When Bruce Wayne first put on the mantle of Batman, he knew that there was no way that he could possibly manage to be Batman forever. But he did know that Batman himself, as a symbol, could last forever. So, like any intelligent person, Bruce began his quest to find a suitable protege fairly early on his career.
While there have been many people to don the mantle of The Bat, there are perhaps only two that really meet or exceed the standards set forth by the original. Terry McGinnis a young hooligan who would become the savior that the Gotham of 2019 (That’s right! 2019!) needed. And Dick Grayson, the original protege, the beneficiary of Batman’s greatest lessons and the only protege to don the mantle without losing his mind. But which of these two Batmen is the superior dark knight?
10 Better Tech - Terry
With many, many years passing between the time when Dick was an active vigilante and when Terry would first pick up the mask and don the mantle of Batman, it’s no surprise that Terry has a wealth of technology that simply wasn’t available when Dick was in his prime.
From his truly outstanding Batsuit to his batmobile and so much more, the future has really been good to Terry and helped him greatly along his way to becoming a better Batman.
9 The Lack Of Tech - Dick
While Dick may not have had any super shway batsuit, this lack of readily available technology that was created with the sole purpose of aiding Batman made Dick focus on improving the truly important things that needed work. Tough Terry definitely went through his fair share of physical, mental and detective training, he comes nowhere close to the amount of work that Dick had to put in when he was first coming up as a costumed hero.
It’s kinda like how people nowadays don’t have to remember phone numbers while their parents had to. There are just certain things that would have never occurred to Terry because of the time period in which he was born.
8 Years Of History To Look Back On - Terry
One of Terry’s biggest strengths comes from the time period in which he was born. Not only does Terry have an older, more experienced Bruce Wayne (who has literally been through it all) on his side, but he’s also got a wealth of information regarding the superheroes and supervillains of old.
As the saying goes “there’s nothing new under the sun”, and while it may be a bit of a cliche for Terry, it rings true nonetheless. The villains of Terry’s time are either cheap knockoffs of the supervillains that came before them or simply not as clever. Both attributes make them easier to take down for someone that has really dived into the history with someone like Bruce.
7 A Lifetime Of Training - Dick
Though Terry has many of the benefits that come with the passage of time, one of the benefits that he doesn’t have is the lifetime of training that Dick has. While Terry came to Bruce a scrappy kid able to throw a few clean punches and maybe even able to take down a few thugs, there’s no escaping the fact that Dick simply outclasses him.
By the time Dick was Terry’s age, he’d taken on villains like Joker, The Riddler, and many more. He’d spent years training under Bruce to become a worthy partner and even more time before that becoming a world-class athlete.
6 A Desire To Become The Bat - Terry
While Dick had spent years training under Batman to, hopefully, one day take over the mantle of The Bat, becoming Batman was never really something that Dick wanted. Dick understood the purpose that Batman served, he understood the good that he did for Gotham and the world, but he knew from the beginning that type of lifestyle wasn’t a sustainable one.
Terry, however, was more than willing to take on the mantle of Batman, even knowing the type of life that it would lead to. Terry has a clear view of what a life lived as Batman would end up. He was the closest to Bruce in his twilight years and as such he, perhaps more than anyone else, was aware of where even a successful Batman ends up.
5 A Well-Balanced Life - Dick
One of Dick’s greatest strengths is his ability to live a lifestyle that makes room for a life outside of his crime-fighting antics. Dick is likely one of the most well-rounded individuals who has ever put on a mask.
Despite the fact that he was raised by one of the most unbalanced masked heroes, or perhaps because of it, Dick has made a life for himself that has always had room for close friendships, love interests and a deep understanding of himself and the people around him.
4 Literally Bred For It - Terry
Though Dick may have been plucked out of the mangled disaster of his childhood and inducted into the world of costumed crime-fighting, he was simply a young boy with a lot of unrecognized potential. Terry, on the other hand, thanks to the help of Amanda Waller, was literally bred to take on the role of Batman after Bruce inevitably became too old to continue carrying the burden that came along with the cowl.
Waller actually used nanotechnology to rewrite Warren McGinnis’ (Terry’s father) reproductive code, so that it could be replaced by Bruce’s DNA ensuring that Bruce’s lineage would carry on.
3 A Better Leader - Dick
While Terry has the advantage of living in a time where technology can do just about anything, one thing that it can’t do is make Terry a better leader. Though Dick may have started out as the young sidekick to the dark knight, it didn’t take him long before he began leading his own team, the Teen Titans.
While being a leader is difficult enough, leading a group of teenagers who all think they’ve outgrown their mentors, is a completely different challenge altogether. Since then, Dick has even gone on to lead the Justice League. Terry may have recently started leading his own small team, but he’s still nowhere close to the leader that Dick has been since a young age.
2 Bat Support - Terry
Dick and Terry may have both been taught by Batman himself, but during his time as Batman, Terry rarely had to go without the greatest man in the chair ever, Bruce Wayne himself. Bruce has had a lifetime filled with fighting crime from street level incidents to global disasters and beyond.
Bruce has saved the world, the galaxy, the universe, and the multiverse many times over by the time Terry puts on the mask. That experience doesn’t just go away. And in Terry’s case, it’s only a quick call away.
1 No Need To Constantly Call Bat Support - Dick
Though Terry has Bruce at his side whenever he goes out, just a quick call away, it is precisely this fact that makes him weak when it comes to Dick Grayson. Dick has been exceptionally trained from a very young age, which means that while Terry may need to take the time out to ask Bruce what the best play is, Dick’s already got the answer.
Not only is Dick a better than Terry in this respect, but a strong argument could be made that he’s a better Batman than Bruce as well.