Batman's Superpower?

[fletch_talon]

His superpower is the ability to sweat awesomeness.
It just emanates from his every pore.
This is why people who hang around him frequently tend to also be awesome.

Except Aquaman because awesomeness is water soluble.

 

[Garthoc]

I would argue its not Superpowers but Paranoid Schizophrenia.

His obsession on his "war Against Crime" makes him obsess about every little detail to the point of mastery. I think too few comics have tapped into the everyday madness of Bruce Wayne. The Arkham Asylum Scarecrow got it right, he is clinically mad. This Madness gives him the edge over us puny well adjusted types. I would love to see this explored more in the Comics and maybe the future films.

 

[The Funslinger]

His superpower is the ability to sweat awesomeness.
It just emanates from his every pore.
This is why people who hang around him frequently tend to also be awesome.

Except Aquaman because awesomeness is water soluble.

Logically, this means Batman's weakness is a hosepipe.

 

[TaintedSaint]

Billions of dollars is his superpower. and a scratchy voice

 

[alexwbyrd]

http://youtu.be/SiciupmfnTo

This...definitely this! I mean Batman himself says exactly what his superpower is.

To give the video context, this is after Batman hasn't been sleeping for the past 3 days. I mean come on, YOU try to do anything intensely physical (ie fighting) after 3 days of absolutely no sleep!

But more on topic, I disagree with the money thing. There are a good deal of people out there who have a lot of money but being rich doesn't necessarily make one a superhero or supervillain.
However, having the willpower to never give up on anything no matter how tough it gets is so rare and exceptional in the world that it makes it a superpower unto itself.

By the way, I know I'm a noob, I don't know how to get youtube to properly embed a video on an escapist forum.

 

[Red Oni]

Batman DOES have powers. He just doesn't know about them. Ever notice how even in a well lit room with a dozen other people he is completely wrapped in shadows? There ya go. He can subconsciously manipulate darkness to make himself appear as a shadowy figure. He may not know about it but he uses it to great effect.

 

[MrMixelPixel]

I think he just lives in a universe where if you have enough motivation and you're a good guy... you can really accomplish damn near everything. Super powers or not.


Edit: Bad guys with lots of motivation can also accomplish damn near everything.

 

[lord canti]

Batman only has one super ower and that is the batglare.

 

[verdant monkai]

It is crazy how much I love Batman, it's probably because my dad is a big fan and I was Bat-brainwashed into loving Batman from a young age.

It is pretty clear Batman has no powers he is just a prodigy/genius who is able to master any activity he comes across in a relatively short time, Like L (from death note) but less Asian. Apart from that all of his abilities can be explained by he is a smart guy with cash to burn and a vendetta against crime.

He's got super toughness for sure, at least when taken in the greater DC continuity.

He gets frequently punched and thrown around by super-villains capable of hurting superman, the simple fact that he doesn't instantaneously die from severe organ trauma is quite telling.

This is the only one which makes me wonder because like this guy mentions, even if he had a super strong bat alloy armour that could take hits from Darkseid and other weighty lads, he still gets punched in his titanic chin. This should result in Bman's head becoming a Bat-mush, the only way to explain it would be he has coated his jaw bone in Adamantium wolverine style. This is comic books we are talking about though, it is probably best not to dwell on such minutiae too much.

 

[Lieju]

Depends on the continuity and the writer.

Sometimes he certainly survives things a normal human definitely shouldn't, and has intelligence and skills of a super-human.

Sometimes, especially when going against his own villains(or the Nolan-movies), he is very human.

 

[Auberon]

The prep time meme (I believe Frank Miller made it famoous), Adam West had (Anti/Bat)-something always at hand's reach in utility belt. Flying brick Superman mentioned above too, try to list every single superpower he had in Silver age.

And his nemesi(?) haven't read the Evil Overlord List, hence they aren't genre savvy enough to win consistently. Joker gets an excuse, for being insane and all. Depends on the writer though, like nearly everything.

 

[Garyn Dakari]

also the 6th sense to always take the right tools for the job.(like the bat shark repellent)

I think you mean Shark Repellent Bat Spray.

 

[ThrobbingEgo]

Batman is by far the most powerful superhuman in the DC universe. He's treated as an almost messianic figure by his team. Think about it: In character, Superman, the physical powerhouse of the justice league, would be absolutely terrified if Batman ever went evil. In crossover events, Batman almost always tips the scales. (Think of elseworld's Kingdom Come.)

I think Batman's 'Powers' become most apparent when Batman (and by Batman, I mean Bruce Wayne) is presumed dead. During the pre-flashpoint Batman & Robin arc where Dick Grayson takes on the Batman mantle with Damian Wayne as his sidekick, Grayson seems to be constantly asking himself "what would Batman do?" He's got big bat-shoes to fill... and though he does a decent job, he's not Batman. (He even tries to resurrect Bruce Wayne at one point.)

I can't find the quote, but I think it was Grant Morrison who confirmed that Batman does have a power and that power is "being Batman." What does that mean?

Batman may be a martial arts master, the greatest detective in the world, and he seems prepared for everything, but his greatest power is his unbreakable willpower. Batman can not be stopped because Batman won't let you stop him. His willpower bends reality.

This is comic books we are talking about though, it is probably best not to dwell on such minutiae too much.

These is comic book fandom you're talking about. Isn't welling on the minutiae what we're famous for?

 

[Bobic]

His superpower? Why, it's his ability to hear this song, all the time.


Think of what you could accomplish if this was constantly playing with your name substituted. You would never give up. You would never surrender. You would have seemingly infinite willpower.

And that is why Batman is so effective.

 

[malestrithe]

His power is lazy writing, as well as a dose of fanboyism,

 

[DudeistBelieve]

Lets include luck, in addition to his preparedness, training, and deductive reasoning. How many times has he won with the Batman Gambit?

His power is lazy writing, as well as a dose of fanboyism,

isn't it lampshaded all the time that the only thing it would take to kill Batman is a lucky thug with a knife? That the end of Batman either comes with him killed in an alleyway or he gets married and goes "What the fuck is wrong with me? I need a therapist."

 

[Twilight_guy]

A short list of batman's superpowers:

The ability to change outfits inhumanly fast.
The ability to get to the rooftop in a few seconds despite going up a dozen floors.
The ability to always be in the right place at the right time to see a crime happening.
Superhuman luck, which has caused him to somehow avoid getting shot in decades despite being fired on all the time.
The ability to do more then should be possible during the day (he has spent more hours mastering and practicing various fields then he has been alive)
The ability to not sleep (He has a day job and a night job).
The ability to survive sudden stop from great heights without dieing. (Yeah, that grappling hook stooped you from hitting the ground but it would still rip your arm off from the sudden change in velocity and jumping down from a rooftop would break both your legs).
He knows superman (that counts since its like having Jesus on speed-dial to fix any problem).