DC’s 5 Worst Legacy Characters and Their Impact, Ranked

Legacy has always been a major part of DC’s mythos. Almost since the beginning of their shared universe, DC has penned heroes who inspire the next generation to pick up the torch and carry on their never-ending battle against injustice. Robin debuted less than a year after Batman, and he was primed to take over as the Caped Crusader for decades. Countless stories have been told about potential futures, all in which DC’s heroes have inspired millions to do what’s right. Heck, the future of the entire DC Universe is protected by the Legion of Super-Heroes, who were directly inspired by Superboy and Supergirl. 

Legacy characters can be some of the most nuanced and beloved heroes in all of comics. Dick Grayson, Wally West, Mister Terrific, any Green Lantern, and so many more sit as some of the best examples of what it means to carry on a hero’s legacy and how powerful that can be. Of course, the same is true in the reverse. There are some truly bad legacy heroes out there, either because the legacy doesn’t fit or because how they became the hero doesn’t make much sense. These characters can still, if given the chance, be great. But, with all that said, let’s talk about why these legacy characters don’t work right now.

5) Huntress — Helena Wayne

The Huntress identity is interesting. Originally, it was Helena Wayne’s unique superhero identity on Earth-Two, but when the post-Crisis timeline introduced Helena Bertinelli, a new character in the modern day, it turned the Huntress mantle into a legacy. Technically, Bertinelli is the one who created the Huntress persona, and Wayne is the one who inherits it. In her recent Prime Earth appearances, Wayne has even directly said that Bertinelli was her inspiration, and choosing this name was a way to honor her.

The problem is that Batman and Bertinelli famously do not get along. In fact, Bruce has personally excommunicated her from the Bat-Family a couple of times over her crime-fighting methods. The vast majority of their interactions are them fighting in some capacity. So why would Bertinelli be so close to Batman’s daughter that she’s the mantle she chooses to inherit? This type of relationship needs them to be close in ways I can’t see as of now. It definitely needs development to show why it’s Bertinelli specifically that Wayne chooses to emulate. I can believe it, but I need to be shown why I should. As of right now, though, it doesn’t work.

4) Wonder Woman — Artemis

Diana won the right to call herself Wonder Woman in a tournament to determine the greatest Amazon, and when her worthiness was called into question, Artemis won the second tournament, showing herself to be the true Wonder Woman. Except that isn’t how this went at all, and Artemis was set up for failure. Hippolyta manipulated everything so Diana would lose and Artemis would take her place, as the Queen had a vision that Wonder Woman would soon die. Artemis never earned the Wonder Woman title, and, worse yet, she never fit with it.

Wonder Woman is meant to be a symbol of peace and truth in a world that’s long forgotten those things. She’s supposed to guide everyone to paradise through her actions and beliefs. Artemis, meanwhile, was brash, mean, and downright abrasive. She was all hard edges and violence, where Diana would have offered a gentle hand. Artemis was never supposed to be Wonder Woman, and the entire DC Universe let her know it. The worst part is that she could have been an interesting Wonder Woman, showing how someone who can’t live up to Diana’s ideal handles the role, but she never reached that potential. She was created to die, and that’s all she did as Wonder Woman.

3) Arthur Joseph Curry

Aquaman is a hero undergoing constant reinvention, but none were weirder than the time DC tried to resurrect his Golden Age origins with Arthur Joseph Curry. The Aquaman that most are familiar with is the half-Atlantean, half-human prince of the seas, also called Orin, but the Golden Age Aquaman was an ordinary human whose father used science to grant powers to so he could survive underwater. After Orin’s disappearance around Infinite Crisis, Arthur Joseph Curry emerged. He had a modernized version of Aquaman’s Golden Age origin and was set on the path to becoming the new Aquaman, as if guided by destiny and reincarnation.

Of course, Orin was still around as the Dweller in the Depths, Arthur’s guide, which made the whole reincarnation angle impossible, and turned this story from mystical and cool to downright convoluted. There were just too many coincidences between the two characters for it to be anything but aggravating. Even Arthur himself was annoyed by how people kept referring to him as Orin, to the point where he abandoned Atlantis and disappeared entirely. Arthur could have been a cool modernization of Aquaman’s first origin, but he was way too close to the current Aquaman to work.

2) Supergirl — Matrix

The post-Crisis era was weird for everyone, but especially for Superman. DC was determined to keep him as the Last Son of Krypton and only Kryptonian, no matter what, but they also wanted to appease fans who demanded Supergirl back. So, they made a compromise with Matrix. She was a protoplasmic being from a pocket universe where the Time Trapper tried to recreate the pre-Crisis timeline. That world’s Lex Luthor created her to fight General Zod and his cronies, and her unique form let her shapeshift and mimic most of Superman’s powers.

The problem with Matrix is that, while she was an interesting character in her own right, she didn’t scratch that Supergirl itch. She was completely different from Kara, but DC marketed her as the answer to everyone who missed the original Supergirl. Matrix was supposed to quiet those fans down, but it only made them want Supergirl back more than ever. Matrix was eventually fused with Linda Danvers, becoming another new Supergirl, but even she only lasted so long before Kara made her dramatic return. Matrix is, unfortunately, a case study in how not to replace a beloved character. 

1) Batman — Jace Fox

I love Jace. His Future State comic convinced me that he has the mentality, skills, and character required to be the Dark Knight, and I was beyond excited to see how he was incorporated into the timeline. However, the way they actually added Jace leaves more to be desired than I can say. He unceremoniously found one of Batman’s bunkers and decided to claim the Dark Knight’s name, which everyone just kind of accepted, despite the fact that Bruce was still very much around. As of right now, he lacks any niche beyond being a Black Batman, and while the fact that he is a Black Batman is great, he has no reason to be Batman specifically.

The problem isn’t that Jace couldn’t be Batman, but that there are at least six other people in line to be the next Dark Knight before him. Dick has been Batman before, Damian has made it his life goal to become Batman, and the rest of Bruce’s three other children either have or would put on the cowl if push came to shove. Heck, I think Cass wants it most out of anyone. Then there’s the fact that when you ask the average DC fan who the next Batman would be, they say Terry McGinnis, which just complicates things further. 

Jace is a great character, but he was never given a reason to be the next Batman when so much of Batman’s mythos centers around that exact question, and he has next to no connection to that conversation. Jace would need everyone in the Bat-Family to choose not to inherit the title, or to become even more interconnected to Bruce, before fans would accept him as a viable Batman candidate. When replacing an iconic hero like Batman, you can’t just make it someone out of the woodwork, and, unfortunately for Jace, that’s exactly what he was at the start of his adventures.

Which legacy character do you think needs the most work to inherit their mantle? Leave a Comment below and join the conversation in the ComicBook Forum!

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