In 2039, who wears the cowl?

[adrikito]

I am surprised to see that more people voted Damian than Dick.

[Restingvoice]

Dick doesn't want the cowl. He picked it up out of necessity. Once they're both old and the younger Robins like Tim or Damian grew up, there's no need for him to take over.

[Ascended]

Dick doesn't want the cowl. He picked it up out of necessity. Once they're both old and the younger Robins like Tim or Damian grew up, there's no need for him to take over.

Exactly. Dick will carry the mantle for a short time when he needs to but he'll never keep it for too long. He doesn't want it, and honestly? He has the skill and ability to be a great Batman, but I don't think he has the mindset for it. Batman requires a level of obsession that doesn't come naturally to Dick.

[Jackalope89]

Which is why in my own headcanon, when Bruce retires (finally), Dick takes over long enough for Damian to get old enough and big enough for the cape and cowl. After which, Dick takes back up being Nightwing and maybe finally commits to a relationship.

[AnthonyO'Brien]

Am I only one who thinks Duke Thomas should be future-batman?

[Ascended]

Am I only one who thinks Duke Thomas should be future-batman?

I don't think Duke has had the time to show whether he'd deserve and/or fit the cowl yet.

I think he's proven that he's worth keeping around and deserves further development, but deserving the Bat mantle? Give the kid another ten years before weighing him against a role that heavy.

[MajorHoy]

NOTE: This thread was started in September 2018 (well before Future State).

Batman's 100th anniversary is less than 21 years away.

Picture this:

It is the year 2039. Incredibly, DC has NOT further hard-rebooted its continuity the years between now and then.

Who should be wearing the cowl by then, and why?

And currently, with 63 people having voted,

* Bruce Wayne = 38 votes
* Damian= 15 votes
* Dick Grayson = 6 votes
* Someone else (please specify) = 3 votes
* DC itself will no longer exist by then = 1 vote

[Gaius]

It's Bruce and y'all know it.

[bearman]

Grayson. Damien will follow.

[Superboy-Prime]

Definitely Bruce and Jace as Batman. DC aren't getting rid of a black Batman and they're already not replacing Bruce.

[Vakanai]

Definitely Bruce and Jace as Batman. DC aren't getting rid of a black Batman and they're already not replacing Bruce.

I don't see Jace Batman lasting more than another 2-3 years before getting spinned to his own new identity. Multiple Batmen is a gimmick.

[Rufio]

Assuming DC is still around, I’m thinking Bruce. They’ll find a way. Either with a sliding timescale thing or some other means.

[Superboy-Prime]

I don't see Jace Batman lasting more than another 2-3 years before getting spinned to his own new identity. Multiple Batmen is a gimmick.

Like Miles Morales and Peter Parker? Or Barry Allen and Jay Garrick? Or Hal Jordan and Alan Scott? It's not a gimmick, it's a permanent addition. John Ridley has made that clear in several interviews, and if they were going to do what you suggest it'd have been with Duke Thomas or Luke Fox.

[Vakanai]

Like Miles Morales and Peter Parker? Or Barry Allen and Jay Garrick? Or Hal Jordan and Alan Scott? It's not a gimmick, it's a permanent addition. John Ridley has made that clear in several interviews, and if they were going to do what you suggest it'd have been with Duke Thomas or Luke Fox.

Now you know none of those examples are remotely similar right? Miles existed for years in an alternate universe and had his popularity kick started in a movie and a couple cartoon series around the time he joined the main universe. And for the Flashes and Green Lanterns Jay and Alan had been missing from comic book popularity for years, a generation basically, before getting rebooted characters in another universe. So unless Bruce disappears on us for 20 years (not happening), or Jace gets a really good movie ala Miles (we can only wish), it's just going to feel like a gimmick for the short term future - if it survives long term, then hey I was wrong, but we're far from long term right now and the short term still looks like a gimmick.

Ridley can say whatever he wants and it won't matter. His interviews have no bearing on the future beyond the stories he writes. If Jace remains a Batman, it'll be dependent on other writers wanting to write him as such long after Ridley's moved on.

(Sorry if that came off as more antagonistic than needed to get my opinion across - I just came from a much more...argumentative, unfriendly forum than this so my debate mode is still on "hard")

[Superboy-Prime]

Now you know none of those examples are remotely similar right? Miles existed for years in an alternate universe and had his popularity kick started in a movie and a couple cartoon series around the time he joined the main universe. And for the Flashes and Green Lanterns Jay and Alan had been missing from comic book popularity for years, a generation basically, before getting rebooted characters in another universe. So unless Bruce disappears on us for 20 years (not happening), or Jace gets a really good movie ala Miles (we can only wish), it's just going to feel like a gimmick for the short term future - if it survives long term, then hey I was wrong, but we're far from long term right now and the short term still looks like a gimmick.

Ridley can say whatever he wants and it won't matter. His interviews have no bearing on the future beyond the stories he writes. If Jace remains a Batman, it'll be dependent on other writers wanting to write him as such long after Ridley's moved on.

(Sorry if that came off as more antagonistic than needed to get my opinion across - I just came from a much more...argumentative, unfriendly forum than this so my debate mode is still on "hard")

Actually, Miles was brought into the main Marvel Universe in January 2016, his film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse released in December 2018, two years after he'd already been brought into the main MU. He debuted in the cartoons in 2014, but that's far less impactful to his popularity to the film. So your example doesn't really work.

Sure, if you want to get deep into it, how about Nova (Sam Alexander), Green Lantern (John Stewart), who was co-existing with Kyle Rayner before the Corps returned, The Flash (Wally West) and Jay Garrick, who was still around and operating during Wally's stories, etc.

Trying to pick apart any specific examples doesn't affect my point at all.

I mean, no hard feelings, but I'm much more inclined to listen to what John Ridley's saying on the internal conversations around the character he's writing over at DC Comics than Vakanai on CBR.com. He's an actual source.