Videos by ComicBook.com
The question as to who should inherit the Batman mantle has been hotly debated both in-universe and among DC fans. This heated debate has led to storylines like Battle for the Cowl, where, after Bruce is presumed dead, numerous heroes and anti-heroes battle for the right to become the next Caped Crusader. These are the most impactful characters to take on the Batman mantle.
10) Alfred Pennyworth
Although Bruce’s lifelong butler and surrogate father Alfred Pennyworth is much more comfortable helping Batman behind the scenes, even he has had the opportunity to don the cowl. When the superpowered hero-turned-villain named Gotham was going on a rampage, Bruce needed to find a way to distract him. Enlisting Alfred’s help, Bruce had his butler wear the Batman uniform and drive the Batmobile to keep Gotham occupied. Alfred obliges and crashes the Batmobile into Gotham before running away, thus leading the villain into a trap set up by the real Batman. While Alfred did an admirable job as a distraction, he would much rather stay in the background, leaving Bruce to handle the real vigilante work.
9) Jason Todd
Out of all the Robins, Jason Todd, aka Red Hood, is arguably the most unhinged and violent, shaped as he was by his brutal death and resurrection. So, when Jason vied for the right to the Batman mantle after Bruce was presumed dead at the end of Final Crisis, it was not surprising that his take on the Dark Knight would be alarmingly ruthless. Jason crafted his own version of the Batman suit and began gunning down Gotham’s criminals. His bid to claim the mantle, however, was quickly thwarted when Dick Grayson intervened, swooping in to stop Jason from hurting anyone else and preventing further damage to Bruce’s heroic legacy.
8) Damian Wayne
As the biological son of Bruce, the mantle of Batman in many ways seems destined to fall into the hands of Damian Wayne. However, the possible future presented in Batman #666 showed that, if Damian didn’t learn to let go of the anger and ruthlessness he inherited from his mother, Talia al Ghul, then he was destined to become a grim and destructive Dark Knight, leading to a future in which Damian makes a pact with the Devil to become an immortal agent of vengeance. As Batman, this Damian has no problem killing criminals or blowing up buildings to annihilate supervillains. Fortunately, the Damian of the present day is learning to become a true hero, reducing the chances of this dark future ever coming to pass.
7) Tim Drake
Even before becoming the third Robin, Tim Drake was an expert detective who deduced Batman’s secret identity. This genius already makes him a good contender for the World’s Greatest Detective and the Batman mantle. When Bruce is presumed dead at the end of Final Crisis and people start fighting over who will become Batman, Tim Drake dons the cowl to stop Jason Todd’s reign of terror. Unfortunately, Jason quickly overpowers Tim, lodging a batarang into the young hero’s chest. Thankfully, Tim lives, but his injuries prevent him from continuing to operate as the Caped Crusader. Still, another version of Tim Drake, who became Batman Beyond, has travelled to the present, joining the all-new superhero team, the Terrific Ten.
6) Thomas Wayne
When Barry Allen inadvertently created the Flashpoint universe by changing the past to save his mother, he also accidentally produced a far more vicious version of Batman. In this timeline, it was Bruce, not Thomas and Martha Wayne, who died that night in crime alley at the hands of a mugger. Fueled by loss, Thomas becomes Batman, while Martha becomes the Joker. Unlike his son, Thomas uses guns to dispense lethal justice in Gotham. When Thomas survived the destruction of the Flashpoint universe, he was sent to the main DC Universe, where he acted as both an ally and an eventual enemy to Bruce. No matter his allegiance, Thomas Wayne in the Flashpoint universe is a profoundly tragic and compelling character whose story enthralls fans.
