Just as a matter of record, lets actually mark up all the times that Batman and Superman have fought and how that turned out. This isn't about who would have won, it's about who did win, and what were the circumstances of that victory.
UPDATE:
Current Total:
Batman 3
Superman 8
Ties 1
Winner: Superman
Winner: Superman
Winner: Superman, but jesus christ Alfred...
Winner: Superman
Two fights, both in Superman's favor.
Two fights, One for Batman, one tie.
We have The Dark Knight Returns.
Winner:
THey had a rematch in THe Dark Knight Strikes again, but I haven't read that, so I'm sure someone else could fill that part in.
Hush:
Winner:
Endgame:
Winner:
The Dark Knight:
Winner:
I know there are a ton more, so lets hear them.
One thing I'd like to mention, because I am partially doing this as a demonstration against people who insist that Batman has no chance. With all due respect, they are missing the point. Batman has a chance because it's not about trying to outmuscle or even outsmart the other. It's also their situation and, more importantly, their characters. You'll notice that Batman and Superman rarely have an actual reason to go all out against each other. The only thing that makes them fight is often if they are not in control of themselves. And when they go into fights, it's not a fair fight. There is no ring boundaries or rules they have to abide by. A real fight between them is often impossible because for the most part, they don't have anything to fight about, really fight about, so when they throw down, they usually don't commit to the most effective tactics either of them have and they don't play by any real 'rules'. So, the point is, it's not inevitable that superman would win, because what the fight actually is depends on the situation at hand. In other words, it's about the story, not the physics. You don't get many stories that end with "And then the dragon ate the brave knight, because seriously, what can a human do against a goddamn dragon". Which is true to life. You can always exploit a more powerful being in some way or another, it's just a matter of will you. As Neil Gaiman put it, “Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”
UPDATE:
Current Total:
Batman 3
Superman 8
Ties 1
Winner: Superman
Winner: Superman
Winner: Superman, but jesus christ Alfred...
Winner: Superman
Two fights, both in Superman's favor.
Two fights, One for Batman, one tie.
We have The Dark Knight Returns.
Despite being the most famous of all the Batman-Superman fights, it's not one where either party gave it their all. Superman let Batman prepare himself when he could have stopped him early. Superman was weakened by having take a point blank nuke earlier. And Superman actually wasn't trying to kill Batman. He was giving him lovetaps as he tried to talk him down peacefully. Meanwhile, Batman wasn't actually giving it his all and was paying the fight lip service to distract him while Green Arrow set up the shot. Once he did, that's when Batman could have won...but he didn't. He specifically says that he could have made it a stronger strain, but he didn't want to kill him, just prove a point. At which point he had that heart attack, that he himself devised as a cover.
Winner:
Technically, it's Superman. In practice, neither of them because neither of them were really fighting. Or maybe both of them can be considered the winners because they both got what they wanted, but it's a rigged fight either way. Batman was basically just stalling until he could intentionally throw the fight while Superman never made it a point to overpower Batman when he could have.
THey had a rematch in THe Dark Knight Strikes again, but I haven't read that, so I'm sure someone else could fill that part in.
Hush:
Superman is under the mind control of poison Ivy and trying to kill Bats. Batman spends the fight partly prepared (apparently, he always carries a kryptonite ring), partly improvising (him electrocuting Supes with the cities electrical power grid was pretty cool) but Superman is slowly overpowering each of his schemes. Batman would have lost if he had not told Catwoman to threaten Lois, which broke Ivy's mind control. Batman mentioned how Superman was fighting from the inside and holding himself back as much as possible.
Winner:
Batman, but one could say he cheated by having an external player, catwoman, to bring an external influence into their fight, lois. Depends on if you consider Catwoman an asset in his fight or an independent ally. Still, he wasn't truly fighting Superman since he wasn't himself and nerfed both his intelligence and strength.
Endgame:
Superman is under mind control again (Well, the whole Justice League is), this time by the Joker, and Batman has to take on each of them. However, he's Batman, and he's on home turf, so he has a plan ready. He evacuates the whole city and gets into a mech suit. It's enough to beat most of the JL, but then Supes comes in. Bat's mech has enough devices in it to hold him off for a time, but eventually he shreds it. When holding Batman high into the air, Batman spits a kryptonite compound into his eye, which disempowers him and causes him to fly down.
Winner:
Batman it seems, but he hated it the whole time. And it's unknown what actually ended the fight, really. It ended with him spitting the kryptonite, them falling into the water, and the next scene is Batman trying to figure out what Joker is up to with the league in hospital beds. For all we know, that fall could have knocked both of them out and they were rescued by police or something, in which case I'd consider it a tie.
However, one should note that while Batman comments how Superman held back from the mind control from the inside in Hush, Batman comments here how the Joker effect here means that Supes is going all out.
However, one should note that while Batman comments how Superman held back from the mind control from the inside in Hush, Batman comments here how the Joker effect here means that Supes is going all out.
The Dark Knight:
There was a very small fight in the heavily disliked first run of "The Dark Knight" in the new 52. Batman had been put under Scarecrows fear gas and started fighting Superman when he showed up to fight. And I mean plain old fisticuffs, no wily schemes here. Somehow, Batman punched him hard enough to make him bleed. Superman pushed him off, sending him flying to the ground, where he crashed into some shed or something and was knocked out.
Winner:
Superman. Honestly, the worst injury either of them suffered was the wound to their dignity. I'm actually all for a fight where Batman has to hold Supes off without relying on kryptonite, but this is just dumb. But they fought, so it's part of this list.
I know there are a ton more, so lets hear them.
One thing I'd like to mention, because I am partially doing this as a demonstration against people who insist that Batman has no chance. With all due respect, they are missing the point. Batman has a chance because it's not about trying to outmuscle or even outsmart the other. It's also their situation and, more importantly, their characters. You'll notice that Batman and Superman rarely have an actual reason to go all out against each other. The only thing that makes them fight is often if they are not in control of themselves. And when they go into fights, it's not a fair fight. There is no ring boundaries or rules they have to abide by. A real fight between them is often impossible because for the most part, they don't have anything to fight about, really fight about, so when they throw down, they usually don't commit to the most effective tactics either of them have and they don't play by any real 'rules'. So, the point is, it's not inevitable that superman would win, because what the fight actually is depends on the situation at hand. In other words, it's about the story, not the physics. You don't get many stories that end with "And then the dragon ate the brave knight, because seriously, what can a human do against a goddamn dragon". Which is true to life. You can always exploit a more powerful being in some way or another, it's just a matter of will you. As Neil Gaiman put it, “Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”
