#the cowl of Batman is the physical representation of Gotham's curse and it needs to be buried

[blinkys]

Batman's cowl

I cannot sleep so it is time for y'all to suffer through my rant again (the again are for those who suffered them, either on whatsapp or discord).

For people who unluckily met me, you know I deeply believe that Batman should rot when someone'll buy common sense for Bruce and make him RETIRE. He's old. I know his joints crack the second he tries to sit up from a chair.

Anyway.

Dick would hate to take over. Minus 99 on 100, would not try again. He had his taste of the cowl and it was bitter. And he was never designed for it; Robin was always meant to be what Batman cannot be.

He was the light in the darkness, the laughter despite Gotham's protector's violence. I do not mean that there isn't something lurking in Dick's eyes- he's made of anger, of strong emotions, after all. But he represents hope in such a blatant, painful way that shoving him into Batman's black armor would be just like snuffing a candlelight.

Nightwing is more than what Bruce could ever imagine, and I will fight anyone who does not see his importance in the DCU. I will die on this hill, you cannot change my mind.

I had a rant on Jason, but there are new points I want to target. I think he has the ambiguous luck of being both in the middle of things, and then got away far enough that he could see the horrifying cycle of Gotham, feeding on Batman's and his rogues' neverending battle and understanding what it means. He is right that, in killing those villains, he is saving far more innocents than Batman ever will. It is true that, if he were to take the cowl, we could see improvements in Gotham. He would be breaking the cycle.

But would he be doing it as Batman, or as the Red Hood with new silly little bat ears? After you take away Batman's reason of being (Bruce's trauma, duty to the name Wayne and need to do, to be, good), after you take away his ethics ("Batman does not kill"), what is left? An empty husk, with a tarnished history.

Jason rose up from what was made of him. From the street rat, from Robin's replacement, from the Joker's victim. He will not be restrained again to the whims and definitions of others.

Tim... is the hardest for me. Because he would make a good Batman. An efficient one. And that's where the danger lies. It has been shown, again and again, that Tim's drawn a line in the sand. And while he keeps strictly to it, sand shifts, as time goes by.

Tim's whole thing is being what is needed, at that time. He became Robin, part admiration, but mostly because "Batman needs a Robin". He losts Robin, but still did what he deemed as necessary, when Bruce was lost to time - even going as far as starting an alliance with Ra's fucking al Ghul. Tim is driven by need. And confronted unceasingly by Gotham's merry-go-round of weirdoes, it wouldn't be too strange if he felt that an accident or two was needed.

Tim, more than anyone in his family, requires a support structure. Not one like Batman who, despite it all, is still quite a solitary figure, but a whole Team like the Titans- if only for the well-being of his enemies, if not his own. Tim needs people who push him to be the best he could be, people who need him to be their moral compass.

Damian, at the contrary of Tim, is one of the easiest one for me. He may had been raised with the idea of being Heir to the Bat, but he was always fairly independent, in ways his brothers weren't when they first meet Bruce; Dick needed support after his tragedy, Jason wanted a father who would treat him as a desired son, Tim was seeking anyone who could give him any positive form of attention.

Damian needed stability. And it sure wasn't Bruce who gave him that; it was Dick. So he never developped those strong feelings and bonds (he still has a strong relationship with his father, don't get me wrong) that anchored his brothers to Bruce's shore. Even as a Robin, the only thing tying him up with his predecessors is the weight of the mantle.

He has learnt that being the result of his bloodline does not mean that he was to be restrained by it. I like to think of Damian's story as one of learning; he's not Ra's al Ghul's heir, he is not Batman's heir. He is Damian al Ghul Wayne and he'll grown up to be something great all on his own.

And while his adventure still has a long way to go, I deeply believe that, at the end of it, he'd rather seek an identity for himself rather than take on his Father's.

Now, Cassandra. Either be it ethics, morals or just narrative interest, she'd be a great Batman. Just like Bruce, her inability to kill comes from trauma; from her taking life for the first time and swearing she'd never do that again. Her line is drawn in blood, and that means that she'll keep to it much more stubbornly.

At this point, the only reason why I don't think she should take over Batman is that I just believe all legacy heroes deserve more than taking over their mentor unfinished business. I' sorry I'm totally being blinded by this image of a perfect Cassandra who will succeed in everything she does.

I don't even need to talk about Signal. He's already so different from that whole Batman and Robin thing, don't lower him like That.

Specials mentions for Spoiler, who would shout "Fuck Batman!" with middle fingers raised. She had been a replacement Robin once, she's not looking to repeat the experience and she has learnt that she's much better than what Bruce deserves.