Batman vs Wonder Woman

An almost absurd proposition considering Wonder Woman’s comparable strength and ability to Superman, who has been described with the word “invulnerable”. So how could we possibly have a Batman vs Wonder Woman situation? Batman is a genius and his contingency plan against Wonder Woman in JLA: Tower of Babel seemed to work. But of course we are talking about a quick confrontation, one where imminent fighting wouldn’t allow planning. Unfortunately there have not been a ton of examples where these two have confronted each other in this sort of way, but there is a rather interesting dilemma in a story called Wonder Woman: The Hiketeia.

Batman tracks a woman who had killed three people named Danny Wellys. He lets her know that she had gone to far, and insists that she come with him. She refuses and flees on a motorcycle. He tries to grab her while crossing a bridge, but while in the air she escapes her jacket and falls into the water. Batman loses track of her in the moment but she finds her way to Wonder Woman. She performs a ritual called Hiketeia which binds Wonder Woman with mercy and protection if she accepts. She does, which puts her in a dilemma when Batman shows up. Since Wonder Woman cannot break the ritual, and Batman refuses to let a murderer go loose, we get a little bit of a Batman vs Wonder Woman situation.

Batman hilariously takes a swing at Wonder Woman while they are talking on a balcony. She just knocks him over the edge above a street which appears to be close to what resembles Central Park. Batman amazingly lands across the street unscathed. We get a little backstory for Danny Wellys, who claims she was getting revenge for the murder of her baby sister. Wellys decides to run away and Batman finds her pretty quickly. This leads to another Batman vs Wonder Woman scene with Batman attempting to kick her in the stomach, which of course does nothing. While impaired Wonder Woman puts her foot on Batman’s head and tells him not to get up. He concedes and tries to use Hiketeia on her but she refuses. The whole fiasco solves itself when Danny jumps over a ledge and kills herself.

The story was written by Greg Rucka and penciled by J.G. Jones, a ridiculously talented artist who portrays realistic anatomy. Unfortunately it doesn’t always translate well when inked and colored by other people. You can see this best by the cover which J.G. Jones painted in perfect realism and shows his true ability. Be sure to buy this (Affiliate Link), which has been reprinted a few times so you shouldn’t have too hard a time finding it. Leave a comment with your thoughts about these two fighting.