If the kids had to go, where would you send them and how would you rename them?

[DurararaFTW]

Gotham:
Robin: Tim Drake
Batgirl: Stephanie Brown
Onyx

Outside Gotham:
Nightwing: Dick Grayson (in New York)
Oracle: Barbara Gordon (Mount Justice, works as technical backup for both Nightwing, Justice League and her own team)

Cassandra Cain would resume the cover identity "Kasumi" and be a part of Justice League: Task Force or whatever.

[SocializingMogo]

Batwoman - Stays in Gotham as Batwoman. Because she wasn't trained by Batman and is therefor exempt.

[MajorHoy]

Bluebird: Harper Row operating in Bludhaven.

Right when Chemo gets dropped on it?

[DurararaFTW]

Look at the **** Deathstroke did to screw with Grayson, why did they decide against them knowing each other again?

[Coal Tiger]

That would be fun issue. Cass goes to a game show and ends up winning a trip to Hawaii for the entire family. Bruce, Dick and Barbara are working together in a Riddler case, but they decide that the kids should have fun. So you have Tim, Steph, Cass, Jason, Harper, Luke, Jean Paul-Valley, Michael and resurrected Damian in a small plane. Harper has been trying to get water out of her ears, so she starts jumping and she trips over and falls into the cabin, making the plane crash. Tim and Steph confess their love and Jean Paul confesses that he cheated.

Batman learns the news and says:




They would probably look at each other and say "I didn't know having repeated sidekicks was so important to Batman. Was that guy so great?"

Having a centrally located supporting cast and a family of titles is important if you're expected to maintain a franchise. And anyone who doesn't see the importance of a boy who had his family taken away essentially building a new family for himself has no business being in charge of Batman.

[SiegePerilous02]

Having a centrally located supporting cast and a family of titles is important if you're expected to maintain a franchise. And anyone who doesn't see the importance of a boy who had his family taken away essentially building a new family for himself has no business being in charge of Batman.

Nobody's arguing that Batman shouldn't rebuild a family for himself; the debate lies in just how big that family should be. It would be more than sufficient if the family consisted only of Dick ("son"), Alfred (father figure), the Gordons (family friends), Selina (girlfriend/maybe wife), Leslie (mother figure), Harvey Dent (best friend) and Lucius (friend). Bruce gets all the basic human interactions he needs from that lineup, and that isn't even counting his friendships with certain League members like Clark and Diana.

Also, building a franchise isn't always the same as story integrity, sadly.

As for the main topic, I'd utilize the multiverse to spread things out:

Earth-1 Gotham City:
Batman (Bruce)
Robin (Dick)
Batgirl (Barbara)
Dick becomes Nightwing and joins the Titans or whatever, bring Damian in as the new Robin

Earth-2 Gotham City:
Batman (Bruce)
Red Hood (Jason)
Tim (give him a new name, Red Robin is teh suck)
Batwoman
Flamebird
Huntress (Wayne)

The Club of Heroes are off in their own countries, and Steph, Harper and Cass can be part of the Birds of Prey, which doesn't even need to be connected to Gotham. Just have Black Canary recruit them and train them instead. Helena Bertinelli is also part of Spyral, which isn't located in Gotham either, so she doesn't need to be part of the Bat-Family at all.

[Coal Tiger]

Nobody's arguing that Batman shouldn't rebuild a family for himself; the debate lies in just how big that family should be. It would be more than sufficient if the family consisted only of Dick ("son"), Alfred (father figure), the Gordons (family friends), Selina (girlfriend/maybe wife), Leslie (mother figure), Harvey Dent (best friend) and Lucius (friend). Bruce gets all the basic human interactions he needs from that lineup, and that isn't even counting his friendships with certain League members like Clark and Diana.

Also, building a franchise isn't always the same as story integrity, sadly.

Where's the story integrity in ignoring established characters and upper management making creative decisions?

[phonogram12]

Bruce: as Batman in Gotham.

