Source: comicbooktidbits.com
9. Batman (Jean-Paul Valley)
(aka Azrael, aka Azbats)
It’s pretty hard to replace Batman.
Dick Grayson tried it, James Gordon tried it, and there’s one more dude who gave it a shot. Jean-Paul Valley was brought up in a crazy cult called the Sacred Order of St. Dumas. They tended to get all their stuff from Crusades-era attitudes which, if you know anything about the Crusades, should already freak you out a bit.
Jean-Paul took on the identity of Azrael, and went after Batman, who beat him up and got him some help. He eventually became well enough that, when Bane broke Bruce Wayne’s back, Jean-Paul was offered a role as the placeholder Batman.
He did okay for a while, until he went nuts and built himself some big scary murder gloves, and then followed up with a very Azrael-looking Batsuit. What a surprise…the crazy guy went crazy when they let him be Batman. Total shock, that one.
