NOTICE: This is a Recap page, so all spoilers will be left unmarked, per wiki policy. Read ahead only with caution! You Have Been Warned.
They're the guardians of the night, the superhuman saviors of the lone and helpless.
Bruce Wayne, the Batman. And Peter Parker, the Spider-Man.
Season one's twenty-first episode pits the world's most iconic superheroes against each other, a timeless battle of DC and Marvel. As an addendum, the hosts note both combatants can defeat anyone if given the time to prepare, but such a luxury is forbidden in this arena; thus, both men go in with only their standard equipment. In a battle of several dangerous gadgets versus a single versatile tool, a fighter helped by the night versus one who can counters it, Batman and Spider-Man live up to their legendary statuses using nothing but their most basic training and tools; after all, if they can use it to win any fight, then they can use it to win in a death battle.
Wizard and Boomstick open the episode with the lore behind Bruce Wayne; the Dark Knight, the Caped Crusader, the World's Greatest Detective, Batman. Bruce's origins begin when his parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne, were murdered in front of their son's eyes, spurring the child to begin a war against the criminal underworld. His travels took him across the world, where he learned countless martial arts, prowess in detective work, and escape artistry skills, which he has since put to good use in fighting the crime that plagues Gotham City, from its mundane hoodlums to the various colorful psychopaths within, all while moonlighting as the CEO of Wayne Enterprises.
It should come as no surprise that Gotham City's protector is no pushover with training as diverse as his. Though he may be a human, Bruce can press weights upwards of a ton, which makes him deadlier combined with his knowledge of over a hundred martial arts, all aided by his renowned agility. But the image of Batman would not be complete without his iconic black suit; his outfit, specifically designed to terrify his foes, has a vast array of features implemented into it, ranging from bladed gauntlets, fireproofing, bulletproofing, a gas filter, and even a system of electrodes, complete with the suit's cape granting him gliding capability. And rivaling the versatility of his suit, Wayne also brings with him a utility belt filled with various gadgets, such as a grappling hook and bolas, smokescreen and tear gas, and of course, his iconic batarangs. To top it all off, Batman's intelligence is just as much a tool as the supplies built into his attire. Using his detective training alone, the Dark Knight can memorize the smallest details, even following his enemy's actions and knowing how to use them in his favor.
But his mind and body, both at the peak of human ability, can only do so much against his weaknesses. Physically, Batman has nothing that can be exploited; the stability of an otherwise genius mind, however, leaves much to be desired. When faced with a man who witnessed his parents die right in front of him and spends his fortune fighting crime under the guise of a bat, it becomes easy to forget that Batman carries one of the DC universe's grandest legacies. A founder of the Justice League, Gotham City's single defender, Batman has made his mark the world over as a symbol, both of justice and of fear.
And with that, Wizard and Boomstick shift topics to Peter Parker; wall-crawler, Spidey, web-head, Spider-Man. With an origin almost as memorable as his foe, Peter Parker was but an ordinary high schooler who was bitten by a radioactive spider, granting him his iconic superhuman abilities, such as his strength and ability to cling to walls. The youth who would become Spider-Man used his new-found powers only for profit, a motive that would come back to haunt him when, after choosing to ignore a thief, the criminal later murders Peter's uncle Ben himself. This fateful moment in his life would lead Peter to accept using his powers for a greater purpose and take on the life of a superhero, thus beginning one of the most legendary sagas in all of comic books.
His main power is the ability to shoot webs which are strong enough to restrain the Hulk, but he also has superhuman stamina, durability (he has survived a grenade to the face and beatings from superpowered foes), speed (he can run up to 200 MPH), and reflexes, can crawl on walls, bench press 10 tons, has resistance to chemicals, and has Spider Sense, which acts as a warning signal against threats and gives him seemingly omnipresent awareness of his surroundings and is not affected by gases or toxins.
He has combined these powers to create a martial art known as Way of The Spider. However, he is not without weaknesses. First of all, he is not the most seasoned superhero, is not as durable as many combatants would like to be, his Spider Sense can be tricked, and is weak to ethyl chloride (a pesticide).
He once tried to join the Justice League, but was rejected by Batman. We can bet he would enjoy a chance to fight Batman in a fight to the death. Oh wait...
- Mary Jane Watson: Wait! Who are you?
Spider-Man: You know who I am
Mary Jane Watson: I do?
