I know he has the potential to be, but is he really smarter.
Superman
Character » Superman appears in 18886 issues.
Sent to Earth as an infant from the dying planet Krypton, Kal-El was adopted by the loving Kent family and raised in America's heartland as Clark Kent. Using his immense solar-fueled powers, he became Superman to defend mankind against all manner of threats while championing truth, justice, and the American way!
Is Superman smarter than Batman?
He is, Batman is just a better detective. It would take Supes no time at all to be as good or better a detective. He just hasn't bothered to work on those skills.
" He is, Batman is just a better detective. It would take Supes no time at all to be as good or better a detective. He just hasn't bothered to work on those skills. "
" He is, Batman is just a better detective. It would take Supes no time at all to be as good or better a detective. He just hasn't bothered to work on those skills. "Nah, I don't think so. He's better in the same ways a computer is better than a human brain. Logistics, math, and so forth. There's a lot more to being a detective than that. Bats has him beat on people skill any day of the week.
I agree, but as I said, if Supes decided to work in that area of expertise, it would take him no time at all to surpas Bats.
I think Superman has more potential to be, for obvious super-powered "cheating" reasons, but fails...which only heightens Batman's abilities as he's merely human, at an extreme disadvantage, and is yet superior to meta's in numerous ways. Superman has X-Ray vision and he still fails to be as great a detective as Batman. That speaks volumes! Batman is the more intelligent IMO, not to say Clark is some moron, but who is more intelligent than Bruce? They're out there, but few and far between.
Superman is easily smarter than Batman, and can easily be a better detective then him.
Superman spends his free time clobbering huge threats, and then what little free time he has left he spends solving mind boggling problems.
Read "All Star: Superman." I'm not sure if its cannon or not, but thats basically Superman.
It's actually quite hard to pull them apart. We've seen that they are both knowledgeable in various sciences, they're both investigators and detectives and they're both tacticians. I'd say Superman is probably ahead as a scientist while Batman is obviously the greater detective (don't discount Superman's skills there though, his powers mean that he doesn't need a utility belt with equipment to do the job but he still needs to know what to look for). Tactically, Batman appears to have an edge, but his cynical and stubborn nature can have him discounting options and allies that Superman's trusting nature doesn't. That looks like a tie, so there you have it.
I think Superman is smarter but because Batman is "only" human he has to constantly keep his brain running at 100% percent to stay on the level of his fellow super-humans. Superman however is so incredibly enhanced that he only uses his brains when he needs to. In the words of Michael Kelso it's, like a super secret jet pack." Whip it out when you need it but don't always use it.
Superman may have a photographic memory ETC ETC but Batman probably has the greatest creative thinking mind in the DC universe.
The difference I see between Superman's and Batman's mind is like the difference between Captain Kirk and Spock in the new Star Trek Movie......Batman being Captain Kirk
I don't think its really about who is smarter.....since nobody really knows what intelligence is yet.
Honestly I would say they are fairly equal but Batman does have an edge. Never having super powers and being driven from a very young age Bruce has applied himself more. He is a better detective and a better strategist, he definitely takes the long view of things. Now Clark was raised in a modest home and was encouraged to never really stand out much for fear he would be taken away and experimented on or turned into a weapon. Having incredible super powers as he does Superman tends to rely more on his powers than his brain, thats not to say he is stupid because he most certainly is not.
Actually, before reading any of the comments her I was like: "Hell no!" but every body has a point. Even so, Batman has been training his brain for years, while the advantage Superman has is, of course, his heightened senses and super-speed which he can use to think and go to different scenarios in a second, just like Flash, which, by the way isn't even smarter than Batman (Barry Allen). Batman has prepared for almost any possible scenario including psychological assaults, he can be paranoid at times, but that's what makes him the best of all.
Batman is probably the best strategist, thinker and detective the world has ever known.
They gave superman a superbrain power?!?
Yuck!
I hate that idea.
Isn't it enough that he's physically the most powerfull hero in the DCU? Couldn't they give him a brain he used like any one else?
