Superhero Smackdown Rd. 1 - Gotham Region

GOTHAM REGION
Round 1

1 Batman vs. 16 Elijah Snow - Elijah Snow is perhaps the most dangerous and resourceful person in the entire Wildstorm Universe, which makes him a formidable opponent for any enemy. But Batman is not just ANY enemy. These two have met on a couple of occasions…sort of…and both times Batman managed to confound (and in one case completely overpower) Snow. Elijah may, at the end of the day, be my favorite single comic character of all time, but I’m not sure that anyone can beat the Batman. WINNER - BATMAN

8 Swamp Thing vs. 9 Zatanna - The ultra-powerful, minds-eye traveling, supreme sorceress daughter of Silver Age hero Zatara versus the Earth Elemental capable of controlling anything connected to the mystical Green. Both characters have been around for years and we still only have a small idea of what they’re both capable of. Hell, I’m not even certain that Swamp Thing can be killed. Not that Zatanna would have to kill him to defeat him. If she could lure him onto another plane, somewhere where he was disconnected from the Green, then it’s possible she could overtake him. But Zatanna often lacks confidence. She would falter, doubt herself, second guess, and in that moment the Swamp Thing would strike. WINNER - SWAMP THING

5 Orion vs. 12 Nightwing - Batman’s greatest protégé would give the son of Darkseid more of a fight than many in the DCU are capable of, but I’m not sure that Dick Grayson has everything it takes to ultimately bring down a god. This is a great battle for the symbolism. During the Final Crisis, Batman (Dick’s surrogate father) sacrificed himself to mortally wound Darkseid (Orion’s true father). How fitting is it then that our tournament pits the adopted son of the Bat against the cast off son of Darkseid. Fighting Darkseid “killed” Batman, even though he struck a mortal blow. I don’t think Dick is that lucky. WINNER - ORION

4 Captain Marvel vs. 13 The Joker - The Captain of the Lightning versus the Clown Prince of Crime. If this were Superman, it would be more cut and dry. But where the Man of Steel is vulnerable only to a rare piece of irradiated rock, Captain Marvel’s weakness is decidedly more human. On the inside Marvel is still just a boy. Lex Luthor proved in Kingdom Come that the Captain could be neutralized if you could control the young man inside. The Joker would have something a little less grand in mind. He’d just kill the kid. WINNER - THE JOKER

6 Aquaman vs. 11 Green Arrow - It’s temper versus temper in this Silver Age showdown. While Aquaman could certainly level the entire power of the world’s oceans against his opponent, Green Arrow is just too smart to ever give him that chance. Ollie would use Aquaman’s own confidence against him, goading him into fighting on his turf, the streets, alleyways and buildings of the big city. Once on his turf, Queen would just need a few well placed trick arrows to isolate the Ocean King and put him down for the count. WINNER - GREEN ARROW

3 Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) vs. 14 Catwoman - As much as I love Catwoman, I don’t see her being a match for the most powerful weapon in existence. WINNER - GREEN LANTERN

7 Firestorm vs. 10 John Constantine - The Nuclear Man versus the DCU’s hard drinking, hard living sorcerer. On paper this probably looks like a no-brainer. I mean, Firestorm can reshape matter for chrissakes. But this is John Constantine we’re talking about, not some parlor trick charlatan. The Hellblazer took Tim Hunter on a walkabout, rubbed elbows with the Phantom Stranger, stood side by side with the King of Dreams, outsmarted the Devil and cheated Death herself. Constantine’s greatest power isn’t his command of magic, it’s that everybody always underestimates him. Firestorm would be no different. WINNER - JOHN CONSTANTINE

2 The Flash (Barry Allen) vs. 15 Robin (Tim Drake) - Tim Drake has really come into his own over the last few years, but Barry Allen outran Death. WINNER - THE FLASH