10 Comic Book Characters Who REPLACED Heroes (And Failed)
2. Batman Replaced By Jean Paul
When Bruce Wayne is attacked by Bane in Batman #497 it's not just his back that is broken, but his confidence as Batman. As he confides to Alfred, "I was like a baby against him." In despair, Batman asks Jean Paul Valley to take over protecting Gothem -not as the man's normal superhero counterpart of Azael, but in the Bat's own suit.
Jean Paul's pension for violence is on display in his first night out and Robin can barely rein him in. Jean lacks Batman's sensibility and care for civilians, doing things like bungling a hostage situation by instigating a fight against armed villains while fleeing children are in the line of fire. Soon, Jean Paul ditches Robin and goes on increasingly bloody rampages.
It's as if Jean-Paul Valley looked at all the worst stereotypes of Batman (paranoia, issues working well with others, vigilante justice) and just went running with those. In actuality, Batman has a sidekick, his paranoia is generally sensible considering the villains of Gothem, and he tries not to debase himself by acting like the criminals he combats.
Jean Paul as Batman is a violence-whirl-wind with a rapidly declining mental state who fails to live up to the mantle he wears. Unsurprisingly, a healed Batman returns to forcibly take back his place in the city from the unhinged Batman-wannabe.