All Star wasn't Cannon." Superman is easily smarter than Batman, and can easily be a better detective then him. Superman spends his free time clobbering huge threats, and then what little free time he has left he spends solving mind boggling problems. Read "All Star: Superman." I'm not sure if its cannon or not, but thats basically Superman. "
I sorta prefer to think of Supe's as being physically awsome and while certainly not stoopid I'd like to think he wasn't super inteligent.
I like the Smallville TV approach. He's sort of normal inteligence wise. He can study like a normal person and learn but he doesn't have a advanced brain.
Batman is usually written smarter than Supe's though.
@abedrak said:
" Actually, before reading any of the comments her I was like: "Hell no!" but every body has a point. Even so, Batman has been training his brain for years, while the advantage Superman has is, of course, his heightened senses and super-speed which he can use to think and go to different scenarios in a second, just like Flash, which, by the way isn't even smarter than Batman (Barry Allen). Batman has prepared for almost any possible scenario including psychological assaults, he can be paranoid at times, but that's what makes him the best of all. Batman is probably the best strategist, thinker and detective the world has ever known. "
Does the super speed extend to Supe's thinkin'?
That sounds kinda lame if it does :(
sorry to go digging up old news but I was just reading through this post and totally agree here. In Byrne's 86 Man of Steel he mentions Supes' super-fast cognitive process- which goes in line with the 'his mind is like a computer' sentiment here. Batman, on the other hand, is the tactician, the deductive reasoner, the 'street smarts,' as he is able to read people more truthfully than Superman. Interesting idea, seeing as how the Bat usually looks for ulterior motives and dishonesty and usually finds them...
well it all depends on what u consider smarts book smart and scientific smart illl give it to superman.......... street smarts and tech i give to bats i think that is fair to say
X-Ray vision. Telescopic/ Microscopic vision. Superhuman Vision. Super hearing. Ability to perceive the entire electro-magnetic spectrum and various other forms of energy. If theses powers don't say super detective, I don't know what does. He has a Superbrain too! I mean, come on.
" @Gambler: They gave superman a superbrain power?!? Yuck! I hate that idea. Isn't it enough that he's physically the most powerfull hero in the DCU? Couldn't they give him a brain he used like any one else? "@GreenLantern555 said:
" X-Ray vision. Telescopic/ Microscopic vision. Superhuman Vision. Super hearing. Ability to perceive the entire electro-magnetic spectrum and various other forms of energy. If theses powers don't say super detective, I don't know what does. He has a Superbrain too! I mean, come on. "
May I suggest you that you consider what would happen if a normal brain was controlling a body at such high speeds as he normally flies? And how could he manage all his super senses?
They had to gave him a super-fast brain to handle his superpowers. He's also a journalist, the type that investigates and writes. - And Clark is a pretty damn good writer. - Nothing super there, actually is just one more thing that makes him human
Also please take into consideration that the original concept of Superman it was to represent the best of a man, physically, morally and mentally (even though he's an alien!). If you ever get the chance to read Action Comics #1 you'll see that he had the intelligence much before they gave him the ability of flight!
But don't worry, tough, he's not the most intelligent character. He can deal with Alien technology, because he has access to - and who in DCU can't play with alien tech? He's not as creative and intelligent as Bruce Wayne and defiantly not genius-level like Hiro Okamura. He's just an above-average-Joe intelligent man, like many others, who just happens to be under a yellow star that grants him super-fast thinking as well.....
Still seems kinda lame he's super smart.
You don't need to be a scientist to be a journalist or a writer and other characters with similar powers to supe's get by on their own inteligence ratehr than a superbrain.
An approach such as the Smallville TV people use on their Clark seems reasonable to me.
Lame is 10 season in Smallville....- Sorry, sorry! I just don't like Smallville for so many reasons, but that's not the issue here. As a fan I like when they use his brain power. The issue seams that people still seam to see black and white, you're either nerdy smart or stupid strong. Siegel and Shuster saw beyond that, and aimed for the complete, the whole. As I said beforre Superman is not suppose to sad and a reminder of how bad and imperfect live is. Superman is inspiration." @Calvin: Still seems kinda lame he's super smart. You don't need to be a scientist to be a journalist or a writer and other characters with similar powers to supe's get by on their own inteligence ratehr than a superbrain. An approach such as the Smallville TV people use on their Clark seems reasonable to me. "
Anyway, it's only natural that some people don't like Superman as he always was, smart and strong. I mean I don't like Tony Stark and Hal Jordan, for instance. - Some people who like the "philosophy" and lifestyle of those characters like them, I like Superman has he was meant to be.
