Obviously this wouldn’t be a physical fight, Light wouldn’t last two seconds in such a confrontation… No, this would be a battle of wits between two geniuses with secret identities pitted against each other, both doing all they can to change their society according to what they believe in. Much like L, Batman would try to stop Kira.

  I think that on an intellectual level these two would be on equal terms, but Batman would probably win the first few rounds thanks to the fact that he’s much more experienced, in a similar way to when L found out what region of Japan Kira lived in.

  Unlike L, Batman wouldn’t have the full cooperation of the Japanese police, but he’d also have more freedom in his investigation. If he suspects someone to be guilty, the Dark Knight would sneak into their home while they’re away to discover what he can.  Oh and these little tricks Light has set in his room to know if someone entered and to prevent others from getting their hands on his Death Note? They’re very clever and well thought-of for a young student, but Batman has seen way worse and more complex when it comes to traps and having to pass undetected, thanks to his many confrontations with the Joker and many other villains. He’d leave everything exactly as it was, or appearing to be exactly as it was. Light would never even know he was there if Batman didn’t want him to.

  One disadvantage Batman would have is that it’s easier to discover his secret identity than it was to discover L’s. Bruce Wayne is a celebrity and there’s a precedent for villains intelligent enough who put the clues together to realize that Bruce Wayne is Batman, such as Bane or Ra’s Al Ghul… The difference however is that Batman is not as arrogant as L was. He wouldn’t announce to the whole world that he’s going after Kira, he’d just do so. So while I think Light would be intelligent enough to figure out who Batman is if he knew the Dark Knight was after him, the problem for him is that Batman would not give any warnings. Batman would have more freedom of movement than L had and would remain hidden until the time came to strike.

  If for some reason Kira found out that Batman was after him, he’d probably figure out his secret identity and write down Bruce Wayne’s demise on the Death Note… But I just don’t see Batman being that sloppy. I think Batman would win because he’d stop Kira at the beginning of his career while he’d still be figuring things out. If for some reason Batman was delayed for a few years before being able to investigate the Kira case and went up against Light during the period where he pretended to be L, then we’d have a more even match, but he wouldn’t wait that long.

  L announced “I’m L” very early in the investigation. But if this match came to happen, only once the threat of the Death Note was neutralized would Light find himself with a shinigami-looking vigilante stepping out of the shadows and towering over him, who’d then utter the words… “I’m Batman.”

WINNER: BATMAN