The hero known as Batman is portrayed by Bruce Wayne, and he has been for most of the past 80 years. However, there were times throughout history where Batman had to pass down his mantle to someone else. There were also more tragic times where Batman died or was taken out of action due to serious injury, and it was time for someone else to take over the role.
These cases of someone becoming the new Batman had varied results. Some heroes who took over the cape and cowl were more than ready to take on the Caped Crusader's mantle, with Dick Grayson the perfect example. However, others struggled, and at least one slowly lost his grip on reality, trying to replace Bruce Wayne as Batman.
9 Jean-Paul Valley
Jean-Paul Valley was known as Azrael and worked with the Batman Family when "Knightfall" occurred. That was the storyline where Bane broke Batman's back and took him out of commission for a long time. However, Batman was prepared for any situation, including his own removal from protecting Gotham City.
Jean-Paul Valley gave up the role of Azrael and became Batman. However, things went bad when Valley grew more violent. He didn't trust anyone and even locked Robin out of the Bat Cave, and it took Bruce returning from injury to stop Valley's reign of terror.
8 Tim Drake
In "Final Crisis," Batman seemed to give his life to save the world when he sacrificed himself to stop Darkseid. Following Batman R.I.P., which saw Bruce Wayne lost in time but his entire Batman Family thinking he was dead, "Battle for the Cowl" took place. Gotham City began to collapse into crime, and the Bat-Family made things worse by fighting each other for the right to take Bruce's place.
When Dick refused to take the role, Tim Drake took on the role until he fought Jason Todd, who also claimed the role.
7 Jason Todd
Jason Todd took on Batman's role after "Final Crisis" saw the apparent death of the Caped Crusader. "Battle for the Cowl" saw the Batman Family battle over who should take on the role, and Jason did it without anyone knowing, as he became the most violent Batman since Jean-Paul Valley.
Tim Drake went to Dick Grayson and said one of them needed to take on the role. Dick refused, so Tim took it and then ended up fighting a mysterious, new violent Batman. This was Jason, and he ends up battling Dick and Damian before losing the fight and his role as Batman.
6 Dick Grayson
The most notable person who took over Batman's role from Bruce Wayne was the first Robin, Dick Grayson. From the beginning, it was obvious that Dick would one day become Batman, although, with the arrival of Damian Wayne, that is no longer the truth.
However, after the world thought Batman was dead, Dick became Batman and Damian was his Robin. Batman wasn't dead, just lost in time. When he returned, Bruce Wayne took over the role of Batman once again, and Nightwing returned.
5 Damian Wayne
Bruce Wayne won't be Batman forever, and while The Dark Knight Returns made it appear he could stick around for a long time, the story in Batman #666 by Grant Morrison, Andy Kubert, and Jesse Delperdang showed a different story.
This issue took place 15 years from now, and at that time, Damian Wayne had taken on the mantle of Batman following the death of Bruce Wayne. In this issue, he battles an imposter Batman while the GCPD hunts him down.
4 Thomas Wayne
While Thomas Wayne didn't replace Bruce Wayne, he did take the role of Batman instead of Bruce in the "Flashpoint" world. This was caused due to Flash, once again, messing with the time, changing the world, and in this world, the mugger in the ally killed Bruce instead of his parents.
As a result, Thomas Wayne became a remorseless and deadly Batman. It also destroyed Bruce's mother, Martha. She went on to become the insane Joker, and Thomas and Martha Wayne became deadly enemies.
3 Terry McGinnis
There are a few stories about Bruce Wayne and his future, but one that stuck as a favorite for fans was Batman Beyond, which saw Bruce Wayne as a retired Batman after suffering a heart attack 20 years after the events of The New Batman Adventures cartoon.
Twenty years after that, a young man named Terry McGinnis took over his role as Batman while Wayne, now in his 70s, reluctantly took on a mentor role.
2 Jim Gordon
In Batman Vol. 2 #41 by Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, and Danny Miki, the storyline "Superheavy" saw the aftermath of the battle that seemed to leave Batman and Joker dead following an explosion.
Powers International set out to create a new Batman and offered the position to Jim Gordon, who eventually accepted, taking on Batman's role, using robot-armor. When Batman proved to be alive thanks to the Lazarus Pit, Gordon stepped down.
1 Superman
In Superman/Batman #53-56 by Michael Green, Mike Johnson, Rags Morales, John Dell, Nei Ruffino, and Rob Leigh, Batman and Superman switched powers after a battle with Silver Banshee. Batman gained powers, but with it came a great price, and he became very violent in his war on crime.
Superman always wanted a normal life, which is why he lost his powers. Superman received specialized Bat-armor from Alfred to use to keep fighting criminals. However, when the JLA couldn't stop Batman, Superman set out to stop Batman himself.