If I remember well, Batman does not have superpowers. He’s a guy who’s rich, trains a lot, is smart and due to being rich is able to get great equipment to use.

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DarkMetatron 27 points 4 days ago

One could argue that his genius level intellect and his master detective skills (best detective in the world) are borderline superhuman.

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nieceandtows 23 points 4 days ago

Then it could be argued that he was born with his powers

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rockerface 28 points 4 days ago

Same if you consider his power being money

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Septimaeus 7 points 3 days ago

Exactly. We see plenty of Bruce’s physical training. But how often is he depicted designing, implementing, debugging, or maintaining any of the software that is guaranteed to be necessary for the majority of the seemingly endless well-beyond-cutting-edge technology underpinning most of his practical abilities and every one of the impressive number of deus ex machinas in the franchise?

OK, so the only logical conclusion is that he (or Fox as proxy) outsourced most or all of it, requiring obscene wealth. Batman fans may not like it, but money is unequivocally the key super power of the troubled Wayne heir, not his genius or inventiveness. Without the money, Bruce becomes a washed-up chess boxing enthusiast at best, or a cop at worst, but definitely not Batman.

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toynbee 10 points 4 days ago

A long time ago, I read that his superpower was, or was theorized to be, luck. No idea if that's canon anywhere.

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valkyre09 10 points 4 days ago

At first I thought, not very lucky to have your parents gunned down in front of you. Now I’m thinking how lucky he was to also not be shot. Damn…

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toynbee 6 points 4 days ago

Possibly the hypothetical power hadn't manifested, or maybe had done so only in part, at that point.

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OhStopYellingAtMe 9 points 4 days ago

I’ve always theorized that his power is “superhuman willpower.”
He has the massive will to obsessively train, study, and do all the things he does. Becoming one of the strongest, smartest, and most effectual people alive. I doubt any human has a higher willpower than Bruce Wayne. He has even out-willpowered Wonder Woman’s lasso-of-truth.

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toynbee 4 points 4 days ago

True, but wasn't he also the only human (or otherwise, I think) to dodge Darkseid's eyebeams? Admittedly it would take willpower to get to the point of being physically able to do so, but from what I understand of the eyebeams, also quite a bit of luck.

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cenzorrll 3 points 4 days ago

He's an orc. He's batshit crazy and believes whatever wild scenario that keeps him alive or out of a situation will happen so strongly that the world bends to his will.

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ApollosArrow 2 points 3 days ago

I don’t really think that would carry over canonically, or else it would but heads with Green Lantern lore. There are multiple people that seem to have more willpower than Bruce Wayne. I think the only argument to Bruce not being a Green Lantern could be that be likes to instill fear, which us a big no no for the GLs.

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FreshParsnip 19 points 4 days ago

Iron Man is a better example of a superhero who created powers for himself, but he isn't one of the three most popular

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Tollana1234567 -1 points 3 days ago

iron man also doesnt have powers, those are his power/battle armor, eventhen he is beaten easily by villians with superpowers.

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FreshParsnip 3 points 3 days ago

Yeah, I know, I'm saying he created powers for himself by creating the armour with powers

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EtAl 12 points 4 days ago

His superpower is being rich enough to be called eccentric instead of just crazy. You know, crazy, like the label used on all the villains he fights.

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VindictiveJudge 2 points 3 days ago

The best Batman stories tend to display that the only difference between Batman and his rogues is that Batman's insanity doesn't make him dangerous to the general public.

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FluidBeef 12 points 4 days ago

His superpower is plot armour.

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agamemnonymous 3 points 3 days ago

due to being rich is able to get great equipment to use.

That's the power: gadgets. And also being a genius detective, but largely the gadgets.

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someguy3 2 points 3 days ago

So, steroids?

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anakin78z 20 points 4 days ago

I'm pretty sure Superman wasn't born with them. He got his powers from his flyby of earth's yellow sun in the escape pod from Krypton.

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Infrapink 35 points 4 days ago

Also, Batman was born with his power. (His power is money).

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cornshark 5 points 4 days ago

You can't use money to fight crime, lol. Otherwise USA's police departments would be doing it.

