David Xanatos(Gargoyles) vs Superman(DCAU)

[FaxModem1]

David Xanatos, the primary antagonist of the animated series Gargoyles, is set to bring Castle Wyvern to the top of his skyscraper, to see if he can actually bring gargoyles to life, and is in the process of doing so, when the local news starts reporting that Superman is patrolling New York City, and basically helping out with the local accidents, crimes, acts of gods, etc. that happen in a major metropolis.

Deciding to play it safe, Xanatos boxes up the gargoyle 'statues' in a warehouse until this Kryptonian alien situation is dealt with.

What happens?

To those unfamiliar, David Xanatos is a man who is what Lex Luthor wishes he could be, brilliant, rich, and only takes an action if it benefits him in some way. Often uses the Xanatos Gambit, in which no matter the outcome, he will profit from his actions, while appearing to superficially lose.

For clarification, yes, there is Kryptonite in this world, but there is nothing else DC related in it. Just Krypton related material from Superman The Animated Series, so if it comes down to it, yes, Brainiac will eventually show up.

For Superman, we're using the DC Animated Universe Superman, as shown at the beginning of Superman: The Animated Series.

Can Xanatos, a master of planning, still best Superman? Or is Superman just too powerful to be exploited and will be able to stop Xanato's less legal operations? And, will Xanatos be able to defeat Superman if he considers the alien too much of a bother? Or will David Xanatos be perpetually in jail for his crimes?

[The Romulan Republic]

In a world with Kryptonite? Absolutely Xanatos can take Superman if he's so inclined. Although it might be somewhat dependent on which version of Superman we're dealing with, and what the current power set is (I'm more familiar with TV/movie versions of Superman than comics versions of Superman). I'm guessing from your post that its Animated Series Superman, who's not the most powerful iteration.

Take away the Kryptonite and make it a challenge.

Although I think that like Goliath, Superman might end up in frenemies territory eventually, if Xanatos doesn't off him. Xanatos isn't entirely evil, and their are likely to be situations where he and Superman have common interests. Especially if Braniac does show up.

[FaxModem1]

Although it might be somewhat dependent on which version of Superman we're dealing with, and what the current power set is (I'm more familiar with TV/movie versions of Superman than comics versions of Superman). I'm guessing from your post that its Animated Series Superman, who's not the most powerful iteration.

I thought I made it clear...

For Superman, we're using the DC Animated Universe Superman, as shown at the beginning of Superman: The Animated Series.

So, just to be absolutely clear here, that scene with the little girl that was saved by Superman because she fell off her balcony, in the middle of The Last Son of Krypton three parter, that Superman, right there, who hasn't even interviewed with the Daily Planet yet.

And to be fair, kryptonite is something that one, Xanatos has to actually have access to, as it's seemingly rather rare, and two, something that Xanatos knows is harmful to Kryptonians, something Luthor only discovered by accident because Superman interfered with some petty crooks robbing Luthor's museum which held it as an exhibit.

[Napoleon the Clown]

Xanatos seems smart enough to avoid grabbing attention from the authorities, for the most part. Considering his wealth, he'd probably finance what it takes to make Supes figure things are under control and leave. In straight conflict he'd be screwed, and with no ready knowledge of kryptonite there's little he can do against the Big Blue Boy Scout.

Also, Xanatos doesn't get up to schemes that would especially grab Superman's attention. He'd probably just wait to see if Superman was interested in his activities then continue, seeing as the gargoyle situation is perfectly legal.

[FaxModem1]

Xanatos seems smart enough to avoid grabbing attention from the authorities, for the most part. Considering his wealth, he'd probably finance what it takes to make Supes figure things are under control and leave. In straight conflict he'd be screwed, and with no ready knowledge of kryptonite there's little he can do against the Big Blue Boy Scout.

Also, Xanatos doesn't get up to schemes that would especially grab Superman's attention. He'd probably just wait to see if Superman was interested in his activities then continue, seeing as the gargoyle situation is perfectly legal.

Xanatos also likes getting things under his control. I wonder if he would try and make his own Bizarro the same way he made Thailog.

