Who is the Batman that Gotham needs?

We know that Bruce Wayne is Batman, in combat and intelligence is the best Batman, but for some people his moral code of not killing is his weak point. My question is, which Batman does Gotham deserve? The Batman of Dick (I know he does not kill, but they say that as Batman is better than Bruce), Jason Todd who is a more aggressive Batman? Or other candidates I have not said, do you think they could be better than Bruce? Or do you think Bruce is the best Batman to be and that no successor to him will be better than him?

My opinion is that Bruce is and will be the best Batman there will be, Dick can be very good (in fights may be better), but he will not be up to it, and Tim I think he would be smarter but I would not equal him in a fight.

Jason all the way.

@jimmygk047: Dick took up the mantle for a while. So yeah, he's shown that he can do it justice.

@jimmygk047: @jimmygk047: I highly recommend Batman and Robin (New52 as well)

Jason or Damian. Though Thomas Wayne works too.

@seagod: omg.

Thomas Wayne Batman is a savage.

@eto: would clean up Gotham though

Possibly Jason.

Bruce is supreme Batty man, but Thomas Wayne Bats is a whole new level of sav.

@belrev516: exactly.

@seagod:

Yep.

I want Bruce as Batman but he need to drop the no killing rule

If he start killing all his enemies ,it will be much better for gotham but then again there will be no stories to tell because he will finish the job like no one else

God i wish he they would drop that lame rule at least make it as "What If"

They did and he killed not only his villains but also the villains of other superheroes basically retiring every crimefighter.

Wow Really ?! .....what comic ?!

Countdown to Final Crisis

Thank you, good sir.

I think beyond that if Batman kills, the comics will end. I think if Batman killed he would not stop killing and could not distinguish good and bad. Let's say that an antihero only kills those who deserve it, but I think bruce once cross the line, will not be the same as before. Becoming a villain and not an antihero.

@jimmygk047: Isn't the minis called "White Knight" (coming in Sept/Oct.) gonna focus on what you just ^ said. Lol

Harvey Dent

You're welcome :)

Can we trust him

As for OP, Bruce is the Batman Gotham (and the multiverse) needs and deserves. Dick, Jason and any other character are already doing what they can as Nightwing, Red Hood and whatever else, becoming Batman won't make them any better or worse. Bruce was, is and always be the one true Batman.

@scott_summers52: heck yes,

Harvey! harvey! harvey!

Batman is perfect. The comics just have to continue the soap opera, so all characters seem incompetent—heroes and villains alike. That's why it's silly when writers introduce a new character to prove he or she is better, or when a writer tries to tie everything together.

Batman needs something like a Garth Ennis Punisher Max series, so we can see what he can accomplish. The closest we got in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy.

Tim, sure he's not the best fighter but he can stop all crime. Once he goes "Big Brother"

@infantfinite128: Garth Ennis is a beast writer.

@eto:I'd love to read his take on the Batman mythos.

Garth Ennis is hit or miss for me, but when he's on, he's on. Garth Ennis' Punisher Max is probably my favorite comic book run after Frank Miller's Daredevil.

That has always been the saddest excuse I have ever heard for why he doesn't kill people. It's called willpower. It's not like villains are pringles. You can pop one and stop.

Won't change them at all.

But I imagine if Thomas Wayne or Jason Todd were calling the shots around Gotham, we'd see a lot less baddies running around.

@scouterv: heck yes. Jason ftw.

@infantfinite128: yeah, he was born to write Punisher.

I heard great things about his "Preacher" (66issues) but haven't read it.

@eto: I've heard great things as well, but I won't be reading it. It seems too vulgar to me, and I read that it take shots at Jesus and Christianity, and that isn't entertaining to me. Frank Miller is my favorite writer, but I haven't and I won't read all of his works.

Although, for consistency, I think Chuck Dixon is my favorite writer. Everything I ever read from him is enjoyable. He doesn't have a lot of highs like Frank Miller, Garth Ennis, and Chris Claremont, but he doesn't have their lows.

