Batman Names DC World's Greatest Warrior

Batman may be one of the best fighters in the DC Universe, but he thinks one of his Justice League teammates is the best in the world.

Batman is rightfully one of the most skilled fighters in the DC universe, but a comic confirms that he thinks one teammate is more skilled than anyone else. While Batman's martial arts skills are the best on the planet, the Dark Knight believes that Wonder Woman's martial arts skills are second to none. Batman's analysis is accurate, considering Amazon's origins and various feats throughout DC's mainstream continuity.

Quite simply, Batman is just as powerful as any human being. From the moment he aspired to be the protector of Gotham City, Bruce Wayne traveled the world, honed as many martial arts as he could, and mastered most of them. Batman is the most famous martial arts master, easily defeating all but the most outstanding opponents in hand-to-hand combat. However, his fellow Justice League co-creator Wonder Woman was considered better because she lacked some of the limitations inherent in being a normal human being.

Why Is Wonder Woman DC’s Best Melee Fighter?

In Dwayne McDuffie and Joe Benitez's 2006 Justice League of America #13, the Justice League is captured by the "Injustice League", the alliance of the JLA's greatest enemies. After escaping from captivity, Batman had a brief moment to free one of his teammates, and his first choice was Wonder Woman, whom he described as "the best melee fighter in the world." Considering Wonder Woman's advanced age, even in the post-Crisis era, combined with her Amazonian training and multiple wins over some of DC's most skilled fighters, Batman's assessment is correct.

Throughout the post-Crisis era, Wonder Woman has proven skilled enough to defeat opponents like Deathstroke and Captain Nazi, even without her powers. As DC's successive changes in Flashpoint and DC Rebirth, Diana became more skilled, her new history established that she was over 5,000 years old. For much of this time, Wonder Woman was mentored by Themyscira's best Amazons (who were already legendary fighters), training and perfecting her fighting abilities. Diana's near-immortality gave her the necessary time to train her abilities in ways ordinary mortals could not.

Unfortunately, Batman's limitations were demonstrated in the post-Flashpoint fight with Black Adam, who transformed into Teth Adam and was easily defeated simply by knowing a martial art style that took many lifetimes to master dark Knight. Wonder Woman is older than Black Adam and has beaten him in hand-to-hand combat before, which is all the more impressive considering the pair have comparable strength and speed.

While Batman is one of the most skilled martial artists in the DC Universe, Wonder Woman is the best due to her mentors, longevity, and thousands of years of training.