Top 10 Batman Fights

You don’t mess with the Bat. Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 10 Batman Fights in TV and Movies.

For this list, we’re looking at the best fight scenes featuring the Caped Crusader across his various appearances in television and film. Keep in mind some of these battles contain spoilers, so… SPOILER ALERT!

“Batman Returns” (1992)
We all know that the Dark Knight and the Princess of Plunder have a rocky relationship, and in this face-off we get to see one of their more aggressive lovers’ quarrels. After an explosive introduction, Batman chases down Catwoman over Gotham’s rooftops, where she promptly uses everything at her disposal to get the edge. Feigning being a helpless woman, lashing out with her whip, and even leaving one hell of a cat scratch as a memento, it’s a pretty bitter first step towards their eventual fractured relationship. We also learn that not all cats land on their feet.

“The New Batman Adventures” (1997-99)
While the main conflict of this exquisite episode revolves around Harley Quinn and the warped, abusive relationship she shares with the Joker, we can’t deny the ending scuffle between the Clown Prince of Crime and the Bat is still top-notch. After freeing himself from Harley’s death-trap, Batman taunts the Joker about how she came closer to killing him than he ever did - something that pretty much sends the killer clown over the edge. It may be short-lived, but seeing these two foes exchange some pretty brutal blows on top of a moving train is pretty awesome.

“Batman: Under the Red Hood” (2010)
This one is a heartbreaker. After the enigmatic Red Hood is unveiled to be the resurrected Jason Todd, Batman finds himself facing his old sidekick in a battle that’s not only vicious in nature, but also highly emotional. Following a savage beat-down, the former Robin turns the tables by holding Batman at gunpoint and forcing him to decide who lives between himself and the man who murdered him: the Joker. Tense, twisted, and guaranteed to pull at your heartstrings, this is a moment where Batman once again manages to find a way to win the day – but it’s a hollow victory.

“Batman: The Dark Knight Returns” (2012-13)
When an older Bruce Wayne once again takes up the cowl to bring justice to Gotham, he clears the way for his greatest foe to also make a comeback. Just as gleefully psychotic as before; the Joker leads Batman on a bloody chase through a fair, where he manages to rack up quite the body count. All this concludes in the oddly appropriate tunnel of love, where the two promptly try to kill each other. Despite getting himself crippled, the Joker still manages to get the last laugh by making Batman lose control, before he snaps his own neck. It’s all kinds of unsettling, but still a perfectly fitting conclusion for these two mortal enemies.

“Batman Begins” (2005)
While the final clash with Ra’s Al Ghul was also worthy of praise, no other scene gave us chills quite like this one, where fans were given their first real look at Christian Bale’s Batman. Shot from the perspective of Carmine Falcone and his thugs, we see Batman slowly and systematically take out each one of them, feeding into the fear and paranoia that they’re hunted by something more than a man. This culminates in the triumphant reveal of the Caped Crusader in all his brooding glory, where he goes on to deliver his most iconic of lines.

“The Dark Knight” (2008)
As Batman learns the hard way, nothing is ever simple with the Joker. As Gotham PD surrounds a construction site that’s seemingly infested with the deranged clown’s henchmen and hostages, Batman soon discovers it’s yet another one of the Joker’s twisted games as the real hostages have been dressed as goons and vice-versa. What follows is a desperate rush to save innocent lives. All the while, Batman must battle both the actual henchmen and the unaware officers. However, that’s nothing the World’s Greatest Detective can’t handle.

“Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths” (2010)
Have you wondered what Batman might look like if he ever crossed that dreaded line? If he chose to become a mass murderer instead of a watchful protector? Well, now you don’t have to, because we see it first-hand with Owlman. In a bid to stop him from destroying all Earths in the multiverse, the Dark Knight takes on his nihilistic counterpart not only in combat, but also in ideologies. Despite getting thrown around like a rag-doll for the most part, Batman eventually manages to defeat his ruthless doppelganger, while also delivering one hell of an anecdote.

“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” (2016)
While we were all eager to see the titular battle between these two comic book titans, the fight scene that really stole the show was Batman’s one-man raid on the warehouse where Supes’ mom was being held. Granted, the reasoning up to this point is debatable and we’re pretty sure Bats kills more than a few of these guys, but if you look past all that and enjoy the scene for what it is, this is actually pretty freaking cool! Using everything in his environment to his advantage, and delivering some truly epic smack-downs on a few unfortunate souls, this is the Bat at his most brutal.

“Batman” (1989)
Many still regard Michael Keaton’s run as the Caped Crusader as the defining take on the character, and when you have a finale like this, there’s a pretty sold case for that fact. With Vicki Vale’s life on the line, Batman meets the Joker at the top of a cathedral for their final bout. While it does end with a rather bloody scuffle, what stands out is the symmetry between our two leads, because it’s revealed that each is responsible for the creation of the other. Jack Napier killed Bruce Wayne’s parents and Batman failed to stop Jack from taking a dip in a chemical bath. You’ve got to love the symbolism!

Before we reveal our number one pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

- One Bad Day
“Batman: The Killing Joke” (2016)

- The Bat & the Demon
“Batman: The Animated Series” (1992-95)

- The Final Battle
“Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker” (2000)

“The Dark Knight Rises” (2012)
While they would eventually come to blows again in the battle for Gotham City, the first fight between Batman and Bane, in which the Caped Crusader is totally and mercilessly defeated, remains a cinematic highlight. Despite being two former members of the League of Shadows, Batman is overpowered by Bane’s sheer strength, where not even the shadows can protect him. This of course leads to the iconic moment where Bane breaks the Bat, leaving him as a shell of his former self. But Bane doesn’t kill him, of course - he didn’t have permission.