While Batman is easily the most focused and driven hero in the DC Universe, Batman Beyond reveals that that dedication actually makes him a worse hero as it exposes a detrimental weakness that is rarely ever addressed.
Before Bruce Wayne became Batman, he traveled the globe undergoing rigorous training with a number of mentors who had perfected their respective forms of martial arts in an effort to reach peak physical and mental condition. After spending some time being a solo vigilante, Batman takes Dick Grayson under his wing and trains him to be his very first Robin, a title Dick would eventually pass on to a number of successors including Jason Todd and Damian Wayne. While Bruce is able to train his Robins similarly to how he was trained, his last mentor was robbed of that hands-on training experience, though he was still held to the same standards as everyone who came before him—exposing a hidden, yet blatantly obvious shortcoming in Batman’s heroism.
In Batman Beyond Vol. 3 by Adam Beechen and Ryan Benjamin, Terry McGinnis is tracking a mysterious new villain who has taken on the infamous moniker Hush. However, Terry quickly learns that this new version of Hush is far deadlier than the original as he is a perfect clone of Dick Grayson. When the two face off for the first time, Terry finds himself at a significant disadvantage as he wasn’t well enough prepared for the strenuous realities of being Batman. Throughout the series, Terry is concerned about the amount of sleep he is getting. Not only is he Neo-Gotham’s new Batman, but Terry also goes to school full time and has a girlfriend, meaning he has to juggle social, academic, and superhero lifestyles all at once. Getting less than two hours of sleep a night starts taking its toll on Terry during this story arc, and he is nearly killed by Hush due to being totally exhausted.
Since no one who has ever taken on the mantle of Batman has ever been a meta human or any type of superpowered individual, sleep is a crucial factor to their success and not getting enough of it could mean the difference between life and death. However, that particular necessity has never really been addressed as Bruce Wayne is a billionaire and can stay up all night and sleep all day without negatively impacting his life. The same goes for all of his Robins, who he had previously supported financially. Plus, Bruce’s past training granted him the ability to regulate his body at will, making it so he required less sleep than an average person while still operating at full capacity, something he also taught to his Robins. With Terry, however, Bruce couldn’t fully prepare him for being Batman like he had his other mentees, and instead gave him a technologically advanced suit that would hopefully make up the difference. However, being Batman is as much a mental strain as it is a physical one, and Bruce’s dedication nearly pushed Terry to the brink of death.
Batman has always held himself to nearly impossible standards as a superhero, and he does the same to those he takes under his wing. In Batman’s earlier days, the people he trained were fully up to the task of staying up all night, day after day, fighting crime with no other obligations to worry about. However, Terry McGinnis wasn’t properly trained and he has a life he must maintain outside of being Batman, but Bruce isn’t able to comprehend this as his whole life has always been solely focused around his alter ego, making his human empathy clouded by mission-focused thinking. While that dedication pushed Bruce to being the best superhero he could be, it is also something that could get his new Batman killed, proving that it actually makes Bruce a worse hero.
