Who should win Battle For The Cowl?
By Jessie Galindo

First, I would like to say that I did not in fact read Batman R.I.P., but I would like to say that I kept my options open for the matter of Bruce Wayne in the point of keeping this whole thing valid. I do plan on reading it along with Last Rites and Battle For The Cowl all in one long story someday. As for now, I have the pros and cons of all the players in Battle For The Cowl.

Here are my choices for winning Battle For The Cowl:

1. Bruce Wayne - Since I did not read Batman R.I.P. or Final Crisis, I do not in fact know if he physically died or not. I’m leaning towards no because of the fact that after Final Crisis and Batman R.I.P. ended, Batman has appeared in Justice League of America, Superman/Batman, and Trinity. I don’t even know if Superman/Batman or Trinity are in the current continuity. I believe there is a chance that after everything is said and done, Bruce can return with a sane mind and take back his title. I believe most fans would cheer that kind of comeback.

2. Dick Grayson - Nightwing is my all-time favorite superhero ever. To me, he has always been the best hero. In my opinion, he was a better leader than even Superman. Besides the big three, he is the most respected hero in all of the DCU. I wish he would stay as Nightwing but there is a chance that he will take on the cowl and become Batman. I can see him getting the spot without anyone hating him for it. He almost deserves it.

3. Jason Todd - I don’t think anyone has had a bigger identity crisis than Jason. He has been the second Robin, the second Nightwing, the second Hush, the second Red Hood, and finally is considered the first Red Robin. On New Earth, that is. Once Superman of Earth-22 in the Justice Society of America comes face-to-face with him, he won’t be considered the first anymore. It’s only fitting that he goes on to become the second Batman. It’s about time that he settles in one role and one role only. They did it on Earth-15 and it could happen here too. I also think there is a 50% chance that the Batman imitator in Battle For The Cowl is Jason Todd.

4. Terry McGinnis - They did it in Batman Beyond. They can possibly bring him in and make a Batman Beyond storyline in today’s times. It can happen and I have faith in the DC writers and artists to make it work. People say it only happens on Earth-12 but actually the Batman in that universe is Tim Drake.

5. Tommy Elliott - Yes, he’s a villain, but there is a chance that this can happen. If he can put aside his villain views, he can definitely do it. He has enough skills. I also think that there is a 50% chance that he is the Batman imitator as well.

6. Someone New - It can happen. They can bring in someone brand new and make up a story as to why he deserves to be Batman. The creators of Batman Beyond did it. The writers who came up with the idea of Azrael to replace Batman, after Bane broke his back, did it. I even did it. I have a short story series on my myspace blog and a website I have where a character named Jake James becomes the new Batman after my version of the ending result of Final Crisis. It was called Batman: The Next Knight.

Here are my choices for who should never become Batman:

1. Tim Drake - Honestly, if they did choose Tim, I’d say that they were stupid, but then go along with it. But here is why I don’t want him to win: He has always wanted to stay away from the chance of becoming Batman. I already hate the fact that Tim replaced Terry on Earth-12. It’s pretty stupid, since he is destined to become the Joker in that universe. He already tried really hard to keep the Titans of Tomorrow storyline from happening to him. He does not want to be Batman. He is also too young to become Batman. He is way better off as Robin. And if he should ever grow out of the role of Robin, he should later become something to the equivalent of Nightwing. In what I like to call, my comic blogs, he becomes Red Talon before later on becoming the second Joker.

2. Damian Wayne - I can honestly say that Damian Wayne deserves to become Batman but not yet. If they gave it to him, I’d pretty much say that writers have some kind of ace in their hole, otherwise they are 100% stupid. He’s way too young to be Batman. He wouldn’t become Batman anyways, he’d be Batboy, Batteen, or Batkid. He should become Batman, but not the second one. He should be the third or fourth Batman, if it ever comes to that. In my comic blog, he becomes the fourth Batman after the Batman Beyond story ends.

