Does Batman Always Win? 2.0: Taskmaster vs. Batman

Batman is a great fighter, but against someone who can learn and counter those fighting skills in a matter of minutes he cannot win. Batman is a fantastic character, but I have to agree with @johnny_blaze: Thanks to the Nolan films giving him a new lease of life, Batman has become this over-estimated character who people assume would be able to defeat anyone for the simple reason that "he's Batman." But that's not true.

And that's not necessarily a bad thing either. It's good for a character to have weaknesses. I'm not saying Batman isn't great, but I think people need to calm down and realise that he - like everyone else - has a few flaws. Taskmaster would win with a library of weapons and fighting styles that easily rival that of Bruce. My vote is for Taskmaster.

@jaydarocknrolla:

This is not a Comic vine battle of the week this is Does Batman always win so they are different as this only focuses on batman. personally I prefer the battle of the week but these are good as well.

Batman.

Taskmaster may be able to copy every move in the book, still doesnt make him a better fighter. It's Batman's skills/instinct/ability that make him a better fighter.

I stopped being a Batman fan when he took a hit from a omega beam and survived.

What is Batman losing?. Taskmaster, come on comicvine...

Also,

The Taskmaster is Peter Parker's uncle.

Once a month, the 'CV Battle of the Week' will technically be the latest 'Does Batman Always Win?'

Does it bother anyone else that the majority of the sites staff are major Bat-fanboys?

Personally, I blame the writers for the way they use the Taskmaster. If he's souped up as the creators intended, then he should rank up their with the likes of Deathstroke, Cap'n America, Batman and Wolverine. And he should be feared just as well. When the Taskmasters name is mentioned, you're supposed to shiver in your fucking boots--Shake, Courage. Shake. Good dog--and run and hide or get some fucking back-up. Honestly, Taskmaster should be the Batman of the Marvel Universe. Honestly.

And why the hell is he scared of Deadpool!!?? I blame the writer's. How 'bout Deadpool secretly getting lessons from Taskmaster himself, huh? Or, or how 'bout Taskmaster is the only one who can go toe to toe with Deadpool on a mental level? I blame the writer's!!!!!

But in my mind, Taskmaster wins with a just by a hairs breath barely. I could break this down even further but I'm tired of typing....hahaha

i say it will be a tie

BATMAN WILL KICK TASKMASTER´S CROTCH

Taskmaster's ability to copy moves seems to give him the upper hand, but remember he can't copy what he can't see. The fight is in a standard city setting, which generally aids Batman's stealth. Being the master detective he is, it wouldn't take long for Bruce to recognize his own moves being used back at him, and deduce Taskmaster's ability. From there he could utilize a number of gadgets, smoke pellets, sonics, and explosives to cover his movements and take Taskmaster down.

It was the Omega Effect, and Darkseid never intended for it to kill Batman immediately upon impact. Its whole purpose was to send him on a "time trip" leading up to the future where the stored up Omega Energy was supposed to destroy everything.

I am sorry that you stopped being a Batman fan over something you simply misunderstood.

What gave you that impression?

Really why does everyone just complain about batman? Jealousy.

Ummmm don't be sorry for me. It bound to happen sooner or later, Batman always had bullshit feats. The Batman purists killed it for me too.

There was a villain of Batman's that has been mostly forgotten that had skills like Taskmaster. I can't remember the name but it was shortly before Hush when McDaniel was drawing.

Who is the most similar character in DC to Taskmaster?

Prometheus, right?

Zeiss.

taskmaster is more than a match for batman, but batman will barely win

"If you vote for Batman you're a fanboy," what type of logic is this?

Preface - I'm no where near as familiar with Taskmaster as I am Batman so my opinion is biased. However I can't find any info that suggests he's on a level with Batman in terms of strategy and intellect. As others have said, Batman has taken on a villain like this before in Prometheus. Initially defeated, once he realised what he was up against he over-came it - typical of Batman. Since Taskmaster is likely to brag his ass off early in the fight, I would suggest Batman is capable of over-coming him also, especially given his array of toys and gadgets. It's not always about brawn (as many Batfans point in against Superman) - his fighting ability would stalemate the thing. In this instance it's brains, and from what I have seen Batman has got him beat hands down.

