Wonder Woman Is Harder to Beat Than Superman For One Undeniable Reason

Warning! Spoilers ahead for DC vs. Vampires #5

Because Wonder Womanand Supermanhave a lot of powers in common, comic book fans have naturally long theorized about how they stack up against each other in battle. That particular matter has been addressed more than once in Clark and Diana’s many duels through the years. But the transitive property of superhero combat may not necessarily apply here—just because the Kryptonian can beat the Amazon in a fight more often than not, doesn’t mean she’ll fall to anyone who could beat him, as is made quite clear in DC vs. Vampires #5. 

Since launching in late 2021, the gothic Elseworlds miniseries DC vs. Vampires by James Tynion IV, Matthew Rosenberg, Otto Schmidt and Simone Di Meo feels like a cross between the horror elements of Marvel Zombies and the paranoia of Secret Invasion—and is no less stressful than either. Batman and Green Arrow find themselves allied against a growing population of infected superheroes, and the Themysciran warrior is just one of them. During a confrontation at the Batcave, Batman easily dispatches Superman with a blast of Kryptonite dust to the face but is nearly killed by Diana and only escapes thanks to the arrival of Robins Damian Wayne and Tim Drake. A panicked Ollie implores Bruce, “What’s Diana’s weakness?” to which Bruce weakly responds: “Her friends.”

Of course, that strategy is useless against a Diana who is actively trying to convert her friends to vampirism, or, failing that, simply take their lives. But it points to something broader about what makes Wonder Woman such a daunting opponent. Since she doesn’t have an easily exploitable weakness like Kryptonite, sorcery, yellow light, or flames, any fight she’s in usually does boil down to raw power. On top of that, she’s an incredibly dextrous and experienced combatant, which is how she can sometimes offset the outcome of encounters with physically stronger characters like DC’s version of Thor. 

Even the DC vs. Vampires series has to find a loophole to infect Diana in the first place. After Hal Jordan murders Barry Allen because his hyperspeed metabolism would make him too uncontrollable to turn, Diana confronts him. She binds him in the Lasso of Truth but Jordan activates his vampiric power of hypnosis. Unable to resist, Diana is pulled into a deadly embrace and transformed from glowing Greek demigod to scheming undead terror. What’s strange is this hypnosis apparently only works because it’s rooted in truth. Hal tells Diana she’ll be more powerful as a vampire, so one can only imagine how that boost in strength and decrease in inhibition put the prospect of defeating her well beyond Batman’s capabilities at present. 

Of course, Clark isn’t trying to hurt Bruce, and that hesitation may leave him more susceptible to the Kryptonite attack. But his intent isn’t necessarily relevant in this instance. The point is that Batman has designed a number of safeguards and stratagies specifically to disable Superman because his weaknesses are much more measurable. But there’s no amount of red solar radiation that can put Wonder Woman down, and if the end of this issue is any indication, Bruce is going to need a lot more help very, very soon. 

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