My buds and I have been arguing over this for quite some time, drunkin' comic arguments are the best btw, and I want to see what the smart people with comic evidence have to say about this. Maybe change my mind as well as everyone elses.
I remember Batman made that super computer that went haywire, oh no, tough shit. It went crap, but they stopped it if I remember. Then you have Iron man, who is a genius, but sent Hulk to space, which wasn't very smart, though I know he's pretty brilliant. So let's see what you all have to say, my vote for the time being goes to Batman though.
Show only canon examples please, Ultimate Iron Man wouldn't count as we're talking about 616 Iron Man and.... well.... whatever earth the real Batman is from.
Gender: Male Location: Kicking pigs out of the screen.
Different types of smarts. Batman is more of a detective, and Iron Man is more tech, but stat wise Bats is more genius while Iron Man is more Super Genius like Reed Richards, just had a natural aptitude for his field, way beyond what a human would. Even the most intelligent will make bad judgment calls, that is more based on wisdom than anything.
They pause at the doors. "This speech therapist..." Batman says.
"Miss Wisakedjak. She graduated from the Rose Bruford School."
Batman's lip curls.
"Wisakedjak is the name of the Cree Indian trickster god, " he says, as if it's something only idiots wouldn't know. "Where's Harley Quinn?"
Batman 663.
__________________
I am God's mighty fist. I am God's strength made manifest.
Sig by: Skeets, S.S, thesilverspider, Sir SKEETS Alot
Batman is the world's greatest detective and the world's second greatest in pretty much every other scientific discipline. Tony Stark is the world's greatest Futurist according to Reed Richards but outside of his specialty (engineering and robotics) he's not very impressive. Batman meanwhile is the perfect lab assistant because while he may not be the very best in anything outside of criminology he is still one of the best. Batman is a jack of all trades and a master of one at the same time. In a bot building competition I'd give Tony the nod but Batman cleans up in virtually everything else.
Now as far as wisdom and common sense go Batman wins again. Cunning? Batman. Strategy? Tony isn't shabby in that department but Batman is generally recognized to be the King of Prep as far as heroes are concerned.
__________________
“Where the longleaf pines are whispering
to him who loved them so.
Where the faint murmurs now dwindling
echo o’er tide and shore."
-A Grave Epitaph in Santa Rosa County, Florida; I wish I could remember the man's name.
Last edited by Omega Vision on Dec 20th, 2009 at 04:04 PM
Batman has the all-around greater intellect and thought processes; IronMan is intelligent, but his talent in the tech-field is more reflective of a genius aptitude in a specific field of thought/study, rather than raw mental prowess.
__________________ Why am I here commenting on this crap?
In what ways is he smarter? Generally the ability to learn and store information is what constitutes the modern view of intelligence (contrast wisdom and cunning) and in that regard Batman is much better. He knows things Tony Stark will never know and while Tony was getting his degree at MIT Bruce was traveling the world learning not just from the world's greatest scientists, chemists, and criminologists but also from the greatest monks and spiritual leaders who taught him things Tony can't imagine. In the same time Tony learned how to be an awesome engineer Bruce learned how to become the pinnacle of human achievement.
Gender: Male Location: Kicking pigs out of the screen.
Good point, he is versatile, but Tony still has that supernatural ability, and he's outsmarted Reed before as well. Tony is an engineer and businessman predominately though. Excellent strategist too.
Gender: Male Location: Kicking pigs out of the screen.
Intelligence doesn't "grow" by studying that's knowledge, intelligence is potential and capacity, how long would it take for one to learn in that area? Bit of a difference.
You missed my point. By learning so much in such a short time Batman proved he had immense intellect whereas Tony comparatively showed that he was a natural engineer but not much else. Ask yourself: who do you think would be better at solving a crossword puzzle? Who could come up with a great plan to save the world in a pinch? Who could learn a dead language in an hour's time to decipher an ancient scroll just by learning a single word and working from there with context clues? The answer is Batman, Batman, and Batman.
What Tony has, we call it intuition. He never trained himself to become the best at something, it just comes natural to him; there is not a great effort and unnatural time invested in becoming better than everyone else in the world. Bruce trained all his life to become the best, he is more disciplined, he tried to learn more things, to always be the best. Tony never really tried to become the best in everything, and his intelligence is too wild, too untamed to have the discipline and patience to go for everything. He wants good results fast and he gets them.
When it comes to computers, genetics, physics, spaceships, machines, military products and general science, and inventions Tony gets a lead in his science
He has a long list of feats
Super camouflage, Cloaking, Stealth
Repulsors, Lasers, remote controlled grenades you name it
Intelligence systems for the U.S. Gov
Helping clone Thor
Building Tanks, Aircraft, a flotilla of Satellites
Arc Reactor
Hacking into systems with technopathy
But the truth is Batman seems to have more variety to him, he's trained in martial arts, he's a top business man, is way more disciplined
Batman is a much better detective
The Wayne foundation has more money
Batman is a great Leader
It's true Tony can be a good leader and a good business man, but his Business Empire is broke down and his people skills sucked during Civil War. I also think Thor should have beat the crap out of Reed since he was also involved in everything
Right now Batman is ahead of Tony but when Ironman gets back on his feet and back to full speed even the Batman can not match him.