- "And now, you will fly to him, and you will battle him. To the death. Black and blue. Fight night! The greatest gladiator match in the history of the world: God versus Man! Day versus night! Son of Krypton versus Bat of Gotham!"
- ―Lex Luthor to Superman[src]
The Duel at Wayne Station was a battle brought on by Lex Luthor to see Batman and Superman destroy each other. Both heroes met at Wayne Station, in Gotham City and started a very fierce battle, but ultimately, they discovered Luthor's conspiracy against both of them, so they resolved their differences and joined forces to defeat him.
Background[]
Lex Luthor's Conspiracy[]
- "I figured out way back! If God is all-powerful, he cannot be all-good. And if he is all-good, then he cannot be all powerful. And neither can you be. They need to see the fraud you are, with their eyes. The blood on your hands. And tonight, they will."
- ―Lex Luthor to Superman[src]
After discovering Kryptonite at the bottom of the Indian Ocean, Lex Luthor organized an attack on Nairomi in order to frame Superman, who arrived after the incident only to save Lois Lane. When Bruce Wayne discovered that the Kryptonite was about to be delivered to Luthor, he decided to steal the mineral in order to kill the Kryptonian due to how dangerous his power was after witnessing the destruction caused in the Battle of Metropolis. During the chase, however, he encountered Superman, who threatened him to stop marking criminals. Although Batman listened to him, he ignored him, and claimed that he would bleed.
Luthor later gave Wallace Keefe a modern wheelchair containing a hidden bomb, convincing him to request an audience with Senator June Finch to confront Superman about his actions. Finch agreed, publicly inviting Superman to the United States Capitol, where before the hearing could begin, the bomb inside Keefe's chair exploded, leaving Superman as the only survivor. Overwhelmed at having failed to prevent the bombing, Superman, after being marked as the prime suspect, decided to self-impose himself into a remote mountainside to reflect.[1]
Batman's Preparation[]
- "You know you can't win this. It's suicide."
"I'm older now than my father ever was. This may be the only thing I do that matters." - ―Alfred Pennyworth and Bruce Wayne[src]
Batman lights up the Bat Signal.
Shocked by what had happened, Bruce Wayne soon received checks from Wallace Keefe, all with a note for not dealing with the problem with Superman, which unleashed a powerful, intense rage within him. Later, Batman infiltrated the LexCorp Research Park and stole the Kryptonite, with which he made dust grenades and a Kryptonite-laced Spear to take down Superman. He also began training arduously and unattainably, building himself a powerful exoskeleton armor, setting some traps in an abandoned Gotham City Police Department building, and finally activating the Bat Signal.[1]
Kal-El's Manipulation[]
- "You think I'll fight him for you?"
"Hmm, yes, I do. I think you will fight-fight-fight for that special lady in your life."
"She's safe on the ground, how about you?"
"Close, but I'm not talking about Lois. No, every boy's special lady is his mother. Martha! Martha! Martha!" - ―Superman and Lex Luthor[src]
Taking advantage of Superman's absence, Lex Luthor ordered the capture of Lois Lane and Martha Kent, kidnapping the latter to an abandoned warehouse under the custody of Anatoli Knyazev and his contractors, and taking Lane to the top of LexCorp Tower, where he pushed her to lure the Kryptonian out. After getting her to safety on the ground, Kal-El returned to confront Luthor, who revealed that he had captured his mother, threatening to kill her if he did not kill Batman. With the Kryptonian under his control, Luthor informed him that he had less than an hour left and departed to Scout Ship 0344.[1]
Duel[]
- "Bruce, please! I was wrong, you have to listen to me, Lex wants us to.... You don't understand, there's no time!"
"I understand!" - ―Superman and Batman[src]
After revealing to Lois Lane that he had to convince Batman, Superman arrived in Gotham City, where Batman was waiting for him. After seeing with his x-ray vision through his mask that he was Bruce Wayne, Superman asked for help in stopping Lex Luthor, but Batman interrupted him by attacking him with hidden sonic weapons in the field, which Superman destroyed. Although Superman tried to explain the situation by saying that there was no time, Batman continued to ignore him, so Superman pushed him away. Upon getting up, Batman activated more weapons to defeat him, to which Superman used his heat vision to destroy them all.
Knowing that it was useless to talk to him, Superman grabbed Batman, only to throw him, carry him through the building, and throw him to the Bat Signal. Superman warned him that if he wanted to, he would already be dead, before Batman threw a smoke grenade at him, which Superman passed through, finding no trace of him. Batman surprised Superman by firing another grenade at him that sprayed Kryptonite dust in his face, making him weaker. Batman then let him breathe, telling him that he was not brave, as only men were brave. When Superman tried to punch Batman, Batman blocked his fist with ease, and attacked him with a series of punches, jumping on him over a window and causing both of them to crash and fall to the penultimate floor.
Batman began to kick his opponent, and continued to punch him until he left him lying on the ground again. At that moment, Superman recovered from the intoxication and threw Batman against a wall. However, Batman again fired another grenade with Kryptonite powder at him, at the same time breaking the mask of his armor. Batman proceeded to grab the sink from a bathroom, which he used to hit Superman in the head, knocking him unconscious. Immediately after, Batman took Superman to a railing, where he threw him to the first floor, before going down and tying his ankle, hitting him against several pillars. At this, Batman claimed that his parents must have sent him to Earth for a reason, while his own taught him something different: dying in the gutter for no reason at all.
Knowing for sure that he had won, Batman retrieved the Kryptonite Spear and approached Superman, slightly cutting part of his cheek. Before he could kill him, Superman begged him to find the man responsible for everything and save Martha. The name prompted Batman to remember the night his parents died, when Thomas uttered the name Martha before dying. Confused and angry, Batman demanded to know why he said that name, only for Lane, who came to Gotham in a helicopter, to appear in the middle of the fight and stop Batman, revealing that it was the name of Superman's mother. Realizing that Superman was just as human as he was, Batman backed away and angrily threw the spear away.[1]
Aftermath[]
- " I cannot let you win. I gave the Bat a fighting chance, but he was not strong enough. If man won't kill God... the Devil will do it. An ancient Kryptonian deformity! Blood of my blood! Born to destroy you! Your Doomsday!"
- ―Lex Luthor to Superman[src]
Once Superman recovered, he explained to Batman that Lex Luthor had captured his mother and that she had little time left to live. Lois Lane also told them that Scout Ship 0344 was feeding off of Metropolis's electrical energy and that Luthor had to be responsible for this. Just as Superman set out to save his mother, Batman promised him that he would save Martha and that she wouldn't die tonight, giving him time to deal with Luthor.
Batman successfully rescues Martha Kent.
Now with Superman as an ally, Batman boarded the Batwing and contacted Alfred Pennyworth, who tracked Anatoli Knyazev's cell phone, tracking Martha Kent to an old warehouse where she was being held captive. Telling him that he was wrong and didn't deserve him, Batman headed to the warehouse, where he viciously confronted Knyazev's contractors to successfully rescue Kent, leaving her in the care of the Gotham City Police Department, before departing in the Batwing to aid Superman.
Doomsday emerges from his cocoon.
Meanwhile, on the Scout Ship, Superman confronted Luthor, revealing that he now had Batman as an ally and his mother was safe, believing Luthor had lost. However, Luthor, unwilling to lose, was quick to reveal his contingency plan - a Kryptonian deformity created by mixing his blood with Dru-Zod's corpse: Doomsday. Once the monster emerged from his cocoon, it confronted Superman directly at Heroes Park, leading to a disastrous battle.[1]