@luster77: Deadpool worked out that Taskmaster can't predict his moves if he incorporates dancing into his fighting style, that and he is completely unpredictable(due to him being a little crazy) gave him the edge he needed to wipe the floor with Taskmaster.

What I wanted to say. They're both very good fighters. So it's now a matter of strategy. And from what I've seen Taskmaster is far behind our Batsie.

So at the beginning Batman would have his ass kicked a little, and when he realizes that TM copies the style of fight, Batman would come up with a little something that will give him a way to overcome his opponent.

Batman has this one.

@johnny_blaze: I agree with the lamentation, but I think this is a close call, so some people may lean toward any of the two and still be right.

Taskmaster by a slim margin.

As for future battles.

The darkness Vs Magik

Martin Manhunter Vs Jean grey(no phoenix)

I had more but they seem to have slipped my mind a the moment.

Batman wins because Taskmaster is a villain. Villains never win:P

@citizenbane: Oh please that moment in MK vol 3 was ridiculous PIS meant to make Moon Knight look good that wasn't even a real fight.

How can you guys just write taskmasters martial arts skills off, yes batman is supposed to have learned every martial art but that doesn't give him an edge over someone like taskmaster. A character who has an encyclopedic knowledge of skills and methods you guys seem to be forgetting that TM runs a supervillian training program how do you think he can train others without having extensive knowledge and because of his powers perfect form every single time.

Written correctly, Taskmaster takes this. He fought two Captain Americas simultaneously, and one Cap was enough to stalemate Bats.

Honestly, as awesome as seeing this guys square off would be. and as close as the margin of victory would be, I think under the circumstances given, this is Taskmaster's fight to loose.

I think physicals between the two are too close to call, so we probably need to look at skill first. Now while both fighters perform at a level where it's very hard to definitively say one is more skilled than they other, I think despite all the styles Batman has mastered, Tasky still has a much deeper 'toolbox' of Hand to Hand techniques he can call than Bats does so I'd give him an edge in straight up slug fests.

Now gadgets, Batman always has a few equalizers up his sleeve to give him an edge against those rare few opponents that might actually be better, stronger or faster than him. But I have always understood Taskmasters 'Standard' armaments to include his sword, his shield, a high powered side arm, and a bow with duplicates of most of Hawkeye's trick arrows. The trick arrows I think are likely to be roughly equal to any little gadgets Bats has in his utility belt, and he comes to the fight with some straight up weapons as well, so I think Tasky has the edge in Gadgets.

Batman's clear edge comes in intelligence, tactics and just sheer will to win. Tasky's no slouch int his arena, but I think he probably relies on his natural abilities just a bit too much, and if anyone is going to find a sneaky or clever way to win, or just be too stubborn to loose that it's batman. That said, that's still essentially one advantage in Bats favor and two in Tasky's favor. I think Batman can keep this fight close, but all things being equal I think Taskmaster should take this by a narrow margin.

Taskmaster 5.5/10

Thanks boss

ouch hatin on Freeze.

But true lol

Batman 6.5/10

I think Batman will have a slight edge over him.

@hart7668: Another thing to keep in mind though is that Taskmaster's photocopy ability also causes him to forget things so it might be possible for him to forget some of the moves he once knew. However, if I'm wrong about this please correct me.

@kaiklown: yes

PHYSICALS: Taskmaster has photographic reflexes, can almost anticipate an opponent's moves if he has studied/fought them, and can react at about twice the speed of normal people. However, physically TM is no more than a very athletic person for his size and build. Batman has trained himself to the pinnacle of his own physical potential (balancing strength, stamina, speed, and dexterity). He is Olympic level in any event but might not win any single event either (there are stronger, faster, more dexterous, more enduring individuals but no one can compete at Bat's level in any other two or three areas).

