WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Batman Beyond #42, by Dan Jurgens, Sean Chen, Sean Parsons, Chris Sotomayor and Travis Lanham, on sale now.
Terry McGinnis' absence due to Blight's plans to wipe the hero's mind and take over his body left a massive hole in Neo-Gotham that needed filling, and it was Dick Grayson's daughter, Elainna, who donned the wings and cowl, despite her father's wishes. Elainna proved a very effective Batwoman, stopping Blight and protecting the city. However, with Terry finally back, Batman Beyond #42 leaves readers with a big question about who's going to keep Neo-Gotham safe: Batman or Batwoman?
In Batman Beyond #42, Blight attacks the Batcave to destroy Batman and his legacy. Terry finds the original Batman Beyond suit and brings it out of retirement to fight the villain alongside Batwoman. The young Batman then finishes the fight by burying Blight deep beneath the Batcave with a self-destructing Batmobile, just before he can succeed in his plan to wreck the iconic location. With both Elainna and Terry now working as Bat-themed heroes, Bruce says at the end of the issue: "That leaves us with the question...which one of you wears the suit tomorrow?"
After playing such a key role in defeating Blight, it seems unlikely Elainna will want to take a backseat in protecting Gotham in the future, so the city's status quo is about to definitely change with the addition of a new hero. Just how Elainna will keep operating isn't totally clear. While it would be awesome to see Batman and Batwoman team up, it seems rather unlikely their relationship will be that simple.
The Kate Kane iteration of Batwoman was never quite connected to the Bat-Family in the same way as someone like Batgirl and operated mostly on her own, though she did help out from time to time. Elainna also shares Kate's military background, which could play into key tactical differences each deploys and cause a rift between the two crimefighters down the road. Still, Neo-Gotham is a big place and easily has enough problems and criminals to support two Bat-Heroes operating separately and occasionally teaming up.
However, Terry and Bruce are different, just like Elainna and Kate. Bruce Wayne and Elainna Grayson is a different person and Batwoman than Kate Kane. Still, with Blight wrapped up, Elainna and Terry's relationship is poised to take center stage, and the former is very likely to get her own costume soon. Whatever happens between them, one thing's for sure, two Bats are always better than one.