[Lord Revan]

Maybe but Xanatos is lacks one weakness the Lex Luthor has essentially Xanatos is willing to admit defeat and for the most part doesn't get personally invested in actions, they're just business so to Xanatos there's no reason to get angry if they fail or obesses over someone opposing. While Lex Luthor's major fault is that takes his defeats at hands of Superman very personally and thus MUST defeat/disgrace Superman even if it hurts his enterprises (at least that's true for the DCAU version of Luthor who tried to get elected for president just to piss Superman off).

[The Romulan Republic]

Yeah. Xanatos's typical response to defeat can pretty much be summed up as "Take it in stride, find the silver lining, and move on to the next plan."

[Zixinus]

Xanatos would win by making Superman his ally, manipulating him carefully to his way of thinking and establishing himself as a "good guy". He may not even need the green rocks.

[Simon_Jester]

Luthor is, canonically, smart enough to arrange his business enterprises such that Superman cannot easily get him thrown in jail by revealing evidence of illegal activities; I'd assume Xanatos can do the same. Conversely, across multiple depictions of the character, Luthor eventually deduces Superman's nature and vulnerabilities enough to become a threat; I'd assume Xanatos can do the same.

On the whole, I'd say that Xanatos and Luthor are similar enough that anything one can do, the other can do, with a few exceptions. There's no obvious reason to assume that one is drastically smarter, better at being a billionaire with shady dealings, or otherwise superior to the other in the areas where they both excel.

One difference is, yes, Xanatos being better at bouncing back from defeat, or making plans that allow him to salvage something from a defeat.

Another difference is (and this is important), Xanatos studies magic. I'm a little hazy on the overall plot arc of Gargoyles, so I'm not sure if he has any knowledge of magic at the moment the crossover starts. However, I strongly suspect that in the course of his investigations, he may somehow learn of Superman's vulnerability to magic. Even if none of the magic-using characters in the DCAU exist in this crossover, presumably the magic-using threats from the Gargoyles setting do.

So we may see Xanatos trying to use magic (a more flexible and versatile instrument for subduing or controlling Superman) instead of kryptonite (which can only kill Superman). This is in keeping with the general theme that Xanatos is more likely to seek control, or an equalizer of some kind, rather than just wanting to kill Superman to prove his superiority.

[Alternatively, if Xanatos tries to befriend and ally with Superman, becoming a magician gives Xanatos a unique skill set that Superman can't match, and which allows Xanatos to help Superman against some of the most threatening enemies Superman faces. Making yourself indispensible thanks to your useful talents is a good way to become someone's ally.]

[The Romulan Republic]

Yes. Xanatos (whose' name apparently gets autocorrected to "Manatees") has three major qualities that set him apart from Luthor, I believe-

1. He's much less vengeful and petty when it comes to coping with defeat, as a rule.
2. He regularly combines magic and technology (his right hand man is actually a shape-shifting fairy trickster).
3. He has a family he genuinely cares about, which could be considered a weakness, but probably not one Superman will exploit.

As to magical options for facing Superman- in a season one episode of Gargoyles, Xanatos's ally Demona stole a magic book from the Gargoyles and used it to put their leader Goliath under mind control. I wonder if that would work on Superman. Because at the point where this scenario begins, I believe, that book is in Xanatos's possession.

Play his cards right, and he could make Superman his loyal lackey.

[Solauren]

Xanatos could handle Superman.

More then likely, he'd have his girlfriend Fox ask her father for the data he needs to finish the steel clan, instead of having the Gargoyles steel it. Now he's got flying robots armed with blasters.

Xanatos is likely to, via third parties, set up 'tests' for Superman to figure out his limitations. More then likely these tests would involve someone trying to steal from Xanatos. Superman shows up and stops them, and in the process 'oops, new security bots opened fire on you, sorry about that' and 'oops, the other one yanked on your hair.'

And, the police investigation ends up showing the would-be thieves are actually working for Xanatos, testing security, etc, so Superman actually attacked law abiding citizens!

Now, Xanatos has information on Supermans abilities, AND can have charges laid against him for trespassing and attacking his employees.
And imagine the headlines "Alien invader attacks business during security review, damaging private property."

And at the same time, Xanatos also got a strand of Supermans hair to experiment with....