3. Azrael - He’s already been Batman and he did a poor job of it. He should never be given a second chance at being Batman. Let him be something else.

4. Jim Gordon - He is way too old to become Batman. He will never have the fighting or acrobatic skills that Bruce or the Robins have. He’d be the land only Batman. He’d be Ratman.

5. Ted Grant - The only way they can come up with Wildcat becoming Batman is if he got his youth back like Alan Scott did. Otherwise, he is too old for the role. He’d be better off contending for Catman’s role.

6. Catman - Just no. He thinks he deserves it but he doesn’t.

7. Owlman - If he was to move to New Earth and replace Bruce Wayne, it would cause a rip in New Earth’s timeline and cause the Monitors to want to come down and murder him. (Like I said, I did not read Final Crisis so I have no idea whether or not the Monitors survived Final Crisis.) Thomas Wayne Jr. never existed in New Earth’s timeline, so he can’t just pop up out of nowhere to take on Batman’s role. (Also, I have not read the Outsiders since Batman took back control of the team. I heard rumors that Owlman is now in control of the team but I’m not convinced yet. By all means, inform me of the truth if you know it. Otherwise, I’m still convinced that he should not become Batman.)

8. The Joker - This also goes for any other villain not already on this list. Basically, if they don’t have the facial structure of a normal man or Bruce in general, they should never be considered for the role of Batman. Joker’s chin would not look good under the cowl.

9. Ra’s al Ghul - If Ra’s al Ghul was to take the mantle of the bat, all hell would break loose and the name, Batman, would be tarnished. He’d pretty much become evil due to the fact that Ra’s al Ghul is not the type of person that would just all of a sudden become good.

10. Harvey Dent - He already stepped in for Bruce during the missing year after Infinite Crisis. He did a great job during that year, but as soon as it was up, he went straight back to being Two-Face. They only way Harvey could legitimately become Batman is if he is 100% cured of being Two-Face. Otherwise, he’d become the schizophrenic Batman. He’d be like this: “I’m Harvey Dent. No, I’m Two-Face. No, wait, I’m Batman.” It’s already bad enough that Bruce had a dual identity complex. Last thing we need is Batman to be confused about having three identities.

11. Joe Chill - It would be the most anti-climactic choice in the whole DCU. I’d rather see Superman become Batman, than see this. If Joe becomes Batman, I’d tell every comic book fan to just give up on Batman altogether and go read something else. Basically just boycott the whole Batman universe. He was the whole reason why Batman had to be created. To stop people like him. “Hey guys, let’s go see what’s happening over in Spider-Man!”

12. A Woman - This is the most important one of all. There is a few women who have been considered for the role of Batman. Catwoman, Huntress, Batwoman, Batgirl, Black Canary, and Talia al Ghul. Honestly, if any of them were to become Batman, they would have to change the name from Batman, to Batwoman. For a woman, all of which can be considered sexy, to try and strike fear in villains by calling herself Batman, is stupid. She would be laughed at. If Selina won Battle For The Cowl and ended up fighting Joker in a future storyline, Joker would never take her seriously and would just laugh in her face. For a woman or girl to call herself Batman can only be labeled as teenager cute. It is only something a young man would think as cute when he hears a young woman say it. Any of the women would have to take on the name, Batgirl or Batwoman. Only one problem. We already have a Batgirl and Batwoman. Even Batgirl would have to change her name to Batwoman. Again, already taken. That leaves me with Batwoman. If she was to win and take over fighting crime in Gotham City, technically nothing would change besides getting her own comic series. It would also be one of the most anti-climactic endings to one of the biggest comic book storylines. Please, do not think I’m sexist. If I was sexist, then I wouldn’t think that having Batwoman, Batgirl, or Wonder Woman as heroes is a good idea. They are great assets to the hero community. No pun intended. Just none of them should ever become Batman.