" @Gylan Thomas said:I'm not a Smallville fan.Lame is 10 season in Smallville....- Sorry, sorry! I just don't like Smallville for so many reasons, but that's not the issue here. As a fan I like when they use his brain power. The issue seams that people still seam to see black and white, you're either nerdy smart or stupid strong. Siegel and Shuster saw beyond that, and aimed for the complete, the whole. As I said beforre Superman is not suppose to sad and a reminder of how bad and imperfect live is. Superman is inspiration. Anyway, it's only natural that some people don't like Superman as he always was, smart and strong. I mean I don't like Tony Stark and Hal Jordan, for instance. - Some people who like the "philosophy" and lifestyle of those characters like them, I like Superman has he was meant to be. "" @Calvin: Still seems kinda lame he's super smart. You don't need to be a scientist to be a journalist or a writer and other characters with similar powers to supe's get by on their own inteligence ratehr than a superbrain. An approach such as the Smallville TV people use on their Clark seems reasonable to me. "
Siegal and Shuster were working in a much more simple time.
I'm more into story than inspiration and such. I'm not sayin I want a dumb powerhouse. I jsut don't want a character who's got everything. That's when he get'sboring.
I want to read a Superman who's smart but human.
If you haven't read "It's Superman!" by Tom Dehaven you should.
Best Superman story I've read in a long time and best representation of supes.
" That's when he get'sboring. I want to read a Superman who's smart but human. If you haven't read "It's Superman!" by Tom Dehaven you should. Best Superman story I've read in a long time and best representation of supes. "
I'm saying I don't find boring the stories where he is intelligent. Superman: For Tomorrow explores a unique side of Superman that simply wouldn't make sense if he didn't learned to use his father's kryptonian technology! I also loved All Star Superman. He also has to fight Brainiac and Lex Luthor, he hangs out with Batman and Steel, and they are all higher intellects than him! It's not like he's the most genius person that ever lived! - But this is subjective, you most definably can still find him boring.... I just don't want people changing Superman in that direction
I'll most definably try to check "It's Superman", though!
I'm not saying he is currently boring. If they made hi ma real big brain though then I'd not want to read the stories.
Didn't like All Star though. Too fantastical for my tastes. Silly bits too. I like my stories kind of grounded.
" Didn't like All Star though. Too fantastical for my tastes. Silly bits too. I like my stories kind of grounded. "I think I see what you mean, I'm usually into hard science-fiction and I don't have a magical taste. But All Star tells us how Superman became Superman One Million. I loved it.
Hmm....
Superman one million's not really my kinda thing either.
Wasn't All Star out of continuity too?
he has the potential but if that was suppose to happen it would take away from batman the writers hold back on that for better story telling they are times when you can see where he could be case an point the fortress of solitude he has many different weapons tech animals an species which he has study them all plus unlike flash when he speed reads he keep it plus he can exam something with his eyes an know the technology or what it is made off its dc way of just keeping it down for example as powerful as how superman how many times have you see him training compare to batman that is the thing batman know his full potential superman does not
The guy who compared Superman and Batman's intelligence to Kirk and Spock in the new Star Trek movie is correct.
Superman never forgets anything he sees, hears or learns. He's a genius, but because he's already the strongest of them all he doesn't use his intelligence in combat. he graduated at the top of his class at Smallville, he only needed 2 years to earn his BA in journalism and he is the best reporter at the Daily Planet. Lois Lane gets more recognition because she usually gets the scoops involving Superman.
Batman is extremely smart, he's not smarter than Superman, but he is a better tactician. He has a more creative mind, and better at risk assesment.
Yes it was out of continuity, and I can't say if One Million can be considered to be inside of continuity either."Hmm.... Superman one million's not really my kinda thing either. Wasn't All Star out of continuity too? "
However, from what I can gather in topic discustions other fans, other than just myself, picture the Prime One Million to be Superman's future and Kal-Kent to be his legacy. Even though it was on another continuity it's clear that the story link "Today" Superman with "Prime One Million" Superman. Basically All Star tell us how Superman came from Blue&Red to Yellow and all Shiny!
