10 Iconic Comic Book Moments (That Are Secretly Terrible)

10. Jean-Paul Valley Becoming Batman - Knightfall

Bane has proven time and time again to be one of Batman's smartest and most intimidating adversaries. When he snapped Bats' spine in the Knightfall storyline, Bane became the stuff of legend in the supervillain community.

Bruce Wayne's injury was so severe, he took a sabbatical for several months to recover. Because Gotham needed a Batman, many readers assumed Bruce Wayne's protege, Dick Grayson, would step up and finally don the cowl.

Instead, Bruce passed the mantle to Azrael AKA Jean-Paul Valley. Even though Azrael was an ally to the Bat Family at this point, he was a brainwashed assassin for most of his life. Considering the Dark Knight had only known him for several months and Azrael tried to kill him upon their first encounter, this decision sounded ridiculous.

Why didn't he choose Dick Grayson? Heck, Alfred would've been a better choice! Bruce tried to justify his actions, saying he needed to give Azrael purpose to stop him from reverting to his murderous tendencies.

And what did Azrael do? Kill people as Batman!

While no one can deny Az-Bats is an iconic part of the character's history, Knigthfall probably should've been the vehicle for the former Robin to succeed his mentor.