Batman v. Superman, and 7 More of the Greatest Rivalries in Fiction

Bennet v Darcy (Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
She’s prejudice and he’s pride in Jane Austen’s most popular (perhaps) novel. Though the two (spoiler!) wind up together in the end, there’s no meet-cute for one of literature’s most prickly couples. A series of misunderstandings, compounded by the aforementioned character traits and sinister intervention of a certain Mr. Wickham lead to some brutal sparring matches between Miss Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy. If cutting retorts and significant glances could take down buildings, there’d be nary a country estate left standing by the end.
Fighting Since: 1813
Greatest Battle: After a brief rapprochement, Elizabeth scolds Darcy over his ill treatment of (enormous liar) Wickham. The fight ultimately leads to a greater understanding between the two, but not before a few legendary verbal strikes.

Holmes v Moriarty (The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Arthur Conan Doyle)
Despite just two shadowy appearances in the original works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Moriarty’s status as the man who took down Sherlock (for a time, anyway) in The Adventure of the Final Problem more than earns him the nickname “the Napoleon of crime,” as well as the even more coveted the title of Holmes’ one and only archnemesis. Moriarty’s reputation has only been burnished in the intervening decades, through books, movies, video games, and TV shows. Doyle himself gave over very little time to the dastardly professor, but almost everyone who has taken a crack at Sherlock since has managed to include Moriarty at some point. Right now, there are two versions of the character on two different, extremely popular Holmes-related TV shows. Sherlock won’t be getting a break anytime soon.
Fighting Since: 1893
Greatest Battle: Two words: Reichenbach Falls.

Valjean v Javert (Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo)
Their rivalry spanned decades, though it took place during a single novel. It was a big one, though, in terms of both page count and influence during the intervening century and a half. Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables was initially a rather significant disappointment with the critics, but a Broadway musical and several movie versions have ensured Hugo’s characters have resonated so strongly they’ve part of our cultural shorthand. Inspector Javert is the heartless and obsessed representative of law rendered without mercy, and Valjean is the convicted criminal whose bravery and rectitude represent a more universal spirit of justice. Valjean eventually triumphs, but only when Javert sees the flaws in his own moral code.
Fighting Since: 1862, through a book, a musical, and several movies.
Greatest Battle:  [Spoiler Alert] Though the two rarely meet, a climactic confrontation outside of a Paris sewer leads to Javert’s eventual downfall.

Bond v Blofeld (The James Bond series, by Ian Fleming)
In Ian Fleming’s original Bond novel series, 007 had already fought a procession of formidable and notorious bad guys, including Dr. Julius No and Auric Goldfinger, but they’d all been one-offs, generally vanquished prior to the last page of whatever book spawned them. It wasn’t until the ninth book in the series, Thunderball, that Fleming introduced both the terrorist organization SPECTRE and its leader, evil genius Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Over two further novels, the battle between the two becomes increasingly violent and personal. The character has also appeared in the movies, played by such heavyweights as Donald Pleasance, Telly Savalas, Max von Sydow, and, most recently, Christoph Waltz.
Fighting Since: 1961
Greatest Battle: The climactic dual at the conclusion of You Only Live Twice involves a sword and a wooden staff in the “Garden of Death.” One of the men is left dead, the other with no memory.

Harry v Voldemort (The Harry Potter series, by J. K. Rowling)
Harry Potter’s battle with Lord Voldemort began when Harry’s mother sacrificed herself to save her infant son. Throughout Rowling’s series, You-Know-Who grew in power, while Harry and the gang fought battle after battle to keep him contained. And we all know how well that went (till the bitter end, of course). Seven books (and counting), eight movies (and counting), and the inestimable love of countless fans have all made this fictional rivalry one of the most impactful of our times.
Fighting Since: 1997’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Greatest Battle: Final book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows culminates in the Battle of Hogwarts, bringing together the entirety of Team Harry to fight the forces of He Who Must Not Be Named within the school’s walls. Casualties, sadly, are high on both sides.

Dracula v Van Helsing (Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
Like many of the greatest rivalries, this one grew in the popular imagination far beyond the source material. In Bram Stoker’s original novel, Van Helsing is merely an eccentric doctor with some knowledge of obscure diseases. After a great deal of time, he comes upon the secret of Count Dracula’s vampirism, but too late to help Dracula’s first victim, Lucy. The intervening decades have revealed Van Helsing (or, occasionally, a descendant) to be a monster hunter extraordinaire, his reputation and skill growing with each new iteration. 2004 movie Van Helsing portrayed the once elderly doctor as a straight up superhero, in the form of the decidedly not-decrepit Hugh Jackman. While the original incarnation had only his wits and some medical knowledge to bring to bear in his fight with the vampires, he has become more than a match for the undead in the 21st century.
Fighting Since: 1897
Greatest Battle: The high-stakes (get it?) conclusion of Stoker’s novel put a pretty definitive cap on the rivalry between the vampire and the professor, but that somehow hasn’t stopped the 120 years of fighting ever since.

Smiley v Karla (The George Smiley Series, by John le Carré)
Frequently described as the anti-James Bond, John le Carré’s spymaster George Smiley is plain and unassuming, both physically and temperamentally. He has at least one significant quirk, however: a photo on his desk of his longtime antagonist, “Karla,” a Soviet Intelligence officer who has been a thorn in Smiley’s side since before his first appearance in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Their rivalry plays out across three of le Carré’s espionage thrillers, and, like many of the long-time rivalries on this list, the major beats occur when the two are far from each other, each manipulating spies and agents in a series of efforts to outmaneuver the other.
Fighting Since: 1974’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Greatest Battle: [Spoiler Alert] There’s never a truly climactic confrontation between the two, but Smiley’s People sees Karla’s downfall with Smiley’s involvement.
What’s your favorite rivalry in fiction?