Batman vs. Punisher

Bullgrit

Adventurer
Which character is better at what they do: Batman or Punisher? They're both non-powered humans who fight crime closer to "street level" than the superheroes in their worlds. They both work in the shadows, outside the law, to take down evil criminals with terror and violence.

Now, I'm not asking who would win in a fight with each other. I'm talking about who is better at their jobs, in their own separate world?

Who would you rather be real in the real world?

And, of course, why?

Bullgrit
 

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Who is better at his job? Well, for all their similarities, they have very different jobs.
Batman goes after street criminals, and ends up taking on some strange and freekish creatures.
Punisher goes after mobs and gangs.
Batman rarely kills.
Punisher almost always kills.
Batman has tons of gadgets.
Punisher has tons of guns and ammo.
Bruce Wayne inherited a fortune and a massive corporation.
Frank Castle has his veteran's pay and wife's life insurance. They never really explain what he does for money. Takes what he can carry after he knocks over a mob establishment?

Neither is very effective: crime and psychopaths seem to be rampant in both worlds, like there's a never-ending supply.

But who wouldn't want to be Bruce Wayne, and enjoy the benefits of a butler, being able to go home and sleep at night (rather than camping in a van, moldy warehouse, or sewer), and occasionally put in a playboy appearance at the fancy club.
 

Which character is better at what they do: Batman or Punisher? They're both non-powered humans who fight crime closer to "street level" than the superheroes in their worlds. They both work in the shadows, outside the law, to take down evil criminals with terror and violence.
The Punisher.

Batman makes a difference. See No Man's Land? How about all the Robins, plus Cain? Batman helps people. He's a hero. Batman not only doesn't kill, in the(admittedly awful) Identity Crisis, he tried to go up in a fight against two people who were ludicrously out of his league(Y'all really need to add a drum smiley) when he saw them doing something morally wrong. That brings me to my next point: He tangles well above his weight and wins. The Punisher doesn't. So Batman is simply and demonstrably better at being heroic and saving people.

The problem is that line of thinking doesn't work because Batman and the Punisher are only superficially similar. Batman is a hero, and the Punisher simply isn't. He not only shows a complete disregard for innocents far too frequently, he routinely executes not only petty, harmless criminals, but also reformed ex-cons. It takes people on the level of Darkseid to cause Batman to reach the level of premeditated murder, which is the Punisher's game. The Punisher is, to put it simply, an angry psycho with a bunch of guns. Batman is not just a hero, but among the greatest heroes of all time, but he faces big challenges and doesn't always win. He saves lives, he helps people, but criminals are still there and still hurt people, and he can't always stop them in time. The Punisher just shoots criminal. It's much simpler and easier, and so even someone who's inferior to Batman on every level can be better at it than Batman is at being a hero. Because, really, being a hero is hard, especially in a 'verse with crazy ladies who can control plants and alien dictators who can break planets with their bare hands.
Who would you rather be real in the real world?

And, of course, why?
Tim Drake.

What? Batman is awesome, but Tim Drake is much more well-adjusted and still has the perks of the Batfamily. It's worth the terrible outfit.
 

sabrinathecat said:
Frank Castle has his veteran's pay and wife's life insurance. They never really explain what he does for money. Takes what he can carry after he knocks over a mob establishment?
From what I remember of the Punisher back in the earlier days, (20+ years ago), Frank confiscated the money found around his opponents. At the very least, he had hundreds of thousands of dollars stashed around various safe houses and bases.

And he's had some fancy gadgets through the years. But, yeah, basically he just used lots of guns.

Bullgrit
 

The Punisher.

Batman makes a difference. See No Man's Land? How about all the Robins, plus Cain? Batman helps people. He's a hero. Batman not only doesn't kill, in the(admittedly awful) Identity Crisis, he tried to go up in a fight against two people who were ludicrously out of his league(Y'all really need to add a drum smiley) when he saw them doing something morally wrong. That brings me to my next point: He tangles well above his weight and wins. The Punisher doesn't. So Batman is simply and demonstrably better at being heroic and saving people.

The problem is that line of thinking doesn't work because Batman and the Punisher are only superficially similar. Batman is a hero, and the Punisher simply isn't. He not only shows a complete disregard for innocents far too frequently, he routinely executes not only petty, harmless criminals, but also reformed ex-cons. It takes people on the level of Darkseid to cause Batman to reach the level of premeditated murder, which is the Punisher's game. The Punisher is, to put it simply, an angry psycho with a bunch of guns. Batman is not just a hero, but among the greatest heroes of all time, but he faces big challenges and doesn't always win. He saves lives, he helps people, but criminals are still there and still hurt people, and he can't always stop them in time. The Punisher just shoots criminal. It's much simpler and easier, and so even someone who's inferior to Batman on every level can be better at it than Batman is at being a hero. Because, really, being a hero is hard, especially in a 'verse with crazy ladies who can control plants and alien dictators who can break planets with their bare hands.
Tim Drake.

What? Batman is awesome, but Tim Drake is much more well-adjusted and still has the perks of the Batfamily. It's worth the terrible outfit.

Good point, but I think I'd prefer to be McGinnes, even drinking the fish oil.
 




I think it may be time for glasses. I initially read Batman vs. Plumber.

Like that would be a fair fight.
Are you kidding me? I'd love to see Batman take on Mario!

Or did you mean Luigi? In which case, yes, you're right, that wouldn't be a fair fight.
 

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