Who Would Win if Batman Actually Fought Boba Fett?

When legendary vigilantes fight intergalactic bounty hunters, everybody wins, especially fans. A recent painting from legendary comic book artist Alex Ross depicting Batman in a duel to the death with Boba Fett forced Star Wars fans and Batman fans into a heated debate: Which one of them would win? Pitting the scrappiest character in all of Star Wars against nearly everyone’s favorite DC comic book caped-crusader seems absurdly unfair and also totally perfect. Both Boba Fett and Batman have really cool suits. Both seem to rely on bespoke gadgets. Both are mysterious and have tragic pasts in which at least one parent was murdered in front of them. Both are clones. Um. Well, Batman isn’t a clone. Anyway. You get it.

Two Inverse writers, Eric Francisco and Ryan Britt, decided to take off the bat-gloves and space-gloves respectively and throw down in a debate to decide who would win between Batman and Boba Fett. Here’s our totally biased roundtable debate: Batman vs. Boba Fett!

Ryan: So, it looks like Batman has a bounty on his head and Boba Fett is going to take him down.

Eric: You sure it’s a bounty on Batman’s head and not Batman pursuing justice against an intergalactic killer? Either way, it sure feels like Batman’s already got the upper hand. And I mean, literally: Batman is about to disarm Fett.

Ryan: Yeah, I mean, Alex Ross didn’t have time to depict this whole fight, but let’s be honest, Boba Fett has taken on people with borderline magical powers and won. He’s a professional. I don’t think his intent here is to kill Batman. Whoever has hired Fett wants Batman alive. What I’m saying is that someone with a ton of money — probably the Penguin — has hired Boba Fett to capture Batman. I mean, the Penguin is the Jabba of Gotham, right?

Eric: I don’t want to bring up Batman beating Superman before, but, Batman has beaten Superman before. Along with countless others: Deathstroke, Bane, Darkseid, the latter of whom is an intergalactic god. Maybe Batman is overwritten, but the man’s greatest asset (besides the Wayne fortune) is that he’s prepared for anything. Batman has contingency plans against his own Justice League allies. I’m sure he’s got plans against space hunters.

Ryan: I’m thinking Boba Fett has surprised Batman here. Like, he’s snuck into the Batcave while Batman is just getting ready to take a shower. Boba Fett would research the habits of his targets. He’d know everything, including shower schedules. Boba Fett was probably waiting in the Batcave and was like WHAT UP SUCKER. So, if Batman is caught off guard by Boba Fett, no amount of preparation helps him. Batman is screwed. What I’m saying is this: Nobody expects Boba Fett.

Eric: With Batman in his full gear — looking like Miller’s Year One, for the record — I doubt Bruce was taking a Bat-shower. Still, fine, I’ll give you Boba took Bruce by surprise, inconceivable as that may be (Like, Bruce knows when otherworld anomalies enter the atmosphere). So Boba surprised Batman, but what’s the context? Alex Ross doesn’t give us much, but even if taken by surprise, Batman knows how to use the environment against his targets. Assuming Boba pursued Batman on Earth, Boba is a stranger to this land while Batman probably knows where he’s fighting. Batman’s got home-court advantage here. Can Boba’s tech even work on Earth?

Ryan: Does Boba’s tech work on Earth? I don’t know, do Batman’s tights work in outer space? Yeah. I think Boba’s blaster and jetpack and ziplines and poison darts and everything else totally work. Plus, if Boba Fett is doing some kind of time travel to even get to the Batcave (which, let’s face it, is the only way he’s there) then who is to say Batman didn’t base all of his technology off of Mandalorian shit in the first place? The League of Shadows is a centuries-old group of ninja killers, right? Star Wars takes place in a galaxy, far, far away. The people of Earth are loosely descended from that galaxy far, far away. The Mandalorians/Boba Fett’s decedents founded the League of Shadows. The League of Shadows trained Batman. You do the math: Boba Fett is basically Batmans master. Plus, Boba Fett can legit fly and has armor that works, unlike Batman’s leotard. The only way I see this fight going in Batman’s favor is if someone else is in the Batcave at that exact time and Boba Fett doesn’t know about it.

Eric: Alfred could be in the cave unless he’s dead.. Anyway. Mandalorians training the League of Shadows is something I want to read right now, even though it’s outrageous. BUT, even if it was true, Batman isn’t always Ra’s al Ghul’s protege. Still, assuming by your “logic” is that Boba Fett is Batman’s master, then the Star Wars universe is full of students besting their masters, right? I mean, Vader kills Obi-Wan in A New Hope. And if we’re talking Batman allies, boy, are you in for a show: The entire Bat-family (Batgirl, Robin, Red Robin, Red Hood, Nightwing, Batwoman, the new Duke Thomas) could be or get there while Batman holds him off. The Flash knows the Batcave’s location and can get there in seconds. Superman and Wonder Woman are his closest pals. The Green Lanterns will definitely have some Earth-space jurisdiction. Boba is up against the DC Universe, bro. I don’t expect a guy eaten by a Sarlacc Pit to one-up the Justice League.

Ryan: Okay. I will concede that if Boba Fett is up against the entire Justice League, then he’s totally toast. But come on! That’s pretty unfair. Jango Fett — Boba’s Dad, who is also his exact clone — holds his own against Obi-Wan Kenobi. Jango is only killed by Mace Windu, who, in turn was only defeated by the Emperor, arguably the most dangerous person in all of Star Wars. But I digress.

Since you’re clearly using comic book Batman here, and not any of the movie Batmans (Boba Fett could own all the movie Batmans easily, though I’d admit he’d have a tough time with Bale-Batman), I’d assert the following: Boba Fett is pretty badass in the Star Wars comics. He kills all sorts of people in Shadows of the Empire, reveals he escaped the Sarlacc Pit in Dark Empire, and schools a Boba Fett impersonator named Jodo Kast in Twin Engines of Destruction. These are all one-on-one fights. If you’re going to get cheap — and have Batman rely on his friends who also wear leotards — then it would be just as easy for me to say Boba Fett could ring up his bounty hunter bros Bossk, Dengar, and the superkiller assassin droid, IG-88. Could Superman beat IG-88? Probably. But could Superman beat Darth Vader? None of that is fair!

In a one-on-one fight against Batman, with the element of surprise, Boba Fett wins hands down. Here’s why: even if Boba Fett is supposed to only capture Bats, he can kill him if he needs to. Batman has his “one rule”: no guns! No killing! Boba Fett doesn’t care. Again, a Jedi willing to murder (Luke or Mace) is the only way to defeat Boba Fett. Batman’s not even close to being able to do that. That’s my mic drop.

Eric: I’ll ignore the early Batman comics where the Dark Knight did take lives and give you that it would be Batman’s weakness. But I would also argue it’s his greatest strength (aside from money and the aforementioned preparation). It’s what separates Batman from the hive of scum Boba comes from. It’s the X-factor in how Batman prepares. How does it play out in actual step-by-step strategies and tools? No one knows for certain, but it does influence how Batman works across the board. While many will dismiss Batman’s rule against killing as a weakness in a fight, it’s what will make Batman endure. You either die a hero or live long enough to become a villain. If Boba kills Batman, that’s fine. But there will be someone to take his place. No one is willing to finish what Boba has started. Besides, I’m sure Batman will bring out the Justice Buster.

Ryan: Yeah. You’re right. Batman in a giant armored suit will defeat Boba Fett, but too bad Batman will be dead or frozen in carbonite before he can get in the suit! BURN.

Eric: I mean, the most likely case here is Boba Fett tripping and falling into another bottomless pit. BOOM.