Well... at least a few people have a clue about Tarzan.
a build more like that of Apollo than Hercules
Let's look at them side by side.
SIZE
Batman is 6'2" and 210 lbs.
Tarzan is "several inches over six feet with a build more like that of Apollo than Hercules (my paraphrase)." So, while the exact stats aren't given, it looks like Tarzan is very close in size to Bruce. I suspect he's maybe an inch teller and a couple of pounds lighter but not enough of a difference to give either an edge.
STRENGTH
There's an interesting story to DC changing Batman from someone who could use his legs and back to hold up a ceiling that was slowly lowering on him with 1000 lbs force to someone who can bench press 1000 lbs, but let's not go there. It's become canon that Batman can bench 1000 lbs, which makes him stronger than the record holder.
We don't know exactly how strong Tarzan is in terms of weightlifting but there are some examples of feats of strength form the novels. In TARZAN AND THE LEOPARD MEN Tarzan lifts an adult male lion over his head, then throws it over a ten foot fence to land in the middle of his enemies. An adult male African lion weighs around 400-450 lbs. Lifting that weight is impressive. Throwing that over a 10' fence is much more impressive. At a guess, a person would need to be able to lift at least twoce that 425 lb weight to throw it that high, so we could estamate that Tarzan can press at least 850 lbs. But that would be if he was lifting a big kettleball or barbell. This is an angry and powerful animal with claws and teeth. Picking it up and not letting it get free before you can throw it is *much* harder.
Add to that the fact that Tarzan's usual means for fighting bolgani (his word for a gorilla) or a mangani (the apes that raised him which are similar in size and strength to a gorilla) is to put it in a full Nelson and break its neck. The full Nelson is a good controlling hold but it's not terribly efficient for cranking the neck. You really need to be roughly as strong or stronger than the person you use it on. In other words,Tarzan must be roughly as strong as a gorilla or mangani. In the 1985 edition of THE GUINESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS there is a comparison of the strength of a 135 lb chimp to that of human athletes the same size. The article extrapolates that a 400 lb gorilla should be able to bench press 2000 lbs.
So, if Tarzan is as strong as a gorilla, he is twice as strong as Batman. If he is slightly weaker than a gorilla, he is still something like 60-80% stronger than Batman.
SPEED
Batman has amazing reflexes but so does Tarzan. A gorilla moves with greater bursts of speed than a human but Tarzan consistently outmaneuvers gorillas. A lion or leopard is a lot faster and has much better reflexes, but Tarzan is quicker. His favorite tactic is to wait till a big cat springs, then duck under the claws, jump onto the back, put one arm around the throat, and stab the beast to death. He does this regularly through the series. This is hard to compare fairly because these guys do not face the same type of opponents. Tarzan doesn't dodge bullets because he prefers killing armed men from ambush. Batman rarely fights wild animals and often uses gadgets to help him. In fairness, I think we have to call this even.
FIGHTING SKILLS
Batman has his 127 martial arts. Tarzan has studied some too. In THE RETURN OF TARZAN we learn that he learned the skills of boxing and wrestling while in Europe and he uses moves from these in his subsequent fights with apes. In the authorized sequel, TARZAN AND THE VALLEY OF GOLD by Fritz Leiber we learn that Tarzan has travelled the world learning different forms of combat (unfortunately he doesn't get specific). In one chapter, Tarzan goes into a Mexican bullring bare-handed and wears the bull out by simply dodging its charges. At the book's end, he defeats Mr. Train, a giant flunky who has studied martial arts all over the world and has the ability to pluck a man's heart out of his chest with his bare hands. In the authorized sequel TARAN'S LOST ADVENTURE, writer Joe Lansdale repeats that Tarzan has been studying martial arts and mentions him spending time in a shaolin temple. This book has pribably the most over the top feat ever for Tarzan. He is tied to a post with his arms bound but manages to catch an arrow with his feet and (again, with his feet) throws it back with enough force to kill the archer(!) In TARZAN AND THE CITY OF GOLD he faces Phobeg, a professional gladiator who is bigger and more muscular than he is and has a short sword. Tarzan is barehanded but makes easy work of the gladiator. In TARZAN AND THE FORGOTTEN LEGION he disposes of a huge gladiator from a lost Roman colony with similar ease. Human opponents in the books have no chance against Tarzan. In "Tarzan and the Champion" he faces the world's heavyweight boxing champ "One Punch" Mullargen. The boxer starts throwing punches and Tarzan pickes him up, shakes him violently, and slams him to the ground. End of fight.
I think we have to give Batman the edge in fighting skill, but Tarzan is such a brilliant natural fighter that it's not a decisive difference.
SENSES
Batman is extremely watchful and alert. He is hard ot ambush and close to impossible to sneak up on. However, Tarzan's senses are simply better than human. We are never told why this is, exactly, but his night vision is like that of sheeta (the leopard) as his hearing, and his sense of smell is better than that of a bloodhound. He has detected the odor of blood from a mile away and followed it to its source. Batman will have a close to impossible time sneaking up on Tarzan because the ape man has a clear advantage here.
STEALTH
Batman has amazing skills and could give sneaking lessons to ninjas. This is one of his best and most important skills. It is also one of Tarzan's big strengths. He can move through the jungle so silently that even the most highly alert aniimals like sheeta (the leopard) and bara (the deer) will not be aware of him. In THE RETURN OF TARZAN, the ape man takes on a large caravan of of slavers moving through the jungle and effectively kills them at will. The only evidence they ever see of him is when a severed head comes hurling out of the trees. They decide he's a ghost because no human could stay unseen like that.
I'd put them at roughly even in overall skill in this area. In the city, I'd give batman a slight edge because it's an environment he's more familiar with. In the jungle the slight edge has to go to Tarzan.
It's a good contest! I know that you slanted it to Tarzan because people are going to say "Batman" without checking out the competition, but it's actually slanted enough that it's going to give Tarzan toe win.
Round 1: Tarzan wins. You don't let someone this dangerous get the drop on you and expect to live. Not even if you're Baman. (Note: if this was Gotham, and Batman had gotten the drop, I'd give this round to him).
Round 2: If this is (as it sounds) bare hands, I think it's too close to call. Both are amazing hand to hand fighters. Tarzan is stronger and may be faster but Batman has a skill advantage. Their advantages are close enough that I have to call it a wash. (If Tarzan has his weapons and Bruce is barehanded, I'd give this round to Tarzan).
Round 3: This will be a good fight but, even though I'm sure he's had spear training, this is not a weapon Batman uses enough to stay proficient with. Tarzan, on the other hand, is a master of the spear and uses it often.
Round 4: I'm assuming Tarzan has his knife. Both men are going to get cut up pretty badly and it's even possible both could die. This one is like round two but with a knife, it's going to go to Tarzan. You left Batman's morals on and turned Tarzan's off. A Batman who hesitates, even slightly, will be no match for Tarzan, who is pretty much a force of nature.
Close fight, but the set up gives it to Tarzan 3 ut of 4 with 1 undecided.
Log in to comment