10 Times Batman Got It Wrong

First encountered in 1992’s publication of “Batman: Sword of Azrael”, this four-part arc introduced Jean-Paul Valley to the Batman multiverse. Valley is a well-meaning, mild-mannered young man, who tragically learns from his dying father of his origins as a scientifically created enhanced human, programmed to dole out death to the enemies of the religious sect the ‘Order of St. Dumas’.

Events transpire in the Swiss Alps and Azrael joins Batman, leading onto the comic-criss-crossing saga that began with “Knightfall”, where we saw our Bat’s exhaustedly put up his dukes against Bane, the giant, prison-raised genius... and lose! On an unforgettable page from the comic books, Bane breaks Batman’s back, then proceeds to drop him off a roof, leaving him paralysed.

After getting over our initial shock, we realise the gaping Bat-shaped void left by our Bruce. Excitement builds at the possibility that after proving himself time and again and doing a stand-up job as Nightwing, his adopted son Dick Grayson might finally inherit the cowl. Nope!

Instead, the mantle goes to Jean-Paul - it doesn’t matter that he’s subconsciously programmed to kill people, what could possibly go wrong?

Now granted, Azrael-Batman started off okay, but his overall tenure saw him kill people and ruin the reputation of the Dark Knight. While Scarecrow’s fear-toxin played a big part of Valley doing an all-round poor job of carrying the mantle of the Caped Crusader, it was still something that our "genius" Bruce should have seen coming.