Even as Batman fight to save Gotham, Superman couldn’t do much better. Batman has committed his life to waging war on crime in his city, a mission that seems even more futile the more he fights. But that doesn’t change the fact that he and his Bat-family have still proven themselves to be Gotham’s best line of defense against criminality – and not Superman.
In theory, Superman would be much more efficient than Batman in saving Gotham. With his level of power and strength alone, he can do what the entire Bat-Family can do combined, sweeping the streets faster. Unfortunately, helping Gotham and its citizens wouldn’t be so simple for the Man of Steel. Facing Gotham’s local villains requires a certain level of skill and mental resilience that Superman doesn’t possess. Not only that, but Gotham City would likely expose the downsides of his powers.
10
Gotham is bad for Superman’s X-ray vision
The architecture of Gotham’s buildings does Superman no favors
X-ray vision is one of Superman’s most underutilized powers, but it’s still effective and useful whenever it comes into play. Unfortunately, even Superman has to admit that these powers are useless in Gotham City. As established in his lore, the only thing Superman can’t see is lead, and all the buildings in Gotham are lined with lead.
If a Gotham villain wanted to escape the Man of Steel, commit a crime, or even have some kind of secret meeting, all they would have to do is find an abandoned building contaminated with lead, and Superman wouldn’t know. Villains can do whatever they want without being detected, as long as they coat every inch of the walls surrounding their crimes with lead.
9
The Joker would break Superman
He already did it Injustice
The Joker is without a doubt Gotham’s main villain. Otherwise, he’s certainly Batman’s most recurring foe, so if he and Superman swapped places in their respective cities, the Man of Steel would have to deal with the Clown Prince of Crime more regularly than the rest of the syndicate. Gotham crime. Unfortunately, the The Joker’s game is typically a mental one, in which Superman has famously failed on more than one occasion.
Batman has regularly been challenged on the Joker’s brutal mental level, and it no longer fazes him. But when the Joker challenges Superman’s morals and sensibilities, Clark Kent can’t stand his ground. Most infamously, in Injustice universe, the Joker breaks Superman to the point where Clark actually kills the Joker. However Injustice takes place on an alternate Earth, the Joker could easily have Superman enter the main universe – to the point that Superman admits he can’t beat the Joker.
8
Superman is very easy to control
Several Gothamites controlled him
In Batman: Endgame by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, the Joker forces Superman to attack the Dark Knight. He poisons the Justice League a month in advance with Joker Venom, sending an attack of Jokerized heroes in the Caped Crusader’s direction. The Joker isn’t the only villain who has controlled Superman, as Poison Ivy used her powers to mind control him during Tom King and Mikel Janín’s film. Batman run.
Gotham is full of villains who use their powers, abilities, and skills to influence and manipulate people. Even after the Joker and Poison Ivy, there are still Gotham villains out there, like Scarecrow and Hugo Strange, who Superman has yet to meet but would regularly encounter if he stayed in Gotham. It’s very easy for Superman to become an instrument of someone else’s evil.
7
Unlike Batman, Superman is not a detective
Clark Kent can’t handle mind games
Superman’s superintelligence is one of his greatest powers, but so is Batman’s. Batman’s famous nickname of the World’s Greatest Detective is not only a testament to his genius intellect, but how his mind works to catch criminals. The reason why Batman is so efficient at what he does in Gotham and why he can outsmart the villains is because he thinks like a villain. After all, Batman is the same man who keeps dossiers on how to defeat his best friends.
Gotham is full of villains who carry out incredibly elaborate plans every week, and Batman has turned into a machine to solve them. As smart as Superman is, he can’t match that, nor is he a genius chemist/hacker/escape artist. Clark Kent’s mind will never think like a villain to solve crimes, and while that’s perfect for his character, it’s a real weakness in Gotham.
6
Superman can’t handle magic, which is embodied in Gotham
One of its biggest weaknesses
Magic is an inherent weakness of Krypton, which means that Superman is vulnerable to one of the most common abilities in Gotham City. Gotham as a whole is full of magic users, often in the most unexpected places. Even someone like Solomon Grundy has the potential for magic.