SKILLS: They are each very dangerous combatants mid to close range. I would argue equal. Bats has a wider knowledge base than TM and this could definitely come into play (it usually does anyway). If there is and edge I have to give it to the guy with understanding of his actions not the mimic (which IMHO is how TM should always be set-up/written against his opponents- blind unearned ability vs. understanding and ability).

GEAR: I think the gear is equal enough. Although, TM's gear is, barring trick arrows, rather rudimentary; this can be a benefit in that these are tools that allow a wide range of options. Further, TM uses his tools with expert precision if not understanding. The trick arrows (and the .45's) might be equal to any offensive capability Bats has. Arguably, they each have near equal levels of protection/armor. Bats has the best tech and the best time tested gear for his purposes- snooping, beating up the other guy, and getting out of the occasional jam (god knows what might get pulled out of the utility belt).

MENTAL: There is the whole mental aspect of the characters too and everyone here should be able to admit that Bats just wants 'IT' more than nearly anyone else. I doubt seriously if there is a character that just wants to succeed more than Bats he leaves it all out there. TM ehh... not so much.

If the skills and gear are equal; then, the person with the greater physicals and mental desire to win should win. That person is Bats (actually, I think he wins purely on the physicals and doesn't have to reach down too far for this one), but TM should take this on occasion. 9/10 in Bats favour.

This. Taskmaster should beat Batman 10/10 times... but that's "should." in a comic Batman is gonna win more times than not--cuz he's Batman!

batman defeated a god.. taskmaster is a walk in a park compared to darksied

Random encounter and no prep for Batman Taskmaster takes this.

On paper? Ugh... I hate this argument in comic book forums. To say "on paper" means almost exactly nothing when entering into a debate about fictional characters that are part of a fictional story located on a fictional world.

If it "was in a comic"? Of course it would be! These are comic book characters we are talking about. Do you expect them to come to life and fight it out for us in the real world or something?

Comic book characters are exactly that, and if you cannot accept that a fictional comic book character like Batman often defeats his opponents through a fantastic turn of events, then why read comics at all. Comics are ABOUT the fantastic.

"On paper" (i.e. logically/realistically) neither Batman or Taskmaster would even exist. :)

@i_like_swords: if anyone is PATHETIC out of the two of us it's you with just under 3 THOUSAND posts, Christ dude get a life off ur computer/phone. And if you want my real reason I picked Bats its bcuz batman has beaten AMAZO who has the ability to copy abilities AND powers. So since I'd say even AMAZO beats Taskmaster, Batman wins

@mkukie68: Running out of arguments huh? I agree that Batman wins, but both ideas in your post are dumb.

@alkusanagi: batman knows a 147 martial arts

Facepalm.

Why "should" Taskmaster win? his feats are dismal and it's not like he's a dumb monster or cosmic entity in which case being prone to bad showings is understandable.

Even ignoring Moon Knight he's lost to Deadpool,hell ignore him as well but what about Mr X? what about Elektra? or Daredevil? Echo also comes to mind.

Going by showings alone Batman obliterates him,btw Batman and Taskmaster dont exist in the same universe so you'll never get the scenario that you mentioned in your post,it's not even plausible.

To those so-called Batman fans...Not happening. I won't even go into detail on the Taskmaster because many posting of him sides with him. Batman can't beat someone who not only copies fighting skills...but can recall them very very fast. Only thing Bat-fracking freak has is his toys. Anything else, it's watching Taskmaster having lunch while Batman getting his pan can handed to him.

P.S: for the guy who posted the Moon Knight fight with Taskmaster also fail to realized that Moony's fighting styles drive Taskmaster crazy because Moony will take a punch, a arrow and even an dang bullet. And between Deadpool and Moony...Moony is completely nuttier than bag of nuts. Lol. Who knows what personality will emerge with him?

Long stony story short: Taskmaster done with Batfreak within a good hour plus he will be enjoying a nice ham and cheese sandwich afterwards.

How skilled can Taskmaster really be if he gets beaten every time someone fights in an unpredictable way? Like I said, Batman could start off with his own fighting stye, then rapidly transition to some obscure one.