@infantfinite128: agreed!

Batman's no-killing rule is the catalyst for some of the best stories in Batman history. It creates an exploitable character flaw in someone who is otherwise infallible. Without strong character flaws, you end up with a generic Mary Sue edgelord, which we've seen enough in Azrael and Jason Todd and Andy Kubert's shitty future Damian story. Batman's refusal to toe the line makes for interest conflicts that don't work with heroes who don't have a steadfast rule they cling to. Without the no-kill rule, the Joker ceases to be an perpetual foil. With the no-kill rule, you have villains like Two-Face returning to remind Batman of his greatest failures. You don't get redemption arcs like with Clayface. And there's no Under the Red Hood story, either.

Well, you've got a point there Rurgsndy

Jason had many chances of cleaning up Gotham when Bruce was gone, he didn't. Thomas doesn't have the skills and resources to fight Bruce's rogues. Besides both had the chance to kill Gotham's biggest baddie Joker and both didn't so I don't know how they'll be a better Batman than Bruce.

@rustyroy: I agree. But you also have to bear in mind that Thomas' earth's joker is his friggin wife.

Why would he kill her lol.

Why wouldn't he? She's a murdering psychopath. The difference between Bruce and Thomas is that Bruce is selfless and Thomas is selfish. Bruce wanted to kill the Joker many times but he didn't, even after Joker crippled Barbara and killed Jason. If he doesn't break his code for someone else's kid's death, he won't break his code for his own kid's death either, to him being Batman is more than being Bruce Wayne, that's why he's the best Batman. I believe if he killed criminals then he would also kill his closest friends and family if they were criminals.

And why do people consider that Thomas can be better than Bruce, he killed his villains in an alternate world, not the main universe, if killing villains means better hero then Bruce is still the best Batman since he killed practically every villain in Earth 51. There's no way DC will start killing their popular villains in the main universe even if Thomas or Jason took over the mantle.

I don't quite remember how, but wasn't Jason stopped by someone else before killing Joker? And the question posed is, who does Gotham deserve. Gotham is a crappy city. It deserves a Batman that sees it for the armpit of the DC Universe that it is. Superman doesn't even like visiting Gotham. For good reason.

Jason, Damian, or Azrael all 3 would be great as Batman

I don't remember him trying to kill Joker while Bruce was gone, I remember him going after Dick instead of any of his villains. But yeah Gotham is a messed up city and that's not going to change in the main timeline at least.

@thegamemanuel: yeah but so could bruce with brother eye. The problem with the robin skill levels is that none of them are really on Bruce's level, in pretty much anything (strictly robins, comment doesn't extend to the extended family), so to replace bruce, you would need to look at someone with a different mind set to see how that would work out, because they may be willing to go further even if they have less skills. Also if we look at Bruce's rogues gallery, a lot of his criminals are mental or psychological threats not really physicial. I think a grown up Damian would be best, followed by Jason. IF Tim was more broody like he was for a while in TT pre new52, then him. Right now I just don't know, I don't count Tynion's robin as anything, he's written as way too perfect of a character.

@rustyroy: I'm not saying he would be BETTER lol.

But that's the thing, In Pre-new52 Tim was stepping up to be Batman or someone like him, after Bruce returned from the past he was less paranoid and more trusting of others (IMO) and Tim on the other hand was shaping up to be more like Batman (even Bruce was disappointed because Tim was becoming him more and more). Tim had his own contingency plans on villains and heroes alike, he was also forging an alliance with cops. The only other person who did that was Dick and of course Bruce.

"Bruce's rogues gallery, a lot of his criminals are mental or psychological threats not really physical"

Your right about that, but Damian and Jason would rather kill their enemy then capture them once their pushed, they'll be shunned by the hero community. Only Dick and Tim have the mental fortitude and mental resilience, and not to mention a good standing with the hero community.