•••

Sure. Because using your abilities most efficiently is "cheating".

Doesn't get much sadder, does it?

(And, no, Batman could not beat Galactus.)

batman is able to "beat" his colleagues on the JLA because he has very intimate knowledge of their strengths, weaknesses, abilities and psychologies. it is not "off the cuff" strategizing that would let him get the upper hand on superman or wonder woman, by any means. it's also likely (and i'm sure he knows it) that any of his superpowered friends would take him out first, or try to, in order to prevent him from using what he knows.

my joke above aside, i'm guessing batman would do his best to figure out *some* chink in galactus' armor (so to speak) but would he have enough time? would he have the right weapon or the right people to carry out his plan? my guess is that batman would not have enough time to pull together the elements needed to beat galactus, if he was able to figure them out. he isn't reed richards-- he's a detective who fights weird criminals, sometimes in parthership with superpowered peers.

Who originated this "Batman can beat pretty much everyone" concept?

••

There is, of course, a very fannish attitude of "my favorite character can beat anybody", but, unfortunately, there are other forces at work.

One of the more unfortunate elements of modern comics is that some so-called professionals use characters as punching bags. Especially characters they did not create themselves, and did not like when they were fans. "So-and-So is a dumb character!" they will say, and proceed to write "So-and-So" AS a dumb character. (This can be especially bad with those fans-turned-pro who still think like fans, and who basically write for their "homies" out there in the fan audience. "Hey! You all hate this character! Look what I'm doing to him!' Pretty much what happened to Cyclops, right there.)

An aspect of this also comes in the form of writers using characters to show how "cool" and/or "tough" their characters are. This is how Darkseid came to be put thru the wringer a few times at DC. "Look how cool my character is! He beat Darkseid!"

All of these unprofessional indulgences serve only to diminish the characters who are subjected to them, often to the point that they are pretty much beyond redemption.

It's a crazy idea, I know, but my personal method of dealing with characters I don't like is ----- NOT USING THEM!! I mean, really! How tough is that?*

__________

* Thing is, too, that there are very few characters who are completely hopeless. A little thought, a little care and attention, and the lamest characters can be shown to have SOMETHING going for them. Remember, She-Hulk was considered by most to be an utterly worthless character -- until Rascally Roger Stern took a turn with her!

••

When I did BATMAN & CAPTAIN AMERICA, I commented that a part of me hoped it might inspire a "new direction" in comics -- FUN!

But even as I said it, I knew that, as "relevant" had become "grim and gritty", and "grim and gritty" had become "glum", it would not take long before "fun" degenerated into "silly".