10 Comic Characters Who STOLE Batman's Identity
At this point who HASN'T been Batman?
Heavy is the head that wears the cowl. The Bat-mantle is one of the most iconic costumes in all of comic history.
The pointy-eared protector has gone through several iterations of the Batsuit but has always remained true to that glorious silhouette, bat-nipples and all. But billionaire by day Bruce Wayne is not the only one to have donned the cape and cowl either due to an emergency or a blatant case of identity theft.
From close allies to deadly foes, pretty much everyone in Gotham has attempted to pull off those terrific tights. There's even a line of Funko figures dedicated to the various rogues' gallery members dressed in different suit designs.
Some have outright stolen the look of Batman to disguise themselves while others have chosen to make their own, custom Batsuits in mockery or admiration of old Batsy.
Most recently, even the Joker has had a stab at putting his own spin on a suit he'd stolen during the current Joker War. In honour of the Clown Prince's latest caper, here are ten more characters that outright stole the Bats identity.
10. Azrael - Knightfall
Starting off with perhaps the most obvious and iconic version of someone stealing the Bat-mantle is Azrael.
During the Knightfall event first released back in the early 90s, the series saw Bruce Wayne battle against a smarter, more cunning version of Bane which resulted in the infamous breaking of the bat. This powerful imagery of Bane snapping Bat's back like it was a glowstick on rave night remains one of the most important pieces of DC history.
Shortly after, the rest of the Bat-Family decided Gotham still needed its Dark Knight while Bruce was in recovery. Despite being the obvious choice, Dick Grayson opted out and helped the crew find a different successor.
The vigilante, Azrael was picked and all seemed well... for about two issues. It turned out Azrael was not a big fan of Batman's no-killing rule and took matters into his own hands, going from temporary Batman to someone who had well and truly stolen the title. That said, he wouldn't keep it for long, as the minute Bruce was back in action he'd come to fight Azrael for the rights to the mantle.
This storyline became so beloved that DC recently revisited those events in its compilation of alternate versions of comic history dubbed the Dark Multiverse.