'Robin 80': All the Boy Wonders who could be the next Batman unless Bruce Wayne has anything to say about it
It's a debate that's been raging around in the Batman fandom for years. We've all had our reasons for why our favorite Robin ought to be the one to inherit Bruce Wayne's title and legacy.
However, while there may be merits to all the arguments involved, we're probably going to have to resign ourselves to accepting that the day when Bruce actually lets one of his proteges take over for good is never going to come.
In 2009's 'Batman: Battle for the Cowl', which happened during a time when Bruce was believed dead, this debate was actually brought to the fore for the last time and that storyline showed us a glimpse of how each Robin would take to the role of the Dark Knight.
From Jason Todd's extreme brutality to Tim Drake's cold, calculating approach, we saw each of the Robins excel in the role but in different metrics.
In the end, it was Dick Grayson who inherited the cape and cowl and while he was a pretty good Batman himself, even his time in the role was limited. Bruce eventually returned and became Gotham's Caped Crusader once again and as interesting as it was to see Dick in the role, even he seemed a little relieved to get it off his shoulders.
But at some point, Bruce has to die right? Whenever that day comes, the Robin who probably thinks he ought to rise to the position is Damian Wayne, Bruce's only biological son and the heir apparent to the cowl.
We see in Tom Taylor's 'DCeased' storyline that after Bruce, Dick, and Tim fall to a deadly disease, Damian does indeed become Batman but that's only because there was no one else around to take the role and it was a global catastrophe so none of Bruce's fail-safes could work.
That's right, Bruce Wayne, the man who plans for everything, has planned for his death. Scott Snyder introduced the concept of a machine that Bruce has set up to bring himself back in a cloned body so that every generation would have its own Batman.
In other words, short of a global tragedy along the lines of 'DCeased', even if Bruce were to die, he will always be back to protect Gotham so long as no one interferes with the failsafe. There's a pretty good reason why he would want that as well.
Despite what people might think, Batman never took the Robins under his wing to raise them to become himself. His intention was always to help them move past their trauma the only way he knew how, with their fists, so that they would never have to become Batman.
Allowing any of the Robins, no matter how skilled or efficient, to become the Dark Knight... well, that goes against everything Bruce wants for his children.