Batman vs [SPOILER] Justifies Every Anti-Superman Contingency He Ever Designed

Warning: Contains spoilers for Batman #151!

Summary Bizarro, Superman's dark clone, arrives to test Batman's readiness to take down an evil Kryptonian.

Batman has harmed Superman in the past using contingency plans involving kryptonite.

Batman's past plans backfiring has not deterred him from preparing to face an evil version of Superman in Batman #151.

Batman is known for his contingency plans. The myth goes that, given enough prep time, Batman can beat any hero or villain in the DC Universe. Through his history, more than a few of those plans have hurt his friends, especially Superman. Yet with the introduction of a surprising villain on the Suicide Squad, Batman might finally be justified for all contingency sins.

Superheroes like Superman have fallen under Amanda Waller's regime in DC's current Absolute Power event, masterminded by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. In a preview for the Absolute Power tie-in, Batman #151 by Chip Zdarsky and Mike Hawthorne, an unexpected fight is teased as Batman and Catwoman don disguises to sneak under Waller's nose in order to commit a military heist.

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Waiting on the tarmac to greet the arriving Suicide Squad is none other than Bizarro himself - a Superman villain come to test if Batman really can take down the Man of Steel like he always claims he can.

Related One Powerful DC Villain Understands Bruce Wayne Better Than the Bat-Family One surprising Batman villain knows the Caped Crusader better than his own Family does – but for now, they seem to be using that knowledge for good.

Bizarro Is the Dark Version of Superman

Everything Superman Does Right, Bizarro Does Wrong

Bizarro is the defective clone of Superman and his exact opposite. In ethical ways, he is evil where Superman is good, and he harms people when Superman saves them. Bizarro has vacillated between being a hero and being a villain, but seeing how Batman is prepared to take down even his friends, it can be assumed that when it comes to this inevitable clash, the Dark Knight will hardly take his tenure as a hero into consideration. Batman will only fight to win.

Bizarro was most notably a hero during his team-up with Batman teammate Red Hood in Red Hood and the Outlaws by Scott Lobdell and Dexter Soy!

Batman has been waiting his entire life to take down an evil Superman. The fact that he hasn't battled Bizarro yet is almost — pun intended — bizarre, especially considering his distaste for unchecked Kryptonians and his fear that they might become de facto rulers of Earth, should they so choose. Batman's very fear of his inadequacy when standing up to Superman translates into these contingency plans, and through them, Superman has had more than enough harm done to him throughout the years.

Batman Has Been Testing Plans on Superman For a Day Like This

Superman Takes a Kryptonite Punch in Batman: Hush by Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee

Superman has often been defeated by Batman's piece of kryptonite, which he keeps inside a lead pouch in his belt, as in Heroes in Crisis by Tom King and Clay Mann. In Hush, Batman had a ring made of kryptonite that he used to stop Superman when he fell under Poison Ivy's control. But Batman's contingency plans often backfire. Earlier in Zdarsky's Batman run, Bruce's artificial intelligence, Failsafe, the very synthesis of all of his plans, nearly tore his creator's mind apart and threatened to kill the entire Bat-Family. Then, in Absolute Power, Batman's Red Channel contingency plan nearly fractured the Justice League.

At a certain point, one would think that Batman would learn his lesson. But Bizarro's arrival justifies the eventuality that Batman has been waiting for this whole time: an evil Superman. And if Bizarro has the same powers as Superman, then he has the same weaknesses too, rendering Batman's plans necessary. Batman might just be DC's last hope in the wake of Absolute Power, so Superman should be thankful for all the experiments that led to this day: the day that Batman was ready to take down a Kryptonian.

Batman #151 is available August 7th, 2024 from DC Comics!

BATMAN #151 (2024) Writer: Chip Zdarsky, Tini Howard

Artist: Mike Hawthorne, Marianna Ignazzi

Inker: Adriano Di Benedetto

Colorist: Romulo Fajardo Jr.

Letterer: Clayton Cowles

Cover Artist: Salvador Larroca, Matt Herms