Every Member of the Bat-Family, Ranked By Threat Level

Batman became the protector of Gotham the night his parent died, it just took years for his body to catch up. Bruce Wayne started his lonely war on crime, working with his butler Alfred, but he wouldn’t be solo forever. One fateful night at the circus, he watched the parents of Dick Grayson get murdered and he decided to help the young boy get justice by making him into Robin. This was the beginning of the Bat-Family, back when it was just Batman, Robin, and Alfred, but it wouldn’t stay just them forever. Bruce wasn’t just trying to help people victimized by crime get revenge; he was building himself a family. He brought together a group of lost souls, trained them to be fighters, and together they became a something more.

Over the years, the Bat-Family has become one of the most formidable fighting units in the DC Multiverse. While none of the core members have any superpowers, they are the best non-powered costumed vigilantes out there. Each of them have a different specialization but all of them are potent in battle, facing off against the deadliest criminals out there. Today, we’re going to rank the current Bat-Family by level threat, each of them most dangerous than the one that came before.

8) Stephanie Brown

Stephanie Brown is a legacy hero in just about every sense of the word. She started her superhero career as Spoiler, battling against her father Cluemaster and working with Tim Drake. She would take over as Robin for a short time, activating Batman’s “War Games” plans, which were meant to destroy criminal gangs in the city, but she ended up “dying”. DC didn’t count on her being popular with fans, and the uproar from her death led to her being brought back, revealing she had faked her death, and becoming the new Batgirl… just in time for the New 52 to kick her out of the mantle. It wouldn’t be until DC Rebirth that she would return to the Bat-Family full time and since then has mostly been working with Cassandra Cain as the Batgirls. Steph is plenty tough – she’s been surviving the mean streets of Gotham since she was a teen – but compared to the other Bat-Family members, she’s average.

7) Tim Drake

Tim Drake earned the mantle of Robin. After the death of Jason Todd, he decided that Batman needed a partner again and figured out the hero’s secret identity. He was the first Robin to get his own solo series, proved his mettle against the Joker, and had his own adventures all over Gotham City, even gaining Spoiler as a sidekick. He’d co-found and lead Young Justice and was a part of the Teen Titans revival that spun out of that team. He was a beloved character, then Damian Wayne came along and took it all away from him. Since then, he’s had his problems, but one thing that hadn’t changed is how formidable he is. Tim is a great fighter, but he was mostly known for his detective skills. As far as fighting goes, he is merely above average. He can run through foes, but he doesn’t have the overwhelming fighting skills that other members of the family have.

6) Barbara Gordon

Barbara Gordon is a character who was introduced in the ’60s as a concession to producers of Batman. She joined Batman and Robin in this war against crime, battling evil all over Gotham. She made friends with Supergirl and was an all-around exemplary hero until the Joker paralyzed her from the waist down. She became Oracle, using her brains rather than her brawn, becoming even more important to the entire superhero community than she had been before. She’s since regained use of her legs and became Batgirl again, fighting alongside her old friends and mentors. While Barbara isn’t always at a hundred perfect because of her injuries, she’s still one of the most experienced fighters in the Bat-Family. She knows her limits and she knows what she does better than anyone else; she fights when she can win. She works especially well with Nightwing, the two of them having trained together since their youth, getting to the point where they instinctively know what the other is going to do. She’s a cagey veteran, able to take down overwhelming odds with ease.

5) Damian Wayne

Damian Wayne has one of the greatest pedigrees in the DC Universe – he’s the son of Batman and Talia al Ghul. His mother trained him from birth to be the heir to the Demon’s Head and the Dark Knight; he was a killer by the time other kids were learning to finger paint and had the educational equivalent of three PhDs when most were in middle school. He’s smart, he’s fast, he’s strong, and he will cut your head off if you give him a chance. When it comes to pure skill, few members of the Bat-Family can match him. He’s been trained in a variety of martial arts by the best the League of Assassins has to offer and gotten pointers from his mother, his father, and Nightwing. Damian’s biggest problem is his own arrogance and rage. He believes he can win every fight and this has caused him to make some mistakes over the years. However, as he gets older and more skilled, he will keep getting better and better.

4) Red Hood

Jason Todd became was the second Robin and he’s had quite a journey. At first, he was basically just Dick Grayson part two, but that would be changed in the post-Crisis DC Universe, where he became the mouthy, angry young man we all know and tolerate today. He was killed by the Joker and would stay dead for years, eventually resurrected when Superboy-Prime started to punch reality. He ended up with Talia al Ghul and she trained him to become even more formidable than he once was, molding him into something deadly. He trained with a variety of lethal weapons and returned to Gotham as the Red Hood, out for revenge against the Joker and Batman. He clashed with Bat-Family several times before giving up his villainous ways and rejoining the fight against evil. Jason’s extra training made him bumped him into a new level of potency and if it wasn’t for the massive chip he has on his shoulder, he would probably be the most skilled member of the group.

3) Nightwing

Dick Grayson grew up in the circus training as an acrobat with his mother and father. However, much like Bruce Wayne, his life was changed forever on one fateful night. He lost his parents, but gained a family. He became the first Robin, using the skills the circus taught him to become the Boy Wonder. He proved to be an amazing combatant, always ready with a joke and a swinging kick to the face. He proved to be smart and tenacious, and started having adventures on his own, working with Batgirl and helping form the Teen Titans, getting better and better. He eventually took up the name Nightwing and became his own man, taking over protecting the city of Bludhaven. Dick is one of those heroes who is ostensibly a regular human, but he’s honed his body to such a level where he’s basically superhuman. Even superpowered enemies like Blockbuster have a problem dealing with him and he’s led the Titans against the greatest threats. He’s a supremely skilled fighter and when he puts his mind to it, there are few out there who can beat him.

2) Cassandra Cain

Cassandra Cain is the daughter of two of the deadliest people in the world, David Cain and Lady Shiva. Cain raised his daughter to be a killing machine; she never learned how to speak, just how to fight and read her opponents’ body language like a book. She was the world’s youngest assassin but was eventually able to escape her father and find her way to Gotham, where she ended up becoming Batgirl after the city was declared a no man’s land by the US government. Joining the Bat-Family allowed her to overcome the abusive training of her father, learn to speak, and finally make friends. As far as fighting goes, it’s often said that she’s a better fighter than any other member of the Bat-Family. She can beat Lady Shiva in hand to hand combat, which is extremely impressive. She doesn’t look like much, but looks can be deceiving; she’s stronger and faster than she seems.

1) Batman

Batman faces the deadliest villains on a nightly basis, giving his all to defend the city of Gotham. Bruce Wayne has honed himself into the greatest crimefighting weapon out there; he’s trained in numerous martial arts, has built his body to the level where he’s basically superhuman, and has a mind like a steel trap. He is ridiculously well-armed and can improvise with the best of them. The Dark Knight is one of the most feared heroes on the planet, because once he puts his mind to it, there’s pretty much nothing that can be done to stop him. He can figure out a way to win every fight, beat every enemy, and solve every problem. He walks into a room full of ninjas and walks out with only a few scratches. Superpowered foes constantly underestimate him and he makes mincemeat out of them. Batman isn’t going to kill you, but he’s going to give you a beating that you’ll never forget and it doesn’t matter how many friends you bring to the fight; you’re going down.

Who’s your favorite Bat-Family member? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!

5 DC Villains Only Batman Can Defeat, Ranked by Threat Level