Batman in Action: 6 Battles That Didn’t Break the Bat

Batman has a battle plan for absolutely every hero or villain he meets. While he spends most of his focus on his own rogues gallery, he has even made plans to take down every single member of the Justice League. In fact, he’s so eager and prepared to fight, that he has a contingency plan for himself! There is no one as prepared for battle as Batman.

While Batman has fought countless foes, here are just a few of our favorite battles, immortalized in collectible diorama statues.

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Batman vs. Superman

The Batman vs. Superman Diorama shows the two founding members of the Justice League battling in Superman’s Fortress of Solitude. The diorama shows the two founding members of the Justice League engaging in battle. Just like always, the tension is palpable. Even with their muscles rippling, there is control in each movement. Focus in each powered punch.

In a breathtaking opening of Batman: Hush, Superman is under the control of Poison Ivy. She used a hypnotic plant and a kiss to turn Superman against the Bat. It’s a good thing that Batman is always prepared. He grabs a kryptonite ring from his utility belt, and exchanges blows with the poisoned Man of Steel. Back and forth they go, as the weakening Kryptonian manages to pummel The Dark Knight through different terrains.

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Batman vs. Killer Croc

Killer Croc was born as Waylon Jones. Waylon was just a normal boy who one day learned that he had a terrible skin condition called epidermolytic hyperkeratosis, which slowly but surely turned his skin into the skin of a crocodile. Despite his best efforts to wash himself clean of his scales, nothing could stop the claws, or the teeth, or the eyes that came with his condition. Eventually, he turned into the violent, sewer-scavenging Killer Croc. And more than once, Batman has had to defeat him.

The Batman VS Killer Croc Statue shows the Dark Knight in the darkness of the sewer as he grapples the vile Killer Croc. Eager to stop his murderous rampage, the Bat has learned all of Croc’s weakness and soft spots. Due to the progressive nature of Waylon’s disease, he continues to become more and more like a crocodile, constantly making him more and more difficult to defeat. And yet, Batman always has a trick up his sleeve, or a gadget in his utility belt.

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Batman vs. Deathstroke

Slade Wilson, or Deathstroke, is a genetically enhanced assassin and a brilliant military strategist, able to out-strategize even Batman himself on some occasions. Not only that, but he has trained in just as many martial arts as Bruce Wayne, on top of his highly enhanced physiology. He has the ability to regenerate at rapid rates and quickly recover from otherwise fatal damage. What differentiates his expertise and fighting style from Batman’s is that Deathstroke uses swords and guns constantly.

In the Batman VS Deathstroke Statue, caught in the middle of a violent duel, Deathstroke and Batman stand atop a gargoyled roof in Gotham. Slade Wilson gets ready to swipe his sword as Batman prepares three batarangs like claws between his fingers. They prepare to leap off and fight through the city of Gotham, each maneuvering from building to building, brushing against death but carefully avoiding it.

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Batman vs. Superman (Again!)

One of the most iconic battles of all time was in Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, one of the original Batman VS Superman storylines. This Batman VS Superman Diorama captures just one part of their cataclysmic clash. Superman is impossibly powerful, with seemingly no upper limit to his strength, and he even has the ability to gain new abilities depending on his exposure to the yellow sun. So what limits Superman? His compassion and his faith in humanity.

When Batman refuses to be stopped by President Reagan’s policies, Reagan sends in America’s sweetheart Superman to do the dirty work and stop that old Bat once and for all. What he doesn’t expect is just how prepared Batman is. Sure, the kryptonite gun is a nice touch, and the super-powered armor means that Batman can really throw a punch. But Superman just turns it up a notch and beats Batman to a pulp. Only with the help from a one-armed Green Arrow does Batman truly catch Superman off guard, so that Batman can fake his own death.

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Batman vs. The Joker

Which fights could be more iconic than the two shared by the ever-entangled Batman and The Joker? They battle as if Gotham were a gala, and Batman and The Joker were two dancers circling each other, waiting for the other to move. No opponent so sinister, no villain so hateful. Only The Joker can dive deep into the tumultuous mind of Bruce Wayne, and pull out endless rage and violence. Only The Joker truly understands The Bat.

And so, in the Batman VS The Joker Sixth Scale Diorama, we see the two in a classic match up. They stand atop the city streets, as The Joker’s chattering teeth explode, only causing further chaos. Their battle is one to behold as The Joker lunges towards Batman with a crowbar and a dagger, eager to carve a smile into his dreary expression.

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Batman vs. Harley Quinn

The Batman VS Harley Quinn Battle Statue shows a battle between Batman and Harley Quinn, with hyenas Lou and Bud tagging along. They bite at Batman’s heels as they ride on a dangerous cart in The Joker’s carnival. They pass above a wild array of explosives, while Batman prepares to capture Harley and turn her in once and for all.

Batman and Harley’s relationship is quite the roller coaster. She’s been his arch nemesis, and she’s even gone on a date with him! Through the years, Batman has had to stop Harley’s hysterics from getting in his way. She is often the barrier between The Joker and jail time. It is only with her obsessive love that The Joker has escaped so many times. And so, she’s just as guilty as the Clown Prince of Crime himself.

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What’s your favorite Batman battle? Let us know in the comments, and don’t forget to Let Your Geek Sideshow!