Controversial Batfam ideas

[Aahz]

Having the main characters job to highlight other characters is usually not a great idea.
But I agree that bad showings by other Batfamily members should be balanced out by positive showings, not necessarily by rescuing Bruce but by taking down some major (secondary) villain or given some other major contribution to overcoming a thread or solving a case (but apart from Jason I can't really think of a member that has really a massive lack of good showings).

And when it comes to "combat effectiveness" they all should achieve this in the same way, since all of them have different strength and those should be highlighted.

[Restingvoice]

The answer is simple, as the internet says: Make It Make Sense. If certain characters already have this experience and that skill then when faced with villains of a certain level of skills or experience, this... the one that makes sense... should happen.

So if you don't want this character to defeat that villain, writer, maybe don't involve them in the story or have them do something else somewhere else. We have writers bringing in some characters already operating in another city just to be a victim when it's not even necessary.

Though I'll add Make Things Consistent and Read Your Backstory. That last one has caused so many jobbings from heroes to villains.

[AmiMizuno]

I wonder how long things will last with the Batfam only to break them up.

[AmiMizuno]

Maybe it's time to break the family by that I mean Dick as Nightwing isn't supposed to be in Robin shoes. Jason did his own thing. Babs will still be in Gotham. We should have them crossover ever so often

[PCN24454]

Having the main characters job to highlight other characters is usually not a great idea.
But I agree that bad showings by other Batfamily members should be balanced out by positive showings, not necessarily by rescuing Bruce but by taking down some major (secondary) villain or given some other major contribution to overcoming a thread or solving a case (but apart from Jason I can't really think of a member that has really a massive lack of good showings).

And when it comes to "combat effectiveness" they all should achieve this in the same way, since all of them have different strength and those should be highlighted.

Can't we just cycle through focus episodes like TV usually does?

[TheBatman]

In current continuity, the Batfamily should be Bruce, Dick, Babs, Damian, Kate, and Luke.

Jason would be on his own as Red Hood

Huntress would be with the Birds of Prey

Tim would be with the Conner/Bart/Cassie generation of heroes.

Steph and Cass are doing their own thing.

The Batfamily should not be equal in skill. That doesn't make sense to me. Bruce and Dick would, at the very least, be a notch above everyone else overall. Bruce did about 10 years of intense training in multiple fields, followed by multiple years as an ace Superhero who can take on superhumans. Dick is a gifted acrobat who's been a superhero since he was 12.

[lemonpeace]

I wouldn't get ride of anyone but I do like the idea of redistributing them throughout different cities and niches across the DC landscape. so here's my shot at a "controversial" Batfamily idea:

Alfred (the grave) - I love Alfred, I just love the idea of him being dead more. I think Alfred's role lost practically a while ago and was more of a symbolic figure for Bruce's character (and by extension the Batfamily) and I like that his death exposes that he was the glue holding the family together but also a crutch holding back Bruce's maturity in a sense. I think Alfred's death is an excellent story vehicle for some interesting character work for Bruce.

Bruce Wayne (retire) here's probably the most "controversial" part because everyone's first reaction is gonna be "they won't" or "you can't" but I think they should have Alfred's death be the Signal for Bruce's last ride as Batman and he eventually retires as Batman with Catwoman, then have all new Bruce Wayne!Batman books be out of continuity going forward. I don't care if they go through with Luke as Batman, I don't care if Dick takes over as Batman, I don't care if Batman the identity is just retired in-universe going forward. Then have Bruce become the bat-patriach full time and take on a role closer to Alfred for the family. maybe him and Selena give birth to Helena Wayne and raise her to be the next generation.

Damian (Gotham) - I think Damian should stayed Robin (I hope he returns to the role soon) but it gets tricky because I'm kinda over him leading Titans and if Bruce isn't Batman his place as Robin could be shaky if no one picks up the mantle. I would just keep him on the Teen Titans (with a new leader), have him be Robin for Dick whether he's Batman and Nightwing.

Nightwing (Bludhaven) - he has his own city, he has his own identity, he's good just give more stuff to do there.

Barbara Gordon (Gotham/Belfry) - I think she works best as Oracle, she appears to be going back to being Oracle, so I would just double down on that and have her takeover the Belfry.

Red Hood (New York/International) - I like a lot of the stuff Lobdell did with Jason, including the Orphanage and the Invisible Flying Fortress. I think Jason works best as a international kinda ronin hero, So I would give him his flying Outlaw base back as is base of operation to get from point A to B, and have Ma Gunn's Orphanage in New York be his homebase.

Tim Drake (Hub City) - Tim Drake needs to just hang up the cape and become a super detective under his name, kinda like a Jessica Jones thing. they've struggled to find him a better identity and going back to Robin is pathetic, so I think he should just quit the cape and double down on what makes him special: his tech and his superior detective ability. He should be taking on the DC's universe's greatest mysteries, maybe taking on cases from other heroes that they can't solve. I would go so far as to have him take Bruce's spot in the Guild of Detection and have them crossover with him regularly.

