History Recap / DeathBattleS08E09BatmanVsIronMan

With Season 8 of Death Battle back up and ready to put 8 more hapless souls in the ground, the stage is set for a battle of the billionaires between two heroes - men responsible for founding the Justice League of America and the Avengers, no less - who have chosen to break every limit imaginable and rise to become icons of justice all thanks to their nearly infinite amount of resources to throw around and the resilience to back it all up on the battlefield. [[Recap/DeathBattleS01E23BatmanVsSpiderMan Neither]] [[Recap/DeathBattleS02E11CaptainAmericaVsBatman Bruce Wayne]] [[Recap/DeathBattleS05E01BlackPantherVsBatman nor]] [[Recap/DeathBattleS02E21IronManVsLexLuthor Tony Stark]] are strangers to the show, but now they're unleashing the greatest hits of their respective arsenals on each other to find out who will survive in [[TitleDrop a death battle]].

Batman's resume more than makes up for the legendary reputation he has within Gotham's underworld and more. He has mastered more than 127 martial arts, has trained in stealth and assassination techniques, and boasts a photographic memory - hence his other recurring moniker of his, "The World's Greatest Detective". No clue can evade his awareness when he's on the top of his game, such as the times the League of Shadow has had to erase his memories due to somehow still finding their secret hideouts, or how Bruce was able to determine that a man was killed by a bullet being fired backward in time, despite seeing no exit wounds on the body. Besides his mastery of other fields such as escape artistry, mechanical engineering, and marksmanship, Batman is also best known for the near-endless amount of resources at his disposal. As he is still the CEO of one of the world's largest businesses, Bruce's very well-off financial status allows him to fund development for the various pieces of equipment he carries with him into battle. Combined with his paranoia and need to prepare for any conceivable situation, this means that the Caped Crusader has a tool to take on any foe he can come across.

The Dark Knight's standard Batsuit is the one he dons for his nightly patrols and is made out of both Kevlar and reinforced titanium to provide equal amounts of flexibility and protection. While helpful for dealing with the knives and guns ordinary street thugs can carry, the Batsuit is still incredibly durable enough to withstand a massive city block-sized explosion worth about 60 tons of TNT. His cowl comes equipped with various vision modes and a radio to communicate with others, while his utility belt carries gadgets such as smoke bombs, nerve toxins, his grappling gun, and various types of Batarangs that can be remotely controlled or blown up as grenades. Not only were these tools enough to let him wage his one-man war on crime within his home turf, but it also proved invaluable when a Batman more willing to accept help and cooperate with others founded the Justice League of America, being the sole founding member with no true superpowers to his name beyond reaching the peak of human potential and more.

In elevating himself from simply being Gotham City's nocturnal protector to a leader of the largest collection of superheroes within the DC universe, Bruce's knack for preparation was turned up to eleven, bordering his ability to prepare for anything on outright memetic levels. This includes the time where he created a backup personality of himself - the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh - in the event he suffered a psychological breakdown that would drive him mad, akin to having a backup operating system for a computer. He has even developed contingency plans to defeat any of his fellow League members in the event they turned rogue, which reflects on the other high-level suits he put into development. For example, the Knightfall exosuit was commissioned to allow the Defender of Gotham to battle Bane, while the Justice Buster was designed to exploit the weaknesses of his fellow founding members. He even possesses the Final Batsuit from a sixth-dimensional version of himself, capable of rewriting the minds of others with a single thought. However, none exactly compare to his ultimate trump card - a suit that puts him on the same godlike levels of power that his comrades possess: the Hellbat. Forged by Superman in the heart of the Sun, each founder of the Justice League has contributed to its construction: strength on par with the planet-moving Wonder Woman, reinforcements by the Flash's connection to the Speed Force, the willpower of a Green Lantern battery, and so on. The suit itself is physically composed of nano-kinetic mesh which can shapeshift around Batman's body, operates based on a telepathic link to him, and is capable of flight, invisibility, and chest-mounted lasers shaped like a bat.

Over the many decades he has spent as an active hero, Iron Man has been conditioned to expect the unexpected, and has commissioned several specialized Buster suits to take on specific foes, even going against his fellow Avengers to boot. He has armors meant to go head-to-head against the Phoenix Force, Thor, and even the Hulk at his most powerful - the World Breaker. Even beyond his Buster suits, others come with plenty of unique quirks; the Iron Man 2.0 armor possesses Ghost technology capable of turning him intangible, the symbiotic Endosym armor can absorb and redirect energy from outside sources and his Mark 58 Nanosuit can be deployed remotely via nanomachines. As far as general-purpose suits go, he has the trusted Mark 51 Model Prime, which not only contains many improvements done to his previous suits, but also further refinements such as size-shifting to make it physically match his Hulkbusters in size, invisibility, and even a mode that turns him into a samurai, complete with an energized katana. Iron Man's sheer preparedness doesn't even end with suits, as deep in outer space lies Sol's Hammer, a Dyson Sphere capable of firing a laser powered by the entire solar system; with only 2% of its power, it can easily wipe out an entire planet.

As his career progressed, he's had his fair share of tussles with not just villains like the Mandarin, but also fellow heroes too - mostly born out of the two superhero Civil Wars that Tony found himself in, with one being explicitly born from his decision to support the US government's Superhero Registration Act. Tragedies about those to one side, they at least show some of the impressive feats he's capable of, like beating Captain America hand-to-hand, or defeating Magneto - in spite of the Master of Magnetism's powerset being problematic for a man entirely covered in metal - by amplifying his power with Jupiter's magnetic field and even taking a punch empowered by the sun itself with no real damage caused. Tony's ingenuity seems to have no real limits since he's even had many time-traveling escapades to his name; in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he was responsible for casually figuring out time travel within a single evening of study, while in the comics, he and Doctor Doom managed to somehow travel all the way back in time to Camelot during one of their battles.

Batman is quickly forced into retreat, tapping into comm lines to inform Superman that the Watchtower is under attack. However, no help is set to arrive, as Iron Man has already hacked his way into ensuring this battle remains a one-on-one affair. The Avenger is able to quickly track down his target, pinning Batman into a wall, only for the Gotham native to escape his grasp and launch a wave of Baterangs in response. The bat-shaped throwing stars are ultimately no match for a handful of repulsor blasts, but it did provide an opening for the Bat to sneak away under the cover of darkness. An exasperated Iron Man bemoans why his opponent would try and prolong this tussle, only to turn around and find a Batman different from what he faced a while ago: the Hellbat.

->'''Wiz:''' Batman, DC's vengeful crusader of the night.\\
'''Boomstick:''' Iron Man, Marvel's genius billionaire playboy philanthropist.\\

-->'''[[VideoGame/Injustice2 Darkseid]]:''' "My Parademons arrive soon."\\
'''[[VideoGame/Injustice2 Batman]]:''' "Think I haven't planned for this?"

--> '''[[Film/IronMan2 Tony Stark]]:''' "You want my property? You can't have it! But I did you a big favor; I have successfully privatized world peace."

'''K.O.!'''

Franchise/{{Batman}}, DC's Vengeful Crusader of the Night. ComicBook/IronMan, Marvel's Genius Playboy Billionaire Philanthropist. These two mortal men have used their intellect and determination to take their place alongside gods... and being filthy stinkin' rich sure doesn't hurt either.