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cenzorrll 14 points 4 days ago

Investing in children reduces crime. So yes, you can fight crime with money.

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Vandals_handle 12 points 3 days ago

Study after study shows money spent on food, housing and education does more to prevent crime than policing and incarceration.

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ILikeBoobies 3 points 3 days ago

Well look at the state of Gotham and tell me it's different.

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Leviathan 2 points 3 days ago

All research and successful drug policy shows that treatment should be increased, and law enforcement decreased while abolishing mandatory minimum sentences.

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ripcord 1 point 2 days ago

what about punching and batarangs and batcomputers

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aaaa 6 points 3 days ago

You can. They just don't.

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Frettchen 0 points 3 days ago

Superheroes does not exist

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OhStopYellingAtMe 12 points 4 days ago

I thought he had powers because he was born on Krypton under a red sun, and all Kryptonians gain superhuman powers when exposed to a yellow sun.

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anakin78z 11 points 4 days ago

But if he had stayed on Krypton, he wouldn't have any powers, so it took an event to activate it, which isn't any different than the other scenarios. Batman was born rich, so he already had the potential to be batman, but it took the murder of his parents to set him on his path. Really Spiderman is the odd one out.

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OhStopYellingAtMe 7 points 4 days ago

Spidey’s parents and his uncle who helped raise him are all dead/murdered. All three are orphans, so that all cancels out. :-).

Peter Parker only became spider-man once his uncle was killed, that set him on the path to use his “great power” with “great responsibility.”

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anakin78z 4 points 4 days ago

True, true. I guess I was thinking of the spider bite, not the trauma.

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DomeGuy 2 points 3 days ago

Spider-man literally started as a pro wrestler who used his powers and a costume to make money

He was costumed and super-powered first, but heroic only after his uncle was killed. (By a thief whom Spidey let get away, since the victim was the wrestling promoter who cheated him out of his first earnings.)

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ripcord 1 point 2 days ago

I strongly suspect Peter would have eventually become a superhero even without the death of his uncle.

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Abyssian 8 points 3 days ago

Seems a bit daft of the Kryptonian folk to stay there even if they didn't believe their planet was doomed.

"Move to another planet to be a nearly indestructible God who can fly and shoot lasers and stuff? No thank you. I just got my cabinets arranged how I like them and I am not going through that again."

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Brickhead92 1 point 3 days ago

Look at the people of Earth, doesn't seem so far fetched.

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Abyssian 2 points 3 days ago

Fair point. The planet being destroyed might increase the average intelligence level in this region of space.

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MidsizedSedan 4 points 3 days ago

I think it was from Kill Bill, but thrtrs a cool speech about how Superman has to put on the costume to become Clark Kent. While other hero's have to put on the costume to become the hero.

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tigeruppercut 1 point 3 days ago

Batman has been shown to consider Bruce as the alter ego. I believe he even once was under wonder woman's lasso of truth and revealed his true identity as batman.

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digger 14 points 3 days ago

Batman was born rich. It's the billionaire class that want you to think they are creating wealth and not stealing it.

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RememberTheApollo_ 2 points 2 days ago

The irony is Wayne had stupid amounts of money and chose to use personal violence to stop some of the criminals in Gotham rather than funding programs that would have lifted people out of poverty and prevented far more crime, or running for office himself and setting up oversight to stop corruption and programs to offer a hand up to people.

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Lodespawn 13 points 4 days ago

And wolverine is all three

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JohnnyEnzyme 4 points 3 days ago

I get the inborn super-healing, and I get the addition of the adamantine (sp?) skeleton, but what powers did he create on his own?

Martial arts ability?

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Lodespawn 4 points 3 days ago

Learned to fight through surviving multiple wars?

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JohnnyEnzyme 1 point 3 days ago

I mean...

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SpaceCowboy 4 points 3 days ago

Popularity is Wolverine's greatest super power, at least according to Deadpool. It's why he can never be killed. Well I think he was killed, but death isn't permanent in comics.

Fun fact: Wolverine was cut from the X-Men by the executives at Marvel because they thought no would like him. After about a year of mediocre sales, the execs didn't care what they did with X-Men so the writers only then introduced Wolverine. Then suddenly the X-Men was one of the best selling comics at Marvel.

