Bruce Wayne remains the best character to take up the mantle of Batman, but he isn’t the only person to wear the cowl. Throughout DC Comics’ history, Bruce Wayne has either stepped down or been taken out of action numerous times, and different characters have replaced him as the Caped Crusader. Many of these heroes did a great job, but others took Batman in a very dark direction that Bruce never would have approved of. However, even in some of those more violent cases, the Batman replacements ended up memorable and did their jobs, even if it wasn’t what people expected from Batman.
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From Batman’s hand-chosen replacements to men who forced their way into the role, here is a look at the best Batmans other than Bruce Wayne.
7) Jean-Paul Valley
Jean-Paul Valley took over as Batman after Bane broke Bruce Wayne’s back in Knightfall. This was an incident that took Bruce out of action for over a year, and Gotham City needed a protector while he was gone. That man ended up being Jean-Paul. However, this Batman took things in a violent, dark direction, and he turned his back on the Bat Family.
Jean-Paul rejected help from people like Nightwing and even locked Tim Drake out of the Bat Cave. As his methods became more and more violent, Bruce Wayne realized he had to get back as soon as he could to stop Jean-Paul as his delusions began to grow more severe. This led to KnightsEnd when Bruce returned as Batman and battled Jean-Paul for his mantle, eventually winning it back. He then returned to the role of the anti-hero Azrael.
6) Superman
In Superman/Batman #53-56, the two heroes were at a museum when something happened after an attack by Silver Banshee that caused them to end up switching powers. Batman became extremely powerful with Superman’s powers, and Superman ended up depowered. This led Batman to grow very violent, and with Superman’s powers, this was terrifying.
This led to Superman helping the Bat Family get things under control. Alfred Pennyworth gave Superman some specialized Bat-armor so he could keep fighting criminals. When the Justice League was unable to stop Batman’s new violent war on crime, Superman, now in the role of Batman, set out to stop his friend.
5) Jim Gordon
Following the events of Endgame, where it seemed that Batman and Joker both died in a fight in the caves beneath Gotham City, it was time to find a new Batman. Powers International planned a new Batman-inspired task force, and they chose Jim Gordon to replace Batman. He underwent rigorous physical training and was given power increases thanks to getting the prototype Batman armor.
With the new armor and the enhanced strength and powers, Jim Gordon then took to the streets to serve as the new Batman. He was a good replacement as Batman, keeping his legacy honorable and moral, and Jim served in the role until he learned that Batman survived and returned thanks to the Lazarus Pit. Jim voluntarily stepped down to allow Bruce to return as Batman.
4) Thomas Wayne
Thomas Wayne is a different situation for Batman. He is Bruce Wayne’s dad, and he took the role of Batman in the Flashpoint world after the killer in Crime Alley killed Bruce instead of Thomas and Martha. At the same time, Martha lost it and ended up becoming the world’s version of Joker. Flash met this Batman when he accidentally changed the future for the worse while trying to go back in time to save his mother.
Unlike Bruce, Thomas was a lot more violent than his son, becoming Batman in anger after his son’s death rather than being a child who grows up to seek to make things better. However, while he was a lot more violent, he was still an honorable man who was willing to help Flash change things to ensure his son’s return.
3) Damian Wayne
There are a lot of people who fans have argued should replace Bruce Wayne as Batman when he finally steps down. While one timeline has Terry McGinnis replacing him, there is a possible future where it is his son Damian Wayne who takes over the mantle from his father.
This storyline is called Batman in Bethlehem, and it shows Damian taking over as Batman when he can’t save Dick Grayson, who was the actual replacement for Bruce in that future. This future also sees Damian as a very violent hero with supernatural powers, which include a rapid healing factor, which was the result of divine empowerment, enabling him to protect Gotham City better.
2) Terry McGinnis
Terry McGinnis is one of the DC characters introduced first on an animated television series before appearing in comics. He is the Batman from Batman Beyond, which remains one of the most beloved Batman animated shows. This series takes place in the future of the Batman: The Animated Series timeline, when Bruce Wayne has retired after suffering a heart attack.
While his comic book story has never quite reached the level of the Batman Beyond animated series, McGinnis remains a great Batman in an era where Bruce Wayne was retired. The best of these saw Tim Drake working as the new Batman after Terry was presumed dead. However, a new villain arrived, and he proved to be Terry under hypnosis by Spellbinder. By the end, even Tim knew that Terry was the rightful Batman.
1) Dick Grayson
The one person who always seemed destined to replace Bruce Wayne as Batman one day is Dick Grayson. He was the first Robin, and he has proven to be an even greater hero than Batman over the years, fighting to help people more than his mentor’s primary goal of striking fear into criminals. This was shown in great detail when the world believed Batman had died after Final Crisis.
Batman seemingly died in a battle with Darkseid, although he was only time-displaced. After this, Dick took on the mantle of Batman, and Damian Wayne was Robin. This was, arguably, the best Batman and Robin team-up since Bruce and Dick, as Dick was able to help make Damian into an even better hero with his tutelage. When Batman returned, Dick gave the role back to him, but for a while, he was the best Batman anyone could have hoped for.
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