Superman is more of a loner then Batman is.

[mathew101281]

Or rather Batman is a people person that pretends to be a loner, while Superman is loner that is placed in groups.

[Lightning Rider]

I think that's a fair interpretation. Ascended would probably agree I think.

For me, I'd be curious to question whether Batman has someone he can be as vulnerable in front of as Superman has with Lois. Alfred, Dick, and Selina have seen him at his lowest/purest for sure, but he's rarely forthright with his thoughts and emotions. Though that's not necessarily the same thing as being a loner.

[bat39]

Or rather Batman is a people person that pretends to be a loner, while Superman is loner that is placed in groups.

It actually makes sense if you look at the characters historically, and not just in the context of the popular interpretations today.

Going back to the early days, Bruce was engaged to Julie Madison. Clark was pining after Lois but didn't really make an effort to pursue her. It didn't take Batman long to have Robin by his side. Superman continued to work alone, with no confidant. Yes, he had a ''pal'' in Jimmy Olsen, but Jimmy really wasn't what Robin or Alfred were to Batman.

Batman continued to add allies - Alfred, then later Ace the Bathound, Bat-Mile, Bat-Girl and Batwoman. Superman continued to work alone - when Supergirl, his own flesh-and-blood, came along, he hid her from the world initially and kept her at arms length in an orphanage (from where she was later adopted).

Post-Crisis, things seemed to change. Clark and Lois were in a serious relationship and got married. And he soon had a great many allies - Steel, Supergirl (Matrix Supergirl, Linda Danvers and eventually Kara), Superboy, to name a few. His adoptive parents were alive.

Parallely, Batman got broodier, he started to become more of a solo character, and he started to alienate his allies. But he still wasn't a loner - certainly not as much of a loner as Superman was while starting out (historically, in the early comics, as well as in any retelling of his early years). And even going by the Post-Crisis history, Batman wasn't a loner, since Alfred was with him since Day 1 (a fact which Morrison reinforced in his run).

I think when you get down to it, Bruce has always had someone with him who understood him and what we was going through, or whom he could relate to - be it Alfred, Dick, the other Robins, or much later, Selina.

Whereas Clark, even in continuities where his adoptive parents were alive, didn't really have anyone who was going through what we was going through, or who saw the world the way he saw it. Superman, when he starts out, is definitely a much lonelier figure than any version of Batman.

[DrNewGod]

Batman is a loner, who happens to need others to accomplish his goals. Superman feels set apart because he's so different, but doesn't need others to achieve his goals as much.

[Frontier]

It's true that, traditionally, Superman's "sidekicks" have functioned differently from Batman's, outside media adaptions.

[Nite-Wing]

Arrow had a very good episode between Barry and Oliver that touched on this
Not typical but Bruce/Ollie are not people who have friends because the people who come into their life have come into it because of their repression of a normal life. If they lived normally none of these people would be around them in a way

Barry/ Superman has lots of friends because his powers give him a different outlook and perspective a purpose to embrace


of course if you are talking about who needs allies
The man with no powers needs infinitely more allies than the person with all the power

[prepmaster]

Batman is a loner because he can never show his pain.

[PCN24454]

I remember this deviantArt that depicted Superman as part of his own Sentai. It took me a while to realize how weird it would be considering how Superman always operates alone if he's now with the Justice League.

He's one of the few flagship heroes to have never had a sidekick before.