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JohnnyEnzyme 2 points 3 days ago

Hah, I'm old enough to remember how that actually went down in the struggling Marvel offices at the time. Early-to-mid 70's was his actual creation-moment IIRC.

You should read Mark Evanier's blog if you're actually curious about this stuff...

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Wolf314159 1 point 3 days ago

Yes

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JohnnyEnzyme 1 point 3 days ago

Practically a prerequisite for the superhero club. That and body-building, I guess.

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VindictiveJudge 1 point 3 days ago

adamantine (sp?)

adamantium

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JohnnyEnzyme 1 point 3 days ago

Well that changes everything! :D

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Kolanaki 12 points 3 days ago

Spider-Man is half'n'half. He got super strength and agility as well as his "spider senses" from the spider bite.

His webshooters, suits, and other tools he made himself. The Raimi films always bugged me that they made his web shooting stuff a mutation from the bite and not showing off his intelligence and engineering skills. Cuz he also didn't have money like Batman or Ironman.

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stretch2m 8 points 3 days ago

The biological webbing coming from his wrists was stupid. If it was a spider mutation, he should have had spinnerettes growing from his rear end. The handmade web shooters were way more logical.

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VindictiveJudge 9 points 3 days ago

Until a writer noticed that the web shooters mean Peter is a once-in-a-century chemist and should be swimming in cash from selling a few things he cobbled together in his apartment. Now, Peter Parker runs a mega-corp. Part of the reason that Miles Morales was introduced is specifically because Peter was no longer an everyman protagonist.

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ripcord 3 points 2 days ago

My problem with the handheld ones is that they're way way too effective. He was good at science but that tech was way way beyond realism. It's nigh-unbreakable, ultra-accurate and insanely grippy, almost inexhaustible in a single tiny canister. And somehow he can afford to regularly create batches on his limited income. Etc etc.

I mean, having the biological webbing come out of his hands isn't a whole lot less realistic than the wall crawling or spidey sense. And he's got weird powers from radioactive spider bite, who says they have to manifest in any specific way.

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Dnb 1 point 2 days ago

He runs out regularly in combat, even traveling which lead to plot points and how he handles fights though.

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radiofreebc 11 points 2 days ago

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altphoto 2 points 2 days ago

Like an American in the Philippines.

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Dnb 1 point 2 days ago

Technically he was... its just the wrong sun around his home planet to let his powers be usable.

But his genetics allow for the powers

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Tiral 4 points 2 days ago

Technically Batman didn't create how powers. He inherited them when his parents were murdered.

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radiofreebc 6 points 2 days ago

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Buffalobuffalo 1 point 2 days ago

One of the rarest powers, costing the lives of so many to amass.

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Dnb 1 point 2 days ago

No his crazy self improvemen, training and smarts did

Thst was his trigger/ motivation but not the source

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Kage520 2 points 2 days ago

Hmmm with this logic I could have super strength or something if there is a livable planet with 0.1x gravity. Hooray I could be a super hero!

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MimicJar 2 points 2 days ago

Bur if everyone is super, no one will be.

So hopefully you find the planet on your own.

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ICastFist 2 points 2 days ago

You jump in excitement!

You didn't properly control the strength of your leg muscles and you just exited orbit.

GAME OVER

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Dnb 1 point 2 days ago

I mean... yes? If you went to another planet and now could fly and are invulnerable wouldn't you be super abled?

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MalReynolds 10 points 4 days ago

Wolverine is at least born and thrust upon. Any examples of all three?

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SayJess 14 points 4 days ago

I am a lay person when it comes to comics, so feel free to tear me apart here. Could Bruce Banner potentially be all 3? His DNA was able to absorb the gamma radiation (born with it), he then had the radiation thrust upon him, and then he did whatever he did to make himself the smart hulk?

A bit of a reach, I know.

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MalReynolds 10 points 4 days ago

Yeah, that'd play. I was thinking maybe Dr. Strange, but Banner is better.

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SayJess 7 points 4 days ago

Dr. Strange is a really good one too! Drawing energy from other realms and all.