Stephanie Brown - I don't know much about Stephanie Brown besides her relationship with Tim and she was briefly both Robin and Batgirl. it feels kinda cheap but I would just send her wherever Tim goes. maybe they can have a funny spin on Batman & Gordon's relationship, like what if Batman and Commissioner Gordon were a young Ralph and Sue Dibny.

Cassandra Cain (international/Platinum Flats/Gotham) - I like that she's going back to Batgirl and I would love for her to stay on Outsiders and see her interact with a diverse crop of characters and fight increasingly challenging opponents; we love Cass as a character, buy everyone loves when she can just flex on everything. So I would keep her on Outsiders but also have I would like to have her home be on a new iteration of the Birds of Prey in their own city. I see they had a place called Platinum Flats in California, maybe base Cass with Barbara there (build a Watchtower/Belfry there for Oracle) for when she's not on Outsider missions, and have flesh that out for BoP.

Azreal (space) - I liked the idea of Azrael being on Justice League Odyssey, it's just unfortunate the series took an immediate left and kinda snubbed Azrael, Cyborg, and Starfire. I would love for him to get another shot at a cosmic hero career, his extreme aesthetic would fit well with space and scifi aesthetics, and there's the angle of his faith juxtaposed against science fiction. If they launch another cosmic Justice League team, I would want him on it.

Luke Fox (Gotham) If they are planning on giving him the Batman mantle, I'm beyond ,fine with that, but regardless I would love to see the Fox family's connection Gotham further explored. I like the idea of Luke as an anti-Bruce, what if his parents never died and his path to heroism isn't defined by that tragedy, so I think that works best (whether as Batman, Batwing, or anything else) if he and his family is based out of Gotham.

Duke Thomas (Freeland) it was a missed opportunity in Outsiders, but i've lately really started to get into the idea of Black Lightning taking on Duke as a protege. I think Freeland should be the metahuman centric city of the DC universe (take some ques from the show too) and have the Black Lightning family brand be metas and elementals; Duke is perfect for that. plus we can take all his esoteric metahuman immortal men stuff to Freeland and further bolster that as the metahuman brand.

Batwoman (Monster City) - I think Kate Kane has her niche as the supernatural-tinged Bat, so I think her working out of Monster City makes the the most sense. explore more of Gotham City Monsters, have her crossover with Swamp Thing, Zatanna, JL Dark, Constantine, etc.

[Laufeyson]

I wonder how long things will last with the Batfam only to break them up.

Until the next writer come.

[Restingvoice]

Batman shouldn't make Tim Drake Robin if Jack Drake is still alive. It's even more unethical than his usual brand of child endangerment, and it doesn't make sense that he'd want to risk another person's child when he just recently lost Jason... but I also don't like Identity Crisis. So either Jack has to die alongside Janet, so he can do whatever he wants with Tim, or wait until after Leviathan was defeated when he turned 18. In the mean time Stephanie can be the main Robin, since her parents are incapable of raising her.

[Stanlos]

Damian is rebooted or retconned out. Blood son of Batman was a bad idea, and I still don't like the little shit.

I had seen a vid on YouTube that alleged that Batman's son was the product of rape. Was there any truth to that? It wasn't clear who raped who but all rape=bad=WTF is it in my comics?

[Stanlos]

Batman shouldn't make Tim Drake Robin if Jack Drake is still alive. It's even more unethical than his usual brand of child endangerment, and it doesn't make sense that he'd want to risk another person's child when he just recently lost Jason... but I also don't like Identity Crisis. So either Jack has to die alongside Janet, so he can do whatever he wants with Tim, or wait until after Leviathan was defeated when he turned 18. In the mean time Stephanie can be the main Robin, since her parents are incapable of raising her.

Have the Trinity ever spoken about that? I think Supes would find the practice questionable while Diana having been trained as a warrior from the time she could walk would likely not be troubled.

[Gaius]

Have the Trinity ever spoken about that? I think Supes would find the practice questionable while Diana having been trained as a warrior from the time she could walk would likely not be troubled.

YJ had a scene where Diana questioned Bruce bringing Dick into the life of crime fighting at his age but think that's about it.

[king81992]

I had seen a vid on YouTube that alleged that Batman's son was the product of rape. Was there any truth to that? It wasn't clear who raped who but all rape=bad=WTF is it in my comics?

It's true, but I'm not sure if its canon anymore.

[SiegePerilous02]

Have the Trinity ever spoken about that? I think Supes would find the practice questionable while Diana having been trained as a warrior from the time she could walk would likely not be troubled.

YJ had a scene where Diana questioned Bruce bringing Dick into the life of crime fighting at his age but think that's about it.

Apparently Bruce was able to convince her off camera, because Donna and Cassie exist in YJ.

I'm not sure Clark would have an issue with it since he was a superhero as a teenager.

[Restingvoice]

The age is not the problem here, guys. It's the fact that he did it without his still-living father knowing, so soon after losing his own boy