Batman, on the other hand, knows the perfect way to defeat magical enemies. Of course, Batman will never master magic, but he at least knows techniques to defeat it when presented with a magic-using opponent. Meanwhile, Superman can’t get close to magic without risking weakening himself. He could never use it or fight it, and in a city overrun with varying levels of dark magic, this poses a bigger problem for anyone trying to save Gotham.
5
Superman cannot fully commit to Gotham City
Gotham needs a unique hero
Even though he has Metropolis as his home, Superman doesn’t always focus on saving his city. In truth, because he’s Superman, he can’t just focus on saving one part of the world – or the universe, for that matter. Superman isn’t exactly an urban hero; he’s more of an intergalactic savior. He’s more likely to launch into outer space to stop an alien invasion at any moment than to tangle with Metropolis’ villain of the week.
Luckily, he has a whole Superman family going out of their way to protect Metropolis, so he doesn’t have to do it 24/7, but Gotham needs all the help it can get, especially when it’s in much worse shape than Metropolis. Batman and his Bat-Family struggle to deal with Gotham when they do so exclusively, so Superman doing it on a part-time basis wouldn’t be enough.
4
Superman doesn’t like Gotham
And Batman does
Gotham is Batman’s home in a way that it isn’t for Superman – with an extra emphasis on the word “home.” Batman was raised in Gotham, still lives in Gotham, and for all intents and purposes loves Gotham. His investment in Gotham stems from a desire to strengthen a place he calls home in the literal sense of the word.
Superman doesn’t have the same attachment to Gotham. In fact, he doesn’t even like being in Gotham. He openly admits to Superman/Batman #53 by Michael Green, Mike Johnson, Rags Morales, John Dell, Nei Ruffino and Rob Leigh who “that’s it as if someone had built a nightmare out of metal and stone.“ For Batman, Gotham isn’t just a city he’s saving; he is saving it because it is his city. Superman couldn’t have the same drive or determination for a city he doesn’t like or care about.
3
Gotham’s villains attack when Superman is at his weakest
There’s no sunlight in Gotham – especially at night
Batman doesn’t just fight crime at night because of the bat trick; Gotham’s crime rates are always highest at night. Obviously, at night, this means everything is pitch black (and, probably because of immense pollution, as dark as humanly possible) without any chance of sunlight. Superman, of course, is more powerful in sunlight.
Alternatively, Superman is weaker in the dark. In the dark, he is more likely to use up his energy quickly without an energy source to replenish it. He’s a solar-powered hero who works better on the brightest days rather than the darkest nights. It would be completely difficult for him to defend himself against crime at a time when he is most vulnerable.
2
Superman doesn’t have the capital to truly save Gotham
Clark Kent is not Bruce Wayne
While Batman punching bad guys in the face after hours goes a long way, Gotham can’t be saved just by fighting supervillains. Batman being a billionaire under the hood goes a long way, and the road to saving Gotham would be much longer – harder even – if he weren’t Bruce Wayne. And not just in terms of money to finance his technology: Bruce often uses his capital to revitalize Gotham, rebuilding his community in the process.
Despite common fan criticism of Batman’s wealth accumulation, the comics often show how Bruce is constantly pumping money into Gotham, especially during the run of James Tynion IV and Jorge Jiménez. the Batman title. Clark Kent, despite having the physical capacity to defend Gotham, does not have the money to help the city progress in the necessary way.
1
Superman is simply too heroic for Gotham
No more Mr. Nice Guy
Gotham is not a place for nice guys like Superman. Batman, although one of the good guys, is not a good guy. Without ever crossing the line into killing people, Batman does bad things to bad people, inciting fear in Gotham. Fear is not your only modus operandi. Batman inspires hope in people, but he also inspires enough fear to stop criminals from committing crimes or to make people think twice about committing them.
Gotham has a seedy criminal underworld and a corrupt police force – which often responds to said criminal underworld. Batman’s method of “instilling fear” is important for this type of person and definitely gets the job done. Superman doesn’t operate on fear, and that will cost him a fight against a city that needs as many victories as possible. Superman cannot be fair and legal in a city that is unfair and illegal. Everything that Batman does to make Gotham a better place to live, Superman simply cannot offer.