between superman and batman which one is the smartest?

Answer 1

Sorry...gotta say Batman here.

I mean, yes, the Silver Age Superman from the 1950s up to _Crisis on Infinite Earths_ pretty much *did* have the "knowledge of 17 galaxies" and was a flying supercomputer....but then again, that character was also pretty much this unstoppable *God* back then.

He was boring, and confusing, and there were too many *parallel earth* versions of him....so DC started what would be a *long* tradition of "changing everything" every few years so that they would have just ONE consistent continuity. And at the core of that continuity....One Superman, who had less power and mentally was "just one of the guys" or just a farm-boy from Kansas.

So....currently, it's Batman who is the "Brains" of the two, mainly because he's been changed the least from his original Golden Age concept. Batman is still a detective on a par with Sherlock Holmes, still has *no* super-powers (though it's been suspected that he might, just maybe, not ever need to sleep), and still gets the job done courtesy of *serious* training and *massive* bankroll. As in, according to the latest continuity change, Bruce Wayne (Batman) was richer than Lex Luthor--think Bill Gates caliber rich.

By contrast, Superman gets updated every few years, and even between updates, his reputation since _Crisis on Infinite Earths_, back in the 1980s, has been that he's more of a doer than a thinker, that he just *saves the day* to the best of his ability, and really doesn't pay a whole lot of attention to all that alien super-science he inheirited

Which is a luxury you can afford when you are Faster than a Speeding Bullet, More Powerful than a Locomotive, and can Leap Tall Buildings in a Single Bound.

By contrast, if *Batman* ever fails to think things through, or even just *forgets* 10 minutes of his life for *no apparent reason* (think _Identity Crisis_ folks), there is hell to pay, usually on a *global scale*.

Batman is smarter because he needs to be: Superman, not so much, because it's more interesting to write about someone *who screws up* than it is to work weaknesses to Kryptonite, Red Solar Radiation, and "magick" into every *last* story.

Answer 2

At one time in the past (as someone else pointed out) Superman used to be able to think faster than a computer and memorized the entire Metropolis library. (The 17 galaxies business only aplies to the movie Superman, not the comic book Superman, which is who I suppose you are asking about.)

But Superman still didn't have Batman's street-smarts. That only comes with having to outthink ones foes, and Superman rarely has had to do that.

Post Crisis, Superman has been depowered, and Batman and he are no longer quite so buddy-buddy as they once were. But even in the old days, Batman was able to create a mystery that would mystify Superman (he wanted to give him a birthday present, and what can you give Superman? So Batman came up with the idea of a puzzle that even Superman would find challenging.)

Check out Supermanthroughtheages, I'm pretty sure they have it in their on-line archive: The Super-Key to Fort Superman"

13 DEC 06, 2239 hrs, GMT.

Answer 3

Of course Batman is the smarter of the two. Someone mentioned that Superman was given all the knowledge of something or other galaxies... So what? A moron can buy a set of encyclopedias; resources don't matter. What does matter is that Batman is constantly doing detective work and researching his adverseries. Superman simply rushes into a fight and smashes things - which isn't necessarily a bad thing, since he can overpower pretty much anyone. Conversely, Batman has to devise strategies in order to best his foes. Batman wins in a battle of wits, hands down.

Answer 4

Batman

Answer 5

Batman

Answer 6

Batman

Answer 7

Batman hands down. Batman was just a normal guy warped by something that happened in the past. Superman was just, well, super. He didn't have to figure out a way to fly, or dodge badguys, or even travel. Batman did all those things and is still uber awesome.

Answer 8

Well if you wqant to get into it then you would have to determine what exactly do you mean smartest? if you are talking about great detective skills, technological know-how and innovation, martial arts, and good business then you would have to go with batman.
if you want to talk about galactic knowledge, the ability to use a huge percentage of the brain then you would have to say superman. but of the two which is smarter is hard to say depends on what exactly we would be talking about. see batman is a very intelligent human being that always strives to push himself to the limits of physical and mental endurance where as superman does not need to push himself to the same limits he has learned what he needs for given situations he isnt the worlds greatest detective that honor falls to batman. now as far as the fact that some would say that batman has people to create gadgets and toys for him you have to say yes he does and he is smart enough to find the people that can help in his never ending quest to eliminate the suffering of victims of crime by eliminating crime, where as superman takes more of a passive approach to fighting for truth justice and the american way superman doesnt go undercover and prevent crimes he reacts to crimes and criminals. my honest opinion is and always will be that batman is still the greatest superhero

Answer 9

Batman.

Answer 10

Batman is smarter because Superman always fall into enemy's trap and always get busted before he could strike back. Batman has too advanced technology basement and weapons, you can tell his intelligency by buying those highly developed useful weapon while superman just changed his clothes everywhere even in the telephone booth :s