Batman has worked with quite a few different partners over the years who have taken on the costumed identities of Robin and Batgirl. Each sidekick has had their own skills and advanced levels of training that influenced their fighting styles, though some of Batman's partners have definitely stood out among the rest.
While characters like Bette Kane originally appeared as Bat-Girl in the Pre-Crisis universe along with earlier takes on Robin, we'll be focusing on the modern versions of the characters to determine which of Batman's sidekicks are the most effective based on their skills and fighting ability.
10 Misfit Debuted As An Untrained Batgirl Before Joining the Birds Of Prey
While her debut as a new Batgirl was unsanctioned by any member of the Bat-Family, Charlotte "Charlie" Gage-Radcliffe briefly followed in her hero's footsteps when she embarked on her own path to becoming a costumed crime-fighter.
Charlie had teleportation powers and a passion to join the world of superheroes, though she took on the name of Misfit with a Batgirl-themed costume after she was taken in by Barbara Gordon as a member of the Birds of Prey where she began extensive martial arts training.
9 Carrie Kelley Had Passion For The Role Of Robin But Little Training
Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns took place in a possible future where Bruce Wayne had retired as batman for years before the rising crime in Gotham City called him back into action. His return inspired young Carrie Kelly to create her own version of the Robin costume which she paired with a slingshot as her primary weapon.
While Carrie never had much training she had lived a rough life on the streets which helped her defend herself when she became Robin. After Batman took her in and trained her, she dropped the Robin identity to become Cat-Girl before eventually taking on the role of Batwoman.
8 Stephanie Brown Was A Self-Trained Hero Who Served As Both Robin And Batgirl
When Stephanie Brown first appeared in Gotham City, she was known as the masked vigilante Spoiler, who was dedicated to stopping the crimes of her super-villain father Cluemaster. Steph soon developed a close relationship with Tim Drake/Robin that ultimately led to her brief tenure as Robin when Drake quit the role.
While her time as Robin ended in tragedy with her apparent death, Brown soon returned to take on the role of Batgirl under the watch of Barbara Gordon. She continued to train in the role and picked up a lot from her various teachers to further improve her self-taught fighting skills.
7 Helena Bertinelli Briefly Abandoned Her Huntress Identity To Become Batgirl
The crime-fighter Huntress operated in Gotham City for years without the approval of Batman due to her violent methods. Helena Bertinelli had more than enough training due to a childhood spent learning various martial arts and skills in order to get revenge for the murder of her family.
During the No Man's Land event, Huntress took on the role of Batgirl in order to better intimidate the deadlier criminals who sought to take over the ruined city, but she gave up the costume when Batman returned and reprimanded her for the use of violence. The modern version of the character was also a highly-trained secret agent, though she never became Batgirl.
6 Barbara Gordon's Years Of Self-Defense Classes Influenced Her Fighting Style
The first modern version of Batgirl was Barbara Gordon, who created the identity after she was inspired by the Dark Knight. Barbara was the daughter of police commissioner James Gordon, who helped prepare his daughter by enrolling her in a number of self-defense classes from a young age.
She further increased her fighting skills in the years after she was paralyzed by the Joker so that she could adequately defend herself from her wheelchair when needed. While Barbara eventually returned to the role she created, she is still perhaps best known to modern fans for her intelligence as the information broker Oracle.
5 Tim Drake Spent A Year In Training Before He Was Allowed To Become Robin
When Tim Drake discovered Batman's secret identity and earned himself the role of Robin, Batman forced him to undertake an entire year of training with himself and other teachers like the incredibly skilled Lady Shiva before he could debut as the new Robin.
Tim Drake learned a number of martial arts and developed great skills with a bo staff, which became a part of his Robin gear when he was finally allowed to join Batman as the new Dynamic Duo. Tim continued to train over the years and even enhanced his fighting style with self-created gadgets and devices, though he is still best known for his enhanced detective skills.
4 Jason Todd's Brutality Made Him One Of The Most Dangerous Robins
After the original Robin quit following an argument with his mentor, Batman soon found a replacement when he met tough street kid Jason Todd as he was attempting to steal the tires from the Batmobile. Todd became the second Robin and entered into training with Batman, though his anger and brutality hindered his time in the role.
Todd would eventually die as Robin, which is why his successor Tim Drake was forced into advanced training before he could suit up in the role – although Todd would later return as Red Hood. Jason's street fighting style and training under Batman made him a deadly threat that saw him take on a few other Robins over the years before he returned to the Bat-Family.
3 Dick Grayson's Skills As An Acrobat Influenced His Well-Trained Fighting Style
The first Robin was the orphaned acrobat Dick Grayson, who was taken in by Bruce Wayne to eventually form the first iteration of the Dynamic Duo. Grayson's natural athleticism and training as a high-wire trapeze artist made him the perfect choice to join Batman in his crime-fighting mission, and he gained further training over the years to improve his fighting style.
Grayson eventually created his own costumed identity as Nightwing and even took over as Batman on more than one occasion, more than proving how skilled he was as a fighter – especially when he was forced to face off with his successor Jason Todd on more than one occasion.
2 Damian Wayne Was Raised By The League Of Assassins Before He Became Robin
While he's one of the youngest characters to ever become Robin, Damian Wayne is also the most highly-trained as he spent his entire childhood training to become a master assassin within his grandfather Ra's al Ghul's secret organization.
When Damian Wayne joined his father Batman as the new Robin, he was forced to adjust his fighting style to fall in line with Batman's strict no-killing rule. He even spent time learning from Dick Grayson during their time as the Dynamic Duo, but still took great pleasure in proving his fighting mastery over the other Robins when they were forced to combat each other.
1 Cassandra Cain Spent Her Childhood Training To Become Unbeatable
Without a doubt, Cassandra Cain is one of the best fighters in the Bat-Family and possibly even the entire DC Universe thanks to her traumatic upbringing under her assassin father, David Cain. Instead of teaching his daughter how to speak or engage socially with others, David taught her how to fight and read body language.
Batman saw potential in Cassandra when they first met and offered her the role of Batgirl, while Barbara Gordon took her in to help teach her the basic human skills she was denied as a child. While Cass' time as Batgirl was erased by the New 52 reboot which led her to become the costumed crime-fighter known as Orphan, she has recently returned to the role in the Infinite Frontier era.