5 Characters Who Filled in as Batman (And Why They Failed)

Batman is DC’s biggest superhero, and there’s little doubt about why. He’s a dark avenger who has experienced unimaginable tragedy, but found a way to turn that into fuel to help his city and everyone in it. Batman is an insanely competent hero whose unmatched skillset, never-ending bag of gadgets, and unbreakable will have allowed him to go farther than any other hero could in his situation. Gotham City was once thought to be irredeemable, but Batman kept chipping away at it until its turn to the light seemed almost inevitable. There’s no other hero quite like Batman, but that doesn’t mean that there’s only ever been one Dark Knight.

Yes, Bruce Wayne is the best-known Batman, but he’s far from the only one. Plenty of other heroes, and even a few heroes, have taken up the mantle of the Bat at one time or another. They’ve all done so for their own purposes, each bringing unique strengths and weaknesses to the role, but none have lasted as Bruce has. Today, we’re looking at five of these fill-in Batmen and exploring why they failed to live up to the original Dark Knight. All of these characters could have been Batman for a long time. One still is today, and one was actually better than Bruce ever was. We won’t know who’s who until we banter about some bats.

5) Bane

Bane is famous and infamous for breaking the Bat. He was tormented by the sight of bats as a child, and imagined Batman as his rival, being the one man who could compare to him on strategic and physical levels. The villain longed to establish that he was the world’s greatest man by defeating Batman, and while he beat the Dark Knight once, every subsequent encounter left Bane even more broken than Bruce. He could never break the Batman, so when the world was plunged into chaos and darkness by Earth 3’s Crime Syndicate in Forever Evil: Arkham War, Bane knew that only Batman could control the fallen Gotham. So, Bane took up the mantle of Batman and enforced his rule on Gotham.

Bane had an army of villains forced to work under him, and all the physical and mental skills he needed to rule, but in the end, he lost to the true Batman. The problem is that Bane saw the cowl as a crown, the reputation as a path to ruling over Gotham. He only wore the costume to terrify Gotham’s scores, and he enforced his will with violence and zero care for the city. Bane was entirely selfish, which is the opposite of everything Batman is. When the real Batman returned, Bane’s forces crumbled and abandoned him, while Bruce had the entire city’s support. Bane lost because he only fought for himself, while Bruce fought for everyone.

4) Jim Gordon

The New 52’s other faux Batman was the Dark Knight’s longtime ally, Jim Gordon. When Bruce was thought dead after his battle against Joker in “Endgame,” the city admitted they needed a Batman. Powers International funded a new Batman project, aiming to one day create an entire task force of heroes like him, and their first recruit was Jim Gordon. He was given muscle implants and a massive robot suit he nicknamed Rookie, trying his best to fill the shoes of the best man he knew. He fought, bled, and nearly died for Gotham, but in the end, it took Bruce to save the city they loved most.

The thing that held Jim back wasn’t a lack of heroic spirit, but that he couldn’t operate on the level Batman could. He let himself get swept up in the machinations of the corporation that wanted to turn Batman into their symbol, and Jim struggled with living up to the myth he built in his own mind. Bruce has always operated independently, doing only what he thinks is right, which is what separates him from Jim. Gordon believes in the system and that they can change things from the inside, while Batman changes things from the outside. It’s a subtle difference, but Gordon worries about methodology and public impact, while Batman only cares about doing the right thing.

3) Jean-Paul

Jean-Paul was the first to truly succeed Bruce as Batman, donning the cowl after Bane broke Bruce’s back. He threw himself into the role even more than Bruce ever had, neglecting any form of normal life and policing Gotham 24/7. Jean-Paul decided that the previous Batman never went far enough, redesigning a much more armored and deadly Batsuit and stomping down on crime’s neck with an iron boot. He was dark, edgy, and brutal beyond belief, which meant that he was the embodiment of everything wrong with superheroes in the ‘90s. 

The truth is that Jean-Paul was set up for failure. The ‘90s had a problem with replacing or reimagining heroes as grittier and darker than ever, and this change called out against that. Jean-Paul’s Batman removed every aspect of humanity and Bruce Wayne from the Caped Crusader, leaving nothing more than a vengeful monster hellbent on punishing criminals. Azrael went against everything Batman stood for, prioritizing fighting over helping. He wasn’t a symbol at all, he was just a thug. That’s not what Batman is, and that’s why he lost faith in himself and his crusade when Bruce returned.

2) Jace Fox

Jace is a special entry on this list because he is still Batman today. His path to becoming the Dark Knight started when he was a kid, accidentally killing a man with his car because he wasn’t paying attention. His father, longtime Batman ally Lucius Fox, covered the truth and blamed the dead man, setting Jace on the path of justice. He trained for years and traveled the world, and when he found a bunker filled with Bruce’s old equipment, he decided to use it to become the new Batman. He wanted to be a hero that everyone saw, and who could inspire people with his presence in a way he thought the original couldn’t.

Frankly, I really enjoy Jace as Batman. He’s an interesting character whose dedication to life and doing the right thing is just as strong as Bruce’s. The problem is that he’s not distinct enough to be his own character when Bruce is still around. Between Jace and Bruce, most people would pick Bruce because they’ve known him for their entire lives. Even beyond that, Jace becoming the next Batman doesn’t work nearly as well when there are about half a dozen pre-established, beloved Bat-Family members who all have a strong contention for the role. Jace is hardly connected to the mythos that Batman has spent decades building, and if anyone should replace Batman, it needs to be someone deeply entrenched in it.

1) Dick Grayson

In a way, Dick was always meant to be Bruce’s successor. He was the first Robin and Bruce’s first-ever partner, even before Alfred. He’s fought alongside Batman longer than anyone else and understands Bruce better than everyone. Even after he created his own identity as Nightwing, his inheritance as the next Dark Knight was still promised to him. He finally embraced that destiny when Bruce seemingly died in Final Crisis, taking up the cowl to prove that Batman would never disappear. He redefined everything that Batman could be, making him into an even greater symbol of hope, and even after Bruce returned, Dick operated as Gotham’s main Batman.

The thing that did Dick’s time as Batman in wasn’t a failing of his character or fans demanding he return to his old role, but DC itself. The New 52 reboot wanted to reset characters to their most classic forms, meaning that Dick lost the Batman mantle and returned to being Nightwing. Honestly, I’m still upset about that. Dick proved that he was just as capable as Bruce, and opened the door to an infinite array of new stories that he could star in. Dick was robbed, and he definitely needs to return to being Batman at some point. He’s DC’s greatest legacy character, and this is one of DC’s most important legacies.

Which fill-in Batman is your favorite? I’ll always love Dick Grayson, and as amazing as Bruce is, seeing someone else wear the cowl always makes for an awesome story.

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