Dick Grayson: Nightwing off with a group of Titans consisting of himself, Donna Troy, Wally West, Cyborg (I don't care what anyone says, the guy isn't a Leaguer. He's a Titan, simple as that), Raven, and Beast Boy in NYC.

Jason Todd: basically what he's doing now as Red Hood gallivanting across the globe with Starfire and Roy.

Tim Drake: Red Robin with a YJ in San Francisco consisting of himself, Impulse, Wonder Girl, Arrowette, Secret, and Lil Lobo (I've never ever cared for any adult version of Lobo, but Lil Lobo was awesome). He'd also definitely have his own book, too.

Damien: I really don't care at this point. I like the character 'n' all, but I am just sick to death of all the faux deaths and resurrections already. You can name him the Funky Chicken and put him in an ill-fitting rooster costume and station him in Siberia for all I care.

Babs Gordon: I'm curious about the new direction of the book so I'd leave that one alone for the moment.

Cassandra and Steph: teamed up as Black Bat and Spoiler. Undecided about where they'd be.

[SiegePerilous02]

Where's the story integrity in ignoring established characters and upper management making creative decisions?

The term "franchise building" usually means money making and brand recognition are at the forefront along with story direction and character arcs, and sometimes even ahead of those things. You said "family of titles", meaning more magazines for DC to sell to make more money. I'm not saying that there is anything inherently wrong with any of the kids, just that they are partially there to expand the Bat-brand and saturate the market to allow DC to make an easy buck instead of taking more risks with other corners of the DCU.

And what do any of the sidekicks add to the mythos and/or Bruce's character that any of the characters I listed in the beginning of my previous post don't already bring to the table? How does surrounding him with teenage girls with daddy issues help him? It seems the sidekicks are getting all the benefits from their association with Batman, while he doesn't gain much of anything in return.

[Kid A]

Gotham:
Batman/Bruce Wayne
Alfred
Robin/Stephanie Brown
Batgirl/Oracle/Barbara Gordon

Greater Gotham Area:
Batwoman
Birds of Prey

New York City
Wingman/Dick Grayson
Redbird/Damian Wayne

San Francisco
Tim Drake (with the Titans)

Globetrotting
Red Hood, Cass, etc.

[Harpsikord]

In Gotham we would have:

Bruce Wayne - Batman
Kate Kane - Batwoman
Damian Wayne - Robin
and Nell Little - Batgirl

Damian and Nell are both about fourteen, and both are competent vigilantes in their own rights. TECHNICALLY based out of the Batcave, but Damian has taken over Tim's Robin's Nest and Nell comes along.

In the rest of the world:

Agent 37 - Dick Grayson, globetrotting member of the secret organization known as Spyral.
Oracle - Barbara Gordon, based in an expansive underground facility in New York city.
Huntress - Helena Bertinelli, see Oracle
Black Canary - Dinah Lance, see Oracle.
Flamebird - Tim Drake, based in Bludhaven dealing with all that entails.
Night Runner - Bilal Asselah, based in Paris.
Batwing - Luke Fox, based in Cape Town.
Nightwing - Stephanie Brown, also based in Bludhaven, partners with Flamebird.
Kasumi - Cassandra Cain, based in Hong Kong.
Azrael - Jean Paul Valley, based in Vatican City.
Knight - Beryl Hutchison, based in London.

[Flash Gordon]

I forgot to add BATWOMAN since she's not really part of his hub group. I'd say she stays in Gotham. The best part of Rucka's vision was the little involvement of Batman besides inspiration. I dug that.

Ideally I'd have no Jason Todd or Tim Drake. Dick would have been Robin for 10 years and now we'd just be getting Damien.

[dropkickjake]

-Gotham Crew-

Bruce Wayne- Batman
Damian Wayne- Robin
Steph- Batgirl (We need some brightness in Gotham somewhere, and neither Bruce nor Damian really bring that. Plus, the annoying little brother routine between her and Damian is priceless.)

