Summary

• Batman has been granted superpowers in various storylines, but typically does not get to keep them.
• He has gained powers such as immortality, element manipulation, and vampire abilities in different comics.
• Some examples include turning into a monster to kill Superman and becoming a god-like being called Atmahn.

One of the most inspiring aspects of Batman's character is that he's just a man. He stands shoulder to shoulder with super-powered beings and literal gods, and he's able to keep up through the sheer power of human will and ingenuity. It's an inspiring message and one that's immensely important — but there are a few versions of Batman who have gained true super-powers.

Superman is an inspiration in that he represents an impossible goal that everyone can strive to match. The entire reason Lex Luthor hates him is because no one can reasonably live up to Superman's example. Batman is different: while Batman is in peak physical shape and a billionaire, everything he's achieved is technically possible through human means. Batman's image as a hero is enduring because he's an example of a true human hero. Naturally, some stories have wanted to play with this concept and so have granted Batman powers over the years, but he never gets to keep them.

15 Batman Became a Giant and Was Exiled from Gotham City

Detective Comics #243 by Edmond Hamilton, Dick Sprang, and Charles Paris

The silver age was a very goofy time for Batman, and he'd often find himself in ridiculous situations. One of the more bizarre ones was when Dr. Greggson, a skilled scientist, invented a maximzer, which could enlarge anything. Dr. Greggson worried his machine could be used for evil and wanted to show Batman; he was right to be afraid, as shortly after, a criminal tried to steal his invention. Batman was struck with the maximizer and grew to giant proportions, making him a literally huge threat to Gotham City. Thankfully, Greggson was able to use his minimizer and fix the problem, making Batman human-sized again.

14 Batman Has Had Many Lantern Rings through the Years

Including in Green Lantern #9 by Geoff Johns, Prentis Rollins, Ethan Van Sciver, Moose Baumann, and Rob Leigh

Batman has had countless different Lantern Rings over the years: he's wielded a green, a yellow, and even a white power ring. Power Rings are one of the most powerful items that a hero can get in the DC Universe, and it's always just plain cool when Batman gets to wield the power of a Lantern — but he never gets to keep it for various reasons.

For Green Power Rings, Batman would have to overcome the trauma of his parents' deaths, which he simply isn't willing to do. Yellow Power Rings belong to the Sinestro Corps, whose zealously hunt down rogue ring wielders, meaning Batman can't use a Yellow Ring much, despite his affinity for fear.

The White Lantern Corps — and Batman's White Lantern — made a splash in the pre-Flashpoint Blackest Night / Brightest Day event, which is available now in collected editions from DC Comics.

13 Batman Lost His Sense of Fear and Immediately Attacked Superman

Batman: The Dark Knight #5 by Paul Jenkins, David Finch, Joe Harris, Richard Friend, Jeromy Cox, and Sal Cipriano

Batman has always been a major symbol of fear for Gotham criminals. He relies on fear, both using it as a tool and feeling it himself. But when a mysterious poison begins transforming his villains and removing their sense of fear, Batman, of course, goes after Scarecrow. It turns out that Scarecrow and Bane have been working together, and they inject Batman with their new poison.

This newly injected drug transforms Batman into a massive muscle-bound monster due to the venom and also removes his sense of fear due to Scarecrow. When Superman arrives to help, Batman immediately attacks him with surprising strength, but thankfully, it wears off soon after.

12 Batman Became Immortal Thanks to Ra's al Ghul

Superman & Batman: Generations #4 by John Byrne and Patricia Mulvihill

The story of Superman & Batman: Generations explored what Batman's life would be like if he started being Batman in 1939. The four issues of Generations followed Batman and Superman and the adventures they went on together as they slowly grew older. Eventually, in #4, an older Batman faces off against Ra's al Ghul in one final battle. Both Ra's and Batman enter the Lazarus pit, but only Batman leaves. This final showdown grants Batman the power of immortality, and he spends two decades turning the League of Assassins into a force of good for the planet.

Due to Superman's slowed aging and Batman's immortality, they continue fighting crime together until the year 2919 in this Elseworlds tale. DC's Elseworlds line is being revamped in 2024 with a number of new series, including a few based on classic Elseworlds concepts like this one.

11 Batman Is Cursed by an Ancient Wizard and Immediately Attacks Superman

World's Finest #109 by Jerry Coleman, Curt Swan, and Stan Kaye

Both Batman and Superman would often end up in absurd situations during the endearingly goofy Silver Age of Comics. Batman once found himself cursed by an 800-year-old wizard and was commanded to fight and defeat a dragon. If he didn't do so, the curse would kill him. Superman then took Batman to the Fortress of Solitude, where the Man of Steel uses a device to give Batman superpowers. Superman then flies to an alien planet and grabs an alien that looks like a dragon, bringing him back to Earth. Unfortunately, this doesn't work, but after Batman attacks and seemingly defeats Superman, the curse is broken.