Spider-Man: Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man
After an ad from Audible.com, IT'S TIME FOR A DEATH BATTLE!
Spider-Man and Batman meet on the roof of a building, Batman silent and Spider-Man snarking.
- Spider-Man: You've got a black belt in stupid if you think you can beat me!
FIGHT!
Spider-Man shoots a few globs of webbing at Batman, but they are blocked. He reels Batman in with a string of webbing, and delivers a combo of blows that initially take Batman off guard before he counter attacks, landing a series of punches and kicks that knock Spider-Man several feet away.
Batman hurls a handful of Batarangs at his foe, but none of them hit. An explosive Batarang, however, knocks Spider-Man off his feet. Batman then uses a smoke pellet to impede Spider-Man's vision. Taking his chance, Batman goes in for a melee combo, throws a bola to restrain Spider-Man, and uses an explosive device to send him off the roof of the building they are fighting on. Spider-Man is able to recover and get a hold of the building, but Batman quickly swings into Spider-Man with his grapple gun, sending Spider-Man through a window into one of floors before quickly retreating to the shadows.
As Spider-Man recovers, Batman destroys the lighting in the room and tries to ambush his opponent, but Spider-Man catches him. The two exchange blows and Batman is almost throw out a window. Batman now uses his transponder to summon bats, but Spider-Man is unphased and charges straight at Batman, sending both of them out the window.
The two punch and kick each other as they fall, but Batman wins that part of the fight, landing on Spider-Man with the full weight of his body before leaping away as an explosive sends Spider-Man flying.
Spider-Man recovers and tries to hit Batman, but is shocked by the suit and hit several times by Batman, who then follows up with a barrage of Batarangs. Spider-Man uses his webs to sling back an explosive Batarang back at Batman, but he is unaffected as he used his cape to protect him.
However, Spider-Man begins shooting globs of webbing machinegun style at Batman, who finds himself unable to counter and is eventually restrained in a large spider web. Spider-Man then uses another web to slingshot himself at the restrained Batman, whose body is ripped in half as a result.
- Spider-Man: Sorry about that. (shoots web fluid and swings off) WEB SWING!
K.O.!
Though Batman was more skilled and was more knowledgeable, Spider-Man was stronger and faster. Though Batman may have been able to get around those advantages, the Spider Sense completely negates stealth and surprise, Batman's greatest weapons. The Way of The Spider matches any of Batman's martial arts, and he has experience in fighting gadget-centric foes (i.e. the Green Goblin).
It is also noted that many of Batman's greatest achievements have all required prep time and planning, which is absolutely banned in a Death Battle, and even if an exception were to be made, Spider-Man would get prep time too, and he is just as smart as Batman.
Batman vs. Spider-Man contains examples of:
- Bully Hunter: A connection between Spider-Man and Batman is that they are both heroes who stand up for the weak and helpless, and are willing to put their foot down should things go south, even if it's against their own teammates.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Downplayed. Whilst it wasn't necessarily an effortless victory for Spider-Man, he had the perfect combination of abilities to counter Batman's primary combat advantages, the experience to cope with Batman's arsenal of gadgets, and more raw power than Batman could handle once it became a hand-to-hand fight... which was inevitable when Batman couldn't hide and Spider-Man could use his webbing to catch him.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Both have endured life where they lose a love one and dedicated themselves to become warriors of justice since then.
- Excuse Plot: Batman and Spider-Man randomly come to blows after just coming across each other on a rooftop.
- Genius Bruiser: Both Bruce Wayne and Peter Parker are highly intelligent and are incredibly strong fighters.
- Good Versus Good: Both characters are among the noblest and bravest heroes in their respective universe and neither is depicted in an unsympathetic light.
- Honor Before Reason: Both have put their moral standards before their self-interests several times.
- Spider-Sense: This was Spider-Man's definitive advantage over Batman. With his ability to sense danger before it happened, Batman's greatest weapon — stealth — was useless, leaving a Badass Normal fighting a foe with Super-Strength, Super-Reflexes, martial arts training and mobility-impeding weaponry. In other words, Spider-Man pretty much outclassed Batman in every possible way.
- Taught by Experience: Its mentioned in the post fight analysis that Spider-Man’s Arch-Enemy, the Green Goblin, uses many of Batman’s tricks, meaning that there was very little the Caped Crusader could throw at Spidey that he hadn’t seen before.