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Tollana1234567 1 point 3 days ago

i believe only ancient one did, that she also drew from the dark dimension(dormammus realm) which gave her immortality and other abilities. strange all comes from spellwork, like books and incantations, and recently darkhold magic/chaos, which gave him a permanent boost. like most previous holders.

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JohnnyEnzyme 2 points 3 days ago

Upvote, for seeming to be a nice person who sticks to that basic premise upon American comics. And for sure, folks like you are needed!

Over here, I happen to prefer European comics, and actually I'd be curious to hear what you might think about such. Like, are they too weird for the USA, or..?

https://piefed.social/c/eurographicnovels

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SayJess 2 points 3 days ago

Saved your comment. When I get home, I’ll check it out! Thanks ☺️

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Lodespawn 10 points 4 days ago

Wolverine was born with healing factor, trained in his fighting skills and then had his admantium skeleton thrust upon him

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MalReynolds 8 points 4 days ago

Yeah, I was thinking that but wasn't convinced. Similarly Batman was born rich, trained hard and had bereavement thrust upon, which likely created the persona. Perhaps we're all a bit nature, nurture, and luck.

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psx_crab 6 points 4 days ago

Naruto i guess? He's a child of a very powerful ninja(born), had a powerful creature sealed inside him at birth(thrust upon), and have to learn how to actually unlease and control that power(create).

Otherwise i can't seems to remember anyone that does have the 3.

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gon 5 points 4 days ago

I like this one, but I'm not sure I'd call Naruto a superhero.

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Tollana1234567 1 point 3 days ago

he gained admantium skeleton, claws. but he had regeneration as a mutant so born with. also adamantium was poisoning him, so his regeneration was keeping it in check(weakening his regen abilities)

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Tollana1234567 8 points 3 days ago

batman has no powers whatsoever. he just a very rich person, much like stark, who bought/develop tech. not really thrust as more of an accident, much like brunce banner.

closest thing would be apocalypse the super-mutant, he was forced upon to gain celestial enhanced powers. i think juggernaut is another one, as is lady deathstrike? another one is phoenix.

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ripcord 2 points 2 days ago

He has also trained himself to pretty much the peak of human limits, so there's that. Which is usually listed in other superheroes' lists of powers.

In different incarnations he's also heavily involved in the design of the various tech, it's more than just "being rich". That's really understating both characters.

But I would call super suits and super tech as "powers" in the way they're frequently talked about. Uber-genius intellects maybe.

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AlteredEgo 4 points 2 days ago

In the original comics Batman used to be mostly a detective. Looking for clues, evidence, then tying up criminals for the cops to find (afaik). I'd love a show like "True Detective" but with Batman. Anyway so his powers would be peak of human limits and super intelligent and gadgets.

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Jolteon 0 points 3 days ago

Batman and Stark both have significant physics bending powers. It's more obvious with Stark, but both of them have made plenty of things that have bend the laws of physics pretty drastically.

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Crozekiel 4 points 2 days ago

That's the comic's suspension of disbelief working. In canon they have no powers other than engineering and funding.

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Donebrach 4 points 2 days ago

Batman saw a bat fly through his window and then made himself everyone else’s problem. Classic rich guy behavior.

Superman was an “immigrant” from a wealthy family back home and made himself everyone else’s problem by way of his massive built-in upward mobility

Spider-Man probably did a drug and died falling out a window and every single person he knew was like “we shall also be Spider-Man.”

Edit: I don’t cite so don’t ask.

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cryptix 4 points 3 days ago

Batman, what's your super power? I'm rich

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ThomasWilliams 4 points 3 days ago

In the original story Batman has "bat senses" that allow him to hear the conversations of criminals, a bit like The Shadow. It used to be believed by some that bats could sense in the "ether", sn invisible river in which electromagnetic energy flowed, this was before echo location was proven.

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kryptonianCodeMonkey 1 point 3 days ago

And a psychopath with a fixation on criminal justice

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flandish -2 points 3 days ago

batman didn’t create shit, labor did.

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BigBananaDealer 5 points 3 days ago

the classic "ive only vaguely heard of batman" take