A hidden stipulation of the curse was defeating the world's strongest mortal, which is why defeating Superman broke the curse.

10 Batman Became the Master of the Elements

Detective Comics #308 by Bill Finger, Dick Sprang, and Sheldon Moldoff

When a criminal steals an ancient relic and gains the power of all four elements, Batman and Robin are entirely powerless to stop him. It's only when Batman finds another, similar relic and receives comparable element-based powers that he's able to match the criminal in combat. Batman and the villain fight each other all over Gotham, using water, earth, fire, and wind to try and one-up one another. Thanks to some quick thinking from Robin, Batman eventually overpowers the criminal, removing his trinket and sending him off to prison.

Fans of a similar element-wielding hero should check out the Avatar: The Last Airbender comics from Dark Horse Comics, which are currently being released weekly on the free Webtoon website and app.

9 Batman Gained The Powers Of A Vampire And Ended The World

Batman & Dracula: Red Rain by Doug Moench, Kelley Jones, Malcolm Jones III, Les Dorscheid, and Todd Klein

In one twisted Elseworlds universe, Batman is infected by a vampire to fight off Dracula. While Batman is successful and defeats Dracula, he eventually succumbs to his instincts and kills the Joker as well, drinking his blood. This unleashes Batman's killer instinct, and he goes on a brutal rampage against his enemies, slaughtering all of them quickly and easily. He becomes so brutal that James Gordon and Alfred even team up to try and kill him, but they tragically fail. This version of Batman was completely devoid of humanity and even ended up killing a young boy's parents in front of him — by feeding on them.

This version of Batman would later go on to fight in Monarch's army in the lead up to Infinite Crisis, as seen in the Countdown: Arena miniseries.

8 Batman Became DC's Most Powerful Sorcerer

Batman vs. Robin #4 by Mark Waid, Mahmud Asrar, Scott Godlewski, Jordie Bellaire, and Steve Wands

During the Lazarus Planet lead-up miniseries Batman vs. Robin, Batman struggled to fight his possessed son Damian, who was under the control of the demon king Nezha. With no other choice, Batman became the next Doctor Fate, which granted him a huge and magical boost in power. The power of Fate's helmet allowed Batman to fight Nezha evenly, at least for a bit. Eventually, Nezha would manage to get his hands on the helmet and destroy it, removing Batman's magical abilities. While it wasn't long-lived, only lasting about half an issue, for a moment there, Batman was the most powerful magic in the DC Universe.

7 Batman Took on a Beastly New Form During Beast World

Titans: Beast World Tour: Gotham #1 by Chip Zdarsky, Miguel Mendonca, Mike Spicer, and Lucas Gattoni

When DC kicked off the Beast World event — about a year after Lazarus Planet — the entire planet was thrown into turmoil as heroes and villains alike were transformed into monstrous new appearances due to Garro's beast spores raining down on Earth. One of the unfortunate victims was none other than Batman, who transformed into a wolf. Batman's wolf form then goes on a rampage across Gotham, trying to protect the city, in his new feral way, from any criminals or rogue animals who'd cause it harm or destruction. While Batman was eventually cured, this is one of the few times Batman completely lost control of himself.

With Batman becoming a vampire in Batman & Dracula: Blood Rain and a wolf in Titans: Beast World Tour - Gotham, readers have gotten to see how Bruce would look as both a vampire and werewolf.

6 Batman Becomes a Monster to Kill Superman

Batman: The Devastator #1 by Frank Tieri, James Tynion IV, Tony S. Daniel, Danny Miki, Tomeu Morey, and Tom Napolitano

In the Dark Multiverse, Planet Earth-1, Superman ends up betraying all of humanity, killing Lois Lane, and going on a rampage across the planet. While it's never explained exactly why this happened, some suspect a villain broke Superman's mind, and others think a solar flare from the sun caused him to go insane. The darkest answer is that Superman was simply pretending to inspire hope, simply so he could rip it away. This forced Batman to transform himself into Doomsday to kill Superman. This new Batman form was specifically designed to kill Superman and has all the powers of Doomsday in addition to things like Kryptonite breath.

Doomsday Batman, known as the Devastator, would later go on to invade Earth along with the Batman Who Laughs during Dark Nights: Metal by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, which is available now in different collected editions from DC Comics.