Better Preppers than Batman

[Tomzilla]

I'll third David Xanatos.

It's true he's nowhere near the likes of Reed Richards, Doctor Doom, or The Doctor, especially when it comes to science and sorcery. What Xanatos excels in, however, is finding victory in every scenario that comes his way. When I think about 'Prep', inventions and gadgets spring to mind. But the best 'preppers', I think, are those who can manipulate other characters, not just the cosmic forces of the universe. David Xanatos is very good at manipulating others, even beings who could crush him with a thought. I briefly touched upon this earlier, but I especially love just how adaptive he is to nearly every situation he's encountered. I could see Batman besting him in combat or exposing him as a criminal, but Xanatos has proven he'd not only be prepared for this, he'd find a way to make this work in his favor. Make no mistake, there's always an opportunity for you to take advantage of, it just needs to be harnessed.

Ra's al Ghul, Vandal Savage, and Lex Luthor are all excellent DC candidates too. Hell, even the Joker ranks up there.


Don't forget, what really makes Batman an excellent strategist is the fact he has friends in high places to command.

[abmccray]

This is Adam West - Batman type prep, which is the "best" prep, because it's basically cheating (as in, there's no way anyone could prep this feasibly): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xw6kIkDNW4I

Under that, as the post above me states, you have ridiculous manipulators like Xanatos/Batman/Doom that can "perfectly" read what people will do and then manipulate a right place/right time situation (with Doom adding science and magic on top of this). And they typically do this "just in case" something ever happens.

Then you have people like Dresden or the Winchesters that prep for possible scenarios and enact it.

Then you have more 'reactive' prep like Spider-man/Reed/etc., who plan when they know they are entering a particular situation.

That's pretty much how I rank "prep" in something like this. The first level (Black Dynamite/Adam West Batman) would win because they basically that kid on the playground that counters everything you say you have with something "better" - only it's something that they actually HAVE because they just happened to do it beforehand, even if it's impossible. Then people who prep for "every contingency" to be to the point where they're actually near the above level, because, even though you're more powerful, they know you are and know exactly how you'll use your power. And etc.