This article is about the DBX episode. For the Death Battle episode, see Batman VS Iron Man.
- —Tagline
Batman VS Iron Man is the 76th episode of DBX, featuring Batman from DC Comics and Iron Man from Marvel Comics in a battle between armored billionaire superheroes.
Interlude
The scene opens with the lights flickering on in the arena and the camera panning over to reveal the large crowd of people watching the show. Ringmaster makes his appearance as he steps onto the main stage and walks towards his microphone which he then grabs in order to properly introduce himself to his audience.
Ringmaster: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to MY Arena where there's no rules, no research, only bloodshed! I am Ringmaster! Your announcer, your host extraordinaire for this extravaganza! And let me welcome you, to, the EXHIBITION!!! In today's match, we have a fight between two heroes that proves money doesn't buy you happiness, but it does buy you superpowers! In one corner, we have the orphan, the caped crusader, the recluse, Bruce- er... BATMAN!!! And in the other corner, the engineering genius, the charming asshole, IRON MAN!!!
Comparison
Let's size up the competition! First off, both of these combatants are fairly strong without their tech, but Batman has done a training montage across the world, for he honed not only his body but his mind for revenge against all crime! That's a pretty impossible ambition but...
We see an animation of Ringmaster holding both toys of Deadpool and Detective Pikachu before tossing them aside.
Ringmaster: I guess if Ryan Reynolds can be both Deadpool and Pikachu, anything is possible. But putting all that aside, what makes these two impressive is their amazing suits and gadgets! Iron Man has one of the most impressive suits we've ever seen here in the arena. It can fly, shoot beams of energy, and it even grants him crazy strength and speed. Of course, it also makes him as durable as a Nokia brick!
We see an animation of Ringmaster tossing a Nokia phone before it bounces back and hits him in the face, rendering him unconscious.
Ringmaster: So, basically indestructible! Though Iron Man's suit is awesome, don't count Batman out yet, he's also got a pretty dapper get-up. It's completely bulletproof, boosts his durability, and it comes with a huge number of gadgets to get him out of any pickle. If that wasn't enough, he has a utility belt, filled to the brim with even more weapons and doodads! We're talking batarangs, explosives, you name it, he's got it!
We see an animation of Ringmaster hanging on to a ladder on a Bat-helicopter as a shark fin chases after him.
Ringmaster: Except for shark repellent, that is kept in the back copter. Don't think that it's a battle of gadgets, though, it's a battle of brains and adaptability, Batman's been known to turn a fight around with brilliant tactics and on-the-time thinking. In fact, he's revered as one of the smartest people alive, and they don't just call him the World's Greatest Detective for nothing, but Iron Man's got quite a reputation too! He leads the Avengers, protects the world, and still finds time to run Stark Industries despite being a pretentious asshole. Oh! And did I mention he figured out time travel in like one night?
We cut to Ringmaster.
Ringmaster: Enough talk! Let's see which one of these billionaires casts the money and power to claim victory in the EXHIBITION!!!
Exhibition
Ringmaster: "And our next item is extra special!"
Ringmaster: "It's... a parent. Just a daddy."
Ringmaster: "Alright, here we go! $250 to the redneck in the back! Okay, sit down bud, we know you don't have any money."
Ringmaster: "Alright starting over! Weird kid in orange, $500!"
Ringmaster: "And that's quickly blown out of the water, $750!"
Ringmaster: "Whoo! Now we're talking a mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-million for the man in the fancy suit!"
Ringmaster: "Looks like he's got competition, $2 million for the man in the bat suit! Heh!"
Ringmaster: "Now $5 millio- or make that 10!"
Ringmaster: "ONE BILLION!?"
Ringmaster: "Wait, wait— does that— does that say infinity? It's sold, to the bat! For infinity dollars! Not sure how he's gonna pay for that..."
Trivia
Production
- The core connections between Batman and Iron Man are that they are both genius billionaire superheroes who have their own companies (Wayne Enterprises and Stark Industries, respectively) who use their intellect and resources to create high-tech suits of armor, gadgets, and inventions which allow them to challenge aliens and god-like beings despite being powerless humans. In addition:
- Both are prominent members of superhero teams (the Justice League and the Avengers, respectively).
- Despite their good intentions, both struggle with paranoia towards their god-like teammates, leading to them repeatedly developing high-tech countermeasures against them, including machines capable of taking them on in case they go rogue (the Justice Buster and both the Hulkbuster and Thorbuster, respectively).
- Both have constructed suits capable of battling godly beings (the Hellbat and the Godbuster, respectively).
- Both have similar iconic movie lines declaring their heroic identity ("I'm Batman," and "I am Iron Man," respectively) that come from one of their namesake movies (Batman (1989) and Iron Man, respectively), in which their actors improvised them (Michael Keaton said "I'm Batman" because he preferred it over the script's original lines "I am the night" and "I am vengeance", while Robert Downey Jr. improvised many of his lines while filming, including "I am Iron Man").
- This is also a battle of opposites, as Batman's identity is a major secret and he has a silent and gloomy personality with a dark appearance, while Iron Man revealed his identity to the public and has a wisecracking personality with a colorful appearance.
- This is the only DBX episode to have its alternate ending uploaded on YouTube.
- The alternate ending in which Batman wins was uploaded in celebration of Batman Day.
- The YouTube version of the alternate ending features an extended portion at the end, showcasing pictures of Batman and Piccolo after the latter ends up as his new dad (laying on top of ones of Piccolo with Iron Man). This is not part of the original upload of the alternate ending, which simply cuts to the vote results after Iron Man gets blown up.
Other
- This is the third Marvel VS DC themed episode, after Harley Quinn VS Domino and Catwoman VS Black Cat, and with the next being Apocalypse VS Black Adam.
- This is the second time Marvel wins, after Catwoman VS Black Cat.
- This is the third episode to be shared with Death Battle, after Sasuke VS Hiei and Goomba VS Koopa 2, and with the next four being Alucard VS Dio Brando, Vegeta VS Thor, Apocalypse VS Black Adam, and Vegito VS Gogeta.
- On September 17th, 2024, the DEATH BATTLE! YouTube channel uploaded the full fight animation of this episode on its own.
- This makes it the second DBX episode whose full fight was reuploaded by itself, after Ben 10 VS Danny Phantom, and with the next one being Goku VS Gon.