He does stop Darkseid though, on multiple occasions, or at least frustrate him, which for such a massive literally godlike villain is an actual feat. He specifically says in he DCAU that no one has ever evaded his Omega Beam, meaning Batman achieved something literally no one else has ever done. (This is immediately before the deservedly famous "world of cardboard" speech from Superman.)
Right, think about this in context for a moment. The goal of the adventure is to the kill the BBEG. And one player's most impressive feat is "I survived a single attack from him!" I don't care that no one else has dodged them. Superman, Wonderwoman, Shazam? They all took the beams head-on and lived. Green Lantern has stopped them with his ring. And then they ACTUALLY HIT DARKSEID. Batman threw a smoke bomb, dodged a single attack, and the entire point was to buy the second needed for Superman to enter the fight and take over.
That isn't how equals fight.
Then, later on in the DCAU when Darkseid is up to his usual tricks but with Kara instead of Clark, Batman's intelligence (and, to a certain extent, Darkseid's belief that the human Batman is capable of ruthlessness that Diana and Clark are not) is what saves the day and defeats Darkseid; the physical power and ability to resist Darkseid's assaults pales in comparison.
Looked this up, because the context made no sense. In what world does Darkseid get defeated because a guy with a code to never kill is "too ruthless"
Well, it starts with them being on Apokalipse, not Earth. Then it continues with a fairly standard Deus Ex Machina. Batman has activated Darkseid's weapons in a move that could destroy the entire planet, and won't disarm them until Darkseid admits defeat.
That's just comic book writing, frankly. The Hell Spores defeated Darkseid, Batman was just able to gain access to them because Darkseid didn't bother to try and fight Batman, and Batman was able to break a simple encryption. Again, this says nothing about Batman's ability to FIGHT Darkseid, because he can't. This is the closest he can come, and it was a suicide pact using Darkseid's own stockpile of planet-destroying weaponry.
So even here, at least depending on medium, Batman holds his own. He does so by changing the rules of the game. In the former case, he knows he can't directly stop Darkseid but he can distract and slow him while the others get their own work done. "That man won't quit as long as he can draw a breath. None of my teammates will." Evading the Omega Beam is a neat, canned example of him changing the rules by running just long enough to get a sacrificial enemy (a Parademon mook, in this case) to take the hit in his place. Defeating Darkseid in the latter case involved being smart enough to hack through Darkseid's security protocols protecting Apokolips' supplies of WMDs...and programming them to all go off simultaneously unless Batman countermands the order.
There are some other cases which involve actual combat victories, but those are from comics I haven't read (and usually involve some kind of special weapon that exploits a weakness a la kryptonite or a fancy power suit that bridges the power gap.) But it's worth noting that Batman is one of only three superheroes Darkseid actually plots around and against, the other two being Superman and Wonder Woman. And according to at least one comic run I've heard about, it was Batman that Darkseid tried to clone into an army to serve him, not Clark or Diana. That, likewise, seems a particular mark of respect or even admiration.
But again, you seem to miss the point. I never said "Batman can't act as a distraction", I never said "Batman can't activate Darkseid's own bombs to destroy the planet they are on" I said "Batman can't fight Darkseid"
And really, unless you depower Darkseid (as is done in some of the shows) he can't. All of his "powers" of wealth and connection can't close that gap. He doesn't have the strength, speed, or durability to actually fight the enemy. And what happens to Batman if Darkseid nukes Gotham? Batman is nuked. He can't survive a nuke, unless he spots it in time to reach an anti-nuclear bunker.
Darkseid plans around Batman, because Batman is smart, and can therefore give plans to Superman and Wonder Woman to carry out. But he cannot fight Darkseid toe to toe. Batman's Powers are only useful if they are MADE useful. Meanwhile, it is incredibly difficult to put a character like Zatana (warp reality) or Superman (massive suite of abilities) into a situation where they cannot use their powers to contribute.
