While he does not possess the awesome abilities of many of his fellow heroes, Batman proves time and time again how he does not need those superpowers. He is a master detective with high intelligence to go with it. Bruce Wayne also has plenty of money to finance his vigilante work and all the gadgets he could possibly need.
Even in the face of insurmountable odds, the Caped Crusader very often comes out on top. There are many villains and beings of extraordinary strength that fans would not expect Batman to be able to defeat, but he does time and time again. Here are 10 super-villains Batman has defeated throughout the comics and movies.
10 Doctor Destiny
Appearing in the highly praised Justice League animated series episode titled Only a Dream, the team takes on Doctor Destiny who possesses the ability to control others through dreams. He even manages to get to the team and uses his powers to keep them asleep. Batman and Martian Manhunter, the former having stayed up the past three nights before, are the only members of the Justice League still awake. Batman goes on to find the demon while Martian Manhunter focuses his efforts on the rest of the team.
Initially, Batman struggles with finding Doctor Destiny, and the more he tries, the harder time he has staying awake. He eventually tracks Doctor Destiny down to a warehouse. While Batman's closeness gives him an advantage, he outsmarts him by continually reciting a catchy tune. When Doctor Destiny attacks, Batman easily fends him off causing him to use a syringe with a powerful sedative on himself.
9 Lex Luthor
While traditionally known as one of Superman's greatest villains, Lex Luthor was technically a hero at the time this happened. This comes after he joins the Justice League and even becomes the new Superman.
During Robin Rises Omega, Batman attempts to get the body of his deceased son Damian Wayne back. The Justice League arrives and Shazam prevents him from pursuing those responsible, causing Batman, full of rage, to attack Shazam. Following this, Lex Luthor further provokes Batman, leading to a pummeling which left Luthor in a heap on the ground.
8 Bane
One thing Bane can boast over many other Batman villains is being the "man who broke the Bat," has literally broken his spine over his knee. The villain spent much of his childhood in Peña Duro prison in Santa Prisca and even watched his mother die while still very young. He continued to read and gain knowledge, becoming the king of Peña Duro before being taken for experiments with "Venom" which led to him being the brute he is. The only way Batman has traditionally been able to defeat him is to cut him off from his "Venom." This results in Bane shrinking down to normal size along with several other side effects.
7 The Batman Who Laughs
The Batman Who Laughs is definitely the most popular and iconic character to come out of Dark Knights: Metal. This is a version of Batman who takes the gritty demeanor of the hero to a whole new level. After being hit with Joker toxin, Batman turns into a mix between Joker and himself. He also comes to serve as the dark god Barbatos' lieutenant in his war against the rest of the multiverse.
In a shocking move, Batman requested the unlikely aid of the Joker to aid him in taking down The Batman Who Laughs. He is then overwhelmed by the pair as he relies too heavily on predicting future outcomes and the Joker is way too unpredictable for this.
6 Reverse Flash
The Flashpoint storyline follows the story of Barry Allen as he awakens without his powers in a world that looks nothing like the one he knew. Here, the Justice League never formed and Wonder Woman is at war with Aquaman. Thomas Wayne is also Batman as Bruce was killed in the mugging instead of his parents.
In the final battle, Reverse Flash reveals that The Flash himself was responsible for an alternate reality that they are in. He caused it by going back in time to stop Eobard Thawne from killing his parents, thus altering the histories of his fellow heroes. When Reverse Flash is moments away from killing Flash, Batman stabs him with an Amazonian sword.
5 Ra's Al Ghul
Another one of Batman's most prominent villains, Ra's Al Ghul always serves as a big threat for the Caped Crusader, being his equal in many ways. The two have similar goals of bringing order to chaos, but Ra's Al Ghul is much more ruthless in pursuit of this, not worrying about casualties along the way.
He is unique in that he is immortal and over six hundred years old and found the League of Assassins as he set out to master everything. Despite the two being equals in combat in a lot of ways, Batman is a better martial artist. With this, he has been able to defeat Ra's Al Ghul on multiple occasions in hand to hand combat.
4 Circe
Circe is one of Wonder Woman's most powerful and wicked villains, being an immortal sorceress from Greek mythology who wields magic stronger than most gods. She was responsible for the death of Hermes and even pitted Superman against Wonder Woman using mind control.
She also initiated the Amazons Attack! event where she brought Wonder Woman's mother back to life and tricked her into attempting to get her throne back. Batman and the Justice League get involved with Batman even confronting her on his own. He used a few magic words he got from Zatanna which short-circuited her magic. When this happened, he was able to punch her in face and knock her out.
3 Kalibak
Being the first born son of Darkseid, Kalibak is an incredibly powerful new God and often serves as his father's second in command who frequently launches attacks on Earth. When he finds out that the body of Damian Wayne is housing a Chaos Shard, he steals his coffin and means to bring the shard to his Darkseid.
When learning what happened, Batman goes on a warpath using the Hellbat armor, made by the Justice League with enough power to take out gods, which he later uses on Darkseid. Before he gets to him, he comes across Kalibak who he absolutely destroys in seconds.
2 Ares
Ares is the Greek God of War and served as the main antagonist in the first Wonder Woman film. He also faces off with Batman and Wonder Woman in the Dark Knights: Metal comic, Batman: The Merciless. The two heroes, alongside others, are caught in a never-ending war against Ares. In the midst of the war, Bruce and Diana fall in love.
In the final battle, Batman and Ares are the only ones left standing with Wonder Woman being incapacitated. After losing everyone, Batman goes crazy and takes Ares' magical helmet. This causes him to be a merciless monster who decapitates Ares before and becomes the new god of war.
1 Darkseid
One of the oldest New Gods, Darkseid is the mad ruler of Apokolips who often tries to rule the universe and get his hands on the anti-life equation. Surprisingly, Batman has actually defeated Darkseid on multiple occasions.
In Final Crisis, after the New God Orion has been killed, Darkseid attacks Earth with the help of the Anti-Life Equation. Batman, realizing the stakes are too high to stick to his code, chooses to use an extremely powerful gun which decimates Darkseid. Despite this, he still has the chance to use his Omega Beams and take Batman with him. On another occasion, Batman uses the Hellbat armor to take on all of Apokolips, killing Kalibak in the process. After this, he attacks and crushes Darkseid with the armor.