12 Most Iconic Battles In Comics
1. Batman vs. Superman
From: The Dark Knight Returns #4
Frank Miller's wildly successful 1986 miniseries, which depicts an older Bruce Wayne in a dystopian future, concludes with one of the most memorable comic book battles in history.
The Batman vs. Superman confrontation is considered the definitive hero vs. hero match-up. In the story, Superman, a tool of the U.S. government, is dispatched by President Ronald Reagan to forcibly remove Batman from Gotham City. Batman, armed only with his technological innovations and his supreme hand-to-hand combat skills, appears to defeat Superman with a kryptonite-tipped arrow delivered via Green Arrow, only to have a heart attack and die.
During Bruce Wayne's funeral, Superman (as Clark Kent), hears his adversary's heartbeat, and gives his gravestone a knowing wink, acknowledging that Batman faked his own death.
Beyond the inventiveness and overall cool factor of seeing two iconic superheroes in Batman and Superman beat each other up, the battle, and the Dark Knight Returns series as a whole, went on to define the Batman/Superman dynamic for the next 25-plus years. Prior to this miniseries, Batman and Superman were generally portrayed as allies. During the goofier Golden Age, they would even appear on the cover of some comics playing baseball or tennis together.
Thanks to Miller's characterization, Batman has since been depicted as more of a dark, brooding anti-hero, a perfect foil for the pure, Americana of Superman.