so he must have jumped off a building, or ejected from the Batplane at altitude to get that kind of momentum.

• The only thing that can kill Superman, are the lame deadly movies that carry his name and likeness. Batman has had far better movies, not all great, but better. There is no matchup, who can beat who, Superman has powers, Batman is just a crazy guy, it's a no brainer. In a superhero vs. superhero. brawl for it all scenario, The Hulk would beat them all down, and he could do them all at once too. He can be outsmarted, but you just can not stand and throw down with The Hulk. Not even Superman can do that.

• pfft... spidey could take them both no, not really.

• Batman must have doped up Superman with Kryptonite in that picture. I don't think it's possible to miss hitting something if you just have to LOOK at it- there's no hand/eye disconnect with heat vision, especially if you can move faster than a speeding bullet and your opponent can't. I love the Batman, but Superman always wins (unless he lets Bats win or is tricked, like in The Dark Knight Returns).

• Oh, now there's a painful memory!

• Exactly, and the only reason it sold for more because of the recent resurgence of Batman with the new Nolan movies. If the sale had occurred after Batman & Robin it would be a different story.

• Pfft - Batman is just lucky that Supes lets him own a kryptonite ring.

• Bruce Wayne puts on a mask and pretends to be Batman, Superman puts on glasses and pretends to be Clark Kent, you do the math.

• Plus Clark still owes Bruce a Coke from last time Bruce found two little burn marks on his shorts.

• I think Supes is trying to avoid looking at Bats' junk. The Bat-Package is too much for Kal-El.

• well, we all know why batman is superior than superman: he "got busy" with robocop and catch a taxi. ahem. HE CAUGHT A FRIGGIN TAXI!!!

• grade? (I know nothing about comics...they're graded?)

• Wow and they were both the same grade. When i first read the story i figured the action comics was like a 5.0 or something, but both were 8.0 s GG Batman

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