As a man, there was only so much that Bruce Wayne could accomplish for the world and his beloved Gotham, but, with that fact in mind, old Brucie came up with an idea, an idea that would change not only his life but the lives of many, many more. That idea was Batman.
As a symbol, Batman could live forever, he could inspire those that fought for justice and inspire fear in those that fought against it. Batman could both enforce the law while remaining adjacent to it. Although Bruce may have been the first to put on the mantle, many have come after him. Among them, Dick Grayson, Bruce’s first protege and perhaps his greatest ally. But when Dick took up the mantle was he able to outshine his mentor? And if so, how?
10 Experience - Bruce
When it comes to being Batman, there’s no one in the entirety of the DC multiverse that has more experience than Bruce Wayne. Bruce is the alpha and the omega as far as Batman is concerned. After the death of his parents, for Bruce, there simply was no other option.
He could take his anger, pain, and fear and transmute it into something useful and powerful, something good. Or he could succumb to his darker impulses and become something much worse than the Batman.
9 Sense Of Humor - Dick
Surprisingly, one of Dick’s greatest strengths comes from the fact that he’s willing to crack a few jokes while on the job. Despite what anyone may think, this is an incredibly useful skill. Not only does it help him to through his enemies off-balance, but it is incredibly helpful when it comes to easing the worries of the citizens he’s trying to save.
No one wants to be saved by the gruff, serious hero that’s been inspiring fear in the hearts of criminals and citizens alike for ages. But a hero that can make them and put them at ease while fighting off against the baddies? That’s the hero that people want to be saved by.
8 Steadfast Commitment To Justice - Bruce
One of the things that makes Bruce so very terrifying to criminals and simultaneously respected among the hero community is the fact that he’s just so endlessly committed to the pursuit of justice. There are very few people in the DC landscape, if any, that are as committed to justice as Bruce.
For heroes like Superman, characters who walk through the world as if it were made of cardboard, fighting crime is more or less easy. Batman, however, isn’t made of steel. He’s just a man. A that feels every punch, takes every blow and carries his broken body with him for the rest of his life.
7 Interpersonal Skills - Dick
One of Batman’s greatest weaknesses is his inability to ever truly trust anyone. While this inability to trust has often helped him to be prepared for the worst-case scenario when it comes to his super-friends, it has often gotten him (and his friends) into a lot of trouble as well.
In comparison, one of Dick’s greatest strengths is his superhuman level of interpersonal skills. He’s exceptional when it comes to understanding and relating to those around him which makes him not only an incredible hero but a spectacular leader as well.
6 Endurance - Bruce
Perhaps more than anyone else in the DC landscape, Bruce has stood the test of time when it comes to being Batman. Bruce has taken years upon years of punishment to his body and somehow managed to keep on fighting.
Though Bruce has taken on supervillains, master martial artists and literal gods, he has remained in his cowl, ready for action when the time comes. It’s surprising that Bruce has been able to fight for as long as he has, but what’s more surprising is the vigor with which he continues to fight after all that he (and his body) have been through.
5 Acrobatic Skills - Dick
While Bruce is one of the most highly decorated martial artists in the world, and the feats he’s capable of achieving with his body alone are incredible and numerous, he still doesn’t come anywhere close to Dick when it comes to pure acrobatic ability.
Dick is widely regarded as the most skilled human acrobat in the DC landscape. He’s the only person in the world capable of doing a quadruple backflip (formerly one of three before his parents died) and even Batman himself gives Nightwing the advantage when it comes to pure acrobatic feats.
4 Set The Standard - Bruce
Though Dick will always be able to look back on the example that Bruce set out for him, it is Bruce that actually did all the grunt work when it came to defining not only how he and his team fight, but why they fight.
Bruce is the original Batman, he is the man that inspired generations of heroes to come forth in the fight against crime. Every hero that has been inspired by Bruce and has come forward to follow in his footsteps does exactly that, follows the path the Bruce trudged first.
3 Mentally Stable - Dick
One of Dick’s greatest legs up on the original Batman is just how composed and healthy Dick has managed to stay despite the traumatic events of his life. Not only has Dick managed to move through and past the traumas of his past, but he’s transmuted that pain and suffering into a tool for empathy and understanding those around him.
This empathy, trust and a willingness to truly understand those around have made Dick not only a better leader and a more capable hero but a better person in general.
2 Trial Tested - Bruce
While Dick has been through the wringer both as Robin and later as Nightwing, he’ll likely never be able to match the experience that Bruce has endured through years and years of relentlessly working as the hero Gotham needed. As Batman, and even before that, Bruce has been through things, suffered in ways that Dick could likely never imagine.
Dick may be the more mentally stable of the two Batmen, but he’s only been spared Bruce’s fate because Bruce was there to help him through it and teach him how to channel his trauma into something that wouldn’t destroy him. The way that it destroyed Bruce.
1 Learned From The Master - Dick
Perhaps Dick’s greatest advantage is the fact that he learned from the dark knight himself. Not only was Dick able to learn how to channel his rage and pain into something that wouldn’t destroy him the way it had Bruce, but more importantly, he was able to learn from the lessons that Bruce refused to learn from himself.
Dick was able to watch as Bruce isolated himself, refused to communicate or trust any of the people around him, and took on the burden of protecting the world all alone. Witnessing the way the Bruce lived his life made it clear to Dick that this was no way to live, it helped him find his own path. A more sustainable path that had room for love, friendship, and trust.