Some of you already touched on the idea of the effects of a yellow sun. I don't know if this explanation has evolved over the years. The premise as I recall was that because Krypton was under a red sun, it would endow its natives with super abilities. The earlier stories didn't analyse it too much, but later explanations suggesed that a dense red sun also meant that Krypton was a dense planet. This would require Superman to be biologically better developed, in order to handle the excessive gravity. When Superman entered the lighter gravity on planet earth, he would have the ability to fly and also super strength, due to having denser muscle development. i'm not so sure we can use the same explanation for super intelligence, How would a less dense yellow sun give any advantage toward the way his mind functioned? I would guess that if he did have high intelligence it should be explained by normal development, or maybe superman had a super Kryptonian archive of scientific knowledge. In this sense he could be smarter than Batman. However, if Superman's mind had to develop normally, I would say Batman had more opportunities to develop his mental skills of deduction.
If Superman was smarter than Batman why keep Batman on the Justice League that is what makes Batman great.
It is like comparing Oranges and apples Clark will never have Bruce's knowledge of detective skills tactics and general over all trivia knowledge master. But Kryptonians do have a superior Brain than Earthlings and Clark comes from the smartest Kryptonians ever. They trained his brain from birth in the ship and gave him things to study and master in the fortress of solitude. He is very intelligence but his intelligence runs more on a primary text book standard. Bruce still has surpased him with the tech he has made and equations he has come up with by himself. But Clark's brain is like amillion super computers in one while Bruce is still just an above genious Brain. But I would still say Bruce will always be able to outsmart and out think Clark.
Superman only exceeds Batman in rote memory (raw data) and arithmetic calculation. In terms of intuition, knowledge (not raw data), pattern solving, analysis, and psychological insight, he is vastly outmatched by Batman. Almost every author that has covered these characters has tried to make this clear to readers. The fact that Superman has access to alien technology and history does not make him smarter than Batman anymore than if he found a newspaper from the future and used it to bet on horse races.
Believe it or not, the real life Kim Peek had information processing capabilities very similar to the fictional Superman (though unlike Superman, he was deficient other cognitive areas). He had an IQ of about 87. Intuition and pattern solving play a greater role in intelligence than calculating arithmetic and rote memorization. Superman could read volumes of information faster than Batman, but his comprehension and ability to notice patterns in that information is not on the same level. The two of them working together have a very unfair advantage as Superman can make inhumanly accurate observations and Batman can draw conclusions from those observations. They would be banned from any casino in the world. LOL.
For example, in the "Son of Krypton" storyline Clark Kent explains that Lex Luthor (a human, like Bruce Wayne) IS more intelligent, even though Clark Kent can process information faster due to his alien mind. Clark acknowledges that he lacks the creativity, discipline, and focus of Luthor. He was clearly in awe of Luthor's intellect, though he was appalled at Luthor's lack of conscience.
According to most authors, Superman is brilliant, but he is not on Batman's level.
both Superman and Batman are just as intelligent as the author needs them to be at a given point in the plot line. that said, I agree with the analysis above that a high-speed brain is necessary for controlling his flight, focusing his super-hearing, etc. however, it does not need to be that all parts of his brain are as high-speed as the ones controlling the superpowers.
I don't know whether either of them would score higher on an IQ test, but regardless of that they each would have an advantage over the other in certain situations because they think differently. Batman will always be more perceptive when there's a conspiracy involved because Superman isn't devious. Superman will always have a more appropriate response to the average person on the street because his thinking was so influenced by the Kents.
Superman is [positive attribute] more than [other people]. It's not consistently portrayed that way, but I take Kryptonians to be vastly superior on all levels to even the greatest human being. Silver Age Superboy/-man is consistently depicted as a scientific genius and all-around wunderkind, who possessed infinite willpower (better than any Lantern), and was an example of eugenic perfection of a transhuman species (see Elliot S. Maggin comics, especially).
The Ubermensch line has some support in New 52, with their genepairing and super-model Krypton.
Batman is his own thing and, really, they two don't quite fit in the same Universe. Or genre.
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