No amount of batarangs or in-house charges can help you win this time Brucey!
Wasn’t really going to follow up on Michelle’s post regarding Batman Always Wins…but as Stephen King put it, reality is Ralph, and sometimes you just have a story too good to be true.
Superman came out strong this past week with a $1 million auction on Action Comics #1. It seems that the Metropolis Marvel was once again on top of the comic book world…and then Batman swung in and kicked Superman off his perch with some major green. And I don’t mean kryptonite- I’m talking 1.075 MILLION for Detective Comics #27 (Batman’s debut). Batman fans crowed about how that proved…something. Really depends on how rational we’re talking.
Newsarama Discovers Superman True Auction House Winner
Well, it turns out there is TINY problem. It turns out Batman wasn’t the real winner of the auction. Turns out Detective Comics 27 sold for $900,000 with a 19.5 percent in-house fee, while Superman sold for $1 million flat.
What does this mean?
Well Bruce, at least you won in a Frank Miller comic, right?
[...] Not So Fast, Dark Knight…Superman Wins! [...]
If anybody has a problem with this, I have an answer to the debate once and for all…..
Help me win the lottery and I’ll pay $100 Million for a copy of Action Comics Number 1. There, controversy ended. Superman wins.
Hold on a minute you fanboys, think about this. Dealer fee or no, the buyer of of Detective Comics #27 forked $1,075,500 for it. Final price. Dealer fees or no, the total amount of money that was paid for the comic still means that that Batman wins. Sorry to rain on your parade.
And Tim, if you’re playing that game, everyone help me win the lottery and I’ll pay $200 million for a copy of Detective Comics #27. Hypotheticals don’t solve an argument.
Either way, one crazy person paid a lot of money for an old Batman comic that can’t be taken out and read and another crazy person paid a lot of money for an old Superman comic that can’t be taken out and read. There have to be better things to do with obscene amounts of money.
Sure hypotheticals solve arguments, especially in this case. We’re debating about which comic book is worth more and equating that to the heroes worth. Frankly, in my eyes, Superman is worth way more than any amount of money you can put together. You may disagree, but the fact of the matter, as I stated before, is that at the moment, Batman is more popular than Superman. Popularity does not always mean “best.” And, for now and for always, Superman was the catalyst for all super heroes as we know them today. Additionally, no other hero embodies all that is good in mankind than Superman, so despite popularity, Superman is the greatest there has been and forever will be.
For almost 80 years, Superman has remained at the top, but now Batman has hit a popularity high. If Detective Comics #27 holds the record for another 80, I may consider differently, but the reality is, Superman is the greatest, hands down. Batman may have a cool car and nifty gadgets, but he’s not Superman.
Not to flog a dead horse or anything…but hasn’t Batman been firmly on top since ’89 in terms of public persona, box office revenue, issue-to-issue sales, merchandise, etc.? Superman is waaaay more recognizable in worldwide visibility, but if it comes down to people voting with their dollars, it’s always going to be Batman.
I mean, if you throw Marvel into this boat, they’re both trounced by these standards, but still.
Mostly, I’m just thrilled that for the first time in years, the batbooks AND the superbooks are both EXCELLENT, with maybe even a slight edge to the wonderful superbooks. Secret Origin, man. It’s great.
I just feel the need to point out that the hero who “embodies all that is good about mankind” is not himself a human. What does it say about our heroes when they represent a completely non-achievable ideal?