DC Admits What Fans Have Known for Year – [SPOILER] Should Replace Bruce Wayne as Batman

Warning! Contains Spoilers For Birds of Prey #3!

Batman has dozens of apprentices, and almost all of them have worn the cowl at one point or another, but DC recently admitted the one person who has truly earned it is none other than Cassandra Cain. While most villains view the Bat-Family as separate entities from Batman, one DC villain admitted that Cassandra is pretty much already Batman in all but name. This proves what fans have always known about who’s next in line to wear the cowl.

Birds of Prey #3 – by Kelly Thompson, Leonardo Romero, Jordie Bellaire, and Clayton Cowles – finds the eponymous team attempting to sneak onto the island of Themyscira without being detected.

When this leads King Shark’s loyalty being questioned, he notes that it would make no sense to betray the team, because if any harm came to “everyone’s favorite Batman” Cassandra Cain, every hero on Earth would come after him.

Even King Shark Knows Who The Next Batman Is

The options for getting the team onto the Amazonian island without being caught seem incredibly limited, until Harley Quinn suggests King Shark use his abilities to ask a Megalodon shark to carry the Birds of Prey onto Themyscira in its mouth. When some of the members are a little weary of climbing into the mouth of a shark, King Shark assures them he won’t cause them any harm, not through any altruism or camaraderie, but because of the very presence of Cassandra Cain is keeping him on the straight-and-narrow path, at least for this mission, as he seems to clearly consider her the true heir apparent to Bruce Wayne’s mantle.

There have been many heirs to the cowl over the year; each Robin, from Dick Grayson to Damian Wayne, has taken up the mantle of Batman at one point or another during the character’s long history. Helena Bertinelli also acted as her own version of Batman, known as “The Bat” during No Man’s Land. All of them have ended up giving the cowl back for one reason or another, and all of them, even Damian Wayne, have moved on from wanting to be Batman. But there’s one character who has consistently wanted it since she found out about it: Cassandra Cain wants to be Batman’s replacement.

Cassandra Truly Wants To Be Batman

Cassandra Cain is a character who embodies a lot of Batman’s core ideals. Almost everyone else in the Bat-Family has been forced to kill while acting as a vigilante. Some of them, such as Damian or Jason, even believe that killing is sometimes acceptable. Cassandra Cain is the only Bat-Family member who steadfastly refuses to kill, no matter the situation. Her dedication to Batman’s iconic no-kill rule is even stronger than Bruce’s. While Cassandra has no real loyalty to Bruce himself, she has stated that she is utterly loyal to the idea of Batman, and has admitted to Tim Drake that being Batman is the only thing she’s ever wanted.

Cassandra Cain has made it very clear to everyone that she truly does want to become Batman when it is time for Bruce to step aside. While it doesn’t seem like Bruce Wayne will be retiring from the role anytime soon, DC’s villains have already begun to view Cass as Batman, if King Shark’s remark is to be taken seriously. When the time to retire the cowl finally comes for Bruce, it won’t be Dick Grayson, or even Damian Wayne, who is the one take it back up in his place. In truth, Batman’s true replacement has always been Cassandra Cain.

Birds of Prey #3 is available November 7, 2023 from DC Comics.