-Rest of World-
Dick Grayson- Nightwing- Neon-Bludhaven/New Carthage- Dick attends Hudson U in New Carthage, an old college neighborhood in Bludhaven, the entertainment capital of the east coast, complete with amusement parks, theater districts, and movie studios. Dick's opponents are low to mid level meta-villains.

Barbara Gordon- (walking) Oracle- Washington D.C./-Congresswoman Barbara Gordon (age 25) uses her position in the House of Representatives, as well as her computer skills, to sniff out threats to national security, both at home and abroad.

Timothy Drake- The Crimson Cardinal- world hopping- Tim never wanted to be Robin forever. Upon retiring, he began to take Private Investigator gigs on the side. One case pulls him back into the world of heroes and villains as... THE CRIMSON CARDINAL (it might be goofy, but a PI direction fits for Tim WAY more than leading the titans IMO, and "Crimson Cardinal" has the feel of an old detective comic from the 40s.)

Jason Todd- Red Hood (and the Outlaws)- Galaxy hopping- Jason, Kori, and Roy as interstellar bounty hunters. the set up is a no-brainer, you've got a powerhouse alien, a tech guy, and a man trained by Batman to hunt down the bad-guys.


-Teams associated with the Batfamily-

The Titans- lead by Dick Grayson- The Titans exist to mentor young metahumans and heroes in order to give them a fighting chance. Think Young Justice season 2. Lots of members that are broken into squads for missions. There would be a mix of younger newer heroes and older more experienced former sidekicks (like Dick).

Birds of Prey- led by Barbara Gordon- all female team. they have a plane. that kind of stuff.

If i didn't include them (such as Cass, Kate, et c.) it is only because I don't have any ideas for them.

[dropkickjake]

Flamebird - Tim Drake, based in Bludhaven dealing with all that entails.

...

Nightwing - Stephanie Brown, also based in Bludhaven, partners with Flamebird.

I like this! interesting way to carry on the Nightwing Legacy with Dick in Spyral. I've always thought that if anyone took over the mantle it should either be Damian (due to their relationship) or Steph (since she is the other "bright" member of the bat family)

[Rafa-Rivas-2099]

Gotham:
Robin: Tim Drake
Batgirl: Stephanie Brown
Onyx

Outside Gotham:
Nightwing: Dick Grayson (in New York)
Oracle: Barbara Gordon (Mount Justice, works as technical backup for both Nightwing, Justice League and her own team)

Cassandra Cain would resume the cover identity "Kasumi" and be a part of Justice League: Task Force or whatever.

What is a Kasumi? Sounds like a Japanese adaptation of Cass

I placed Huntress in Blüdhaven. Which should be as far from Gotham as Jesey City from Manhattan, i.e, closer than Brooklyn but with less accessible transportion. I wouldn't mind if Dick was Nightwing and lived in NYC, leading the Titans. I've always believed that a number of DC heroes should live in NY as Marvel Characters do. To me they should be:

Brooklyn: Karen Starr, Dick Grayson
Manhattan: Slam Bradley, Dr. Occult, The Dibnys, Maxwell Lord, the JLI (Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Fire, Ice, Guy, L-Ron, Rocket Red), the JSA (Flash, GL, Atom Smasher, Hawkman, Hawkwoman, Wildcat, Dr. Midnite, Hour Man, Spectre, Dr. Fate)
New York Bay (or East River): The Titans (Robin, Cyborg, Starfire, Raven, Beastboy, Kid Flash and Wonder Girl).
Queens: Ronnie Raymond

Right when Chemo gets dropped on it?

Dont mind if they do.

Having a centrally located supporting cast and a family of titles is important if you're expected to maintain a franchise. And anyone who doesn't see the importance of a boy who had his family taken away essentially building a new family for himself has no business being in charge of Batman.

Says who and says who? And why would it need to be a big family. Haven't you heard? Small families live better. Especially if the parents plan to expose their children to crazy violence.