Batman Vs. Spider-Man: Adaptation Arms Race

In many ways, Bruce Wayne and Peter Parker are not so different. Class differences aside, they’re both orphans whose parents were brutally murdered, both young men who were inspired to a life of crime-fighting by personal family tragedy, and they both have a penchant for swinging around vast metropolises clad in ridiculous costumes. In the world of comic-based video games, inevitably such similarity could only breed conflict and strife.

Sadly, the folks at Marvel and DC have never resolved who would emerge victorious in a showdown between The Dark Knight and everyone’s favorite Webhead. Luckily, GameZone is here for you, to settle this epic conflict in the only way we know how, in the most brutal arena on earth, the way men do…by comparing video game franchises. Witness the carnage!

The Golden Age (1978 – 1995)

With his lightning agility and amplified senses, Spidey landed the first glancing blow in 1978 with the release of Questrobe#2 Spider-Man, a forgettable text adventure that had Spidey engaged in that most heroic of tasks, hunting for gems. The element of surprise achieved, the Webhead pressed his advantage uncontested, connecting with a solid roundhouse in 1982 in the form of Spider-Man for the Atari 2600. Much more in touch with why playing as a web-slinging superhuman is fun, Spider-Man was an entertaining platformer/action game that saw Spidey rescuing hostages and battling arch-nemesis Green Goblin. Staggered but far from beaten, Batman entered the fray in 1986, countering with Batman for the Amstrad CPC, Amstrad PCW, MSX, and ZX Spectrum. An odd but innovative cartoon-like isometric action game, Batman was well received critically and featured one of the earliest examples of the modern check-pointing system.

The fray fully joined, the two legends of the page traded blows and counter blows throughout the early ’90s, mainly in the form of side-scrolling platformers and beat ‘em ups. The two heroes brawled their way across the NES and Game Boy and through the entire family of Sega consoles, battling with murderous intensity and probing for their opponent’s weaknesses. It was only when Batman switched tactics to “Movie Tie-In Stance” that any clear advantage was established, with the release of Batman The Movie (especially the version on the Commodore Amiga) and Batman Returns (a fighting game that capitalized on the success of Street Fighter). Dancing just out of reach of those devastating finishing blows, Spidey managed to hold the Caped Crusader at bay with rote but entertaining platformers like Spider-Man: Return of the Sinister Six for the NES and his first cross-platform adventure, Spider-Man and the X-Men: Arcade’s Revenge for Megadrive, Genesis, and the SNES. Desperate to counter Batman’s movie onslaught, Spidey fell into the defensive “Comic Story-arc Stance,” dodging punches and leaping out of range with Spider-Man & Venom: Separation Anxiety and Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage.

Advantage: Batman

The Silver Age (1996 – 2005)

After a brief separation to catch their breath and reassess their strategies, the fight was rejoined in the mid-90s with a second wave of side-scrolling brawlers. Launching a quick series of dazzling strikes to disorient the Bat, Spidey shifted briefly into Animated Series Stance in 1995 with Spider-Man for the Genesis/Mega Drive. A solid Shinobi style beat ‘em up, the game pits Spidey against the clock in a desperate race to stop the Kingpin from annihilating New York with nuclear fire.

Unfazed, his martial awareness honed to razor sharpness, Batman continued to counter with its “Movie Tie-In Stance” having saw releases of Batman Forever and Batman Forever: The Arcade Game. Sadly, the Bat’s penultimate tie-in gambit of the mid-90s was a terrible flop, a difficult brawler with cumbersome controls, and left him wide open to retaliation. Spidey attempted to capitalize in 1996 with Spider-Man: Web of Fire (mystifying released only for the Sega 32X and one of the last games on that console), but the botched effort left the fighters back on even ground.

The stalemate continued until the early aughts, when both heroes closed for toe-to-toe combat, each trying to deliver a decisive, incapacitating haymaker. The Webhead lashed out first, ringing in the new millennium with the highly successful Spider-Man for the PlayStation and N64. A third-person action-adventure, the game pits Spidey against a who’s-who of his rogues gallery in a variety of different suits with unique abilities.

Not to be outdone, Batman struck back in 2001, shifting fluidly into “Animated Series Tie-In Stance” for Batman Vengeance. Well received and a generally polished, fun, third-person action game, Vengeance established that Batman was more than capable of doing battle in the modern arena.

The battle reached a fever pitch when Spidey, in imitation of Batman’s early offensive rally, finally and expertly stepped into “Movie Tie-In Stance” and unleashed an onslaught of furious attacks. Spider-Man: The Movie struck first in 2002, a level-based action game hailed in some circles as the best Spider-Man game of all time. Hot on the heels of his initial success, Spidey delivered a powerful uppercut with 2004’s Spider-Man 2, and open world romp through New York whose villainous roster included stalwarts like Rhino, Mysterio, and Doctor Octopus. Battered and back on his heels, Batman attempted a few clumsy counters in the form of mediocre titles such as Batman: Dark Tomorrow and Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu, but the Webhead was undeterred. In 2005 he drove The Dark Knight to his knees with Ultimate Spider-Man, another free-roaming adventure through New York set to the tune of Marvel’s retconned Spidey comic of the same name.

Advantage: Spider-Man

The Modern Era (2006 – Present)

Down but by no means out, Batman drove the Spider away with a cleverly employed Batarang in the form of 2008’s Lego Batman: The Video Game. The confusing gambit bought Batman some time, leaving Spidey flailing defensively with the botched Spider-Man: Friend or Foe, and gave him the opening he needed to deliver his last ditch, all-or-nothing, masterpiece offensive Batman: Arkham Asylum. The gorgeous, tightly designed, perfectly executed third-person character action game is widely regarded as Batman’s finest video game outing and took home a handful of Game of the Year Awards in 2009.

Ribs shattered, gasping for breath, the world darkening before his eyes, Peter Parker reached deep into himself to strike one last time at the exhausted and semi-conscious millionaire. Spider-Man: Web of Shadows dropped on October 21st, 2008, and though it released to mixed reviews, it’s explosive combat and wide-open, fast-paced gameplay were just enough to secure the Webhead’s narrow victory. One final, well placed blow, and Bruce Wayne slumps to the concrete, unconscious and beaten.

Winner: Spider-Man!

Though Spidey managed to claim the narrowest of victories, we suspect a rematch is in the making, with promising titles like Arkham Asylum 2 and Shattered Dimensions looming on the horizon. As long as these two legends keep slugging it out, we’ll keep playing as (and loving) them both.