Comics How would Knightfall have been if

[Herofan]

Bruce hadn't made Azrael Batman, the story would have been just that, after Bruce's back is broken, Dick Grayson becomes Batman and has to fight against and beat Bane and other escapees and at some point and for some reasons Bruce wants the identity back?

 

[Babillygunn]

Much of the point of Knightfall was to show why Batman’s code was so important. Having a more brutal Batman in the form of Azrael, who places less emphasis on protecting the innocent than he does on punishing the guilty was necessary for the story. Batman is a darker character than a lot of DC heroes, or at least that is his reputation. But through Azbats, we get to see that Bruce, at his core, is one of the most morally incorruptible heroes in DC. You wouldn’t get that with Dick taking over the mantle. Dick has taken over as Batman numerous times and what has always happened is that we end up getting an even lighter Batman, and not a darker one. (I love in Black Mirror when Jim Gordon Jr notes that Dick as Batman is markedly different because his Batman smiles and seems to have joy.)

Now, I love Dick Grayson as Batman stories. Black Mirror is one of my favorites and I firmly believe that the JLA run where Dick ran the Justice League that included Jessie Quick, Supergirl, Donna Troy and Congorilla is one of my personal favorite JL runs ever written. It is unheralded and I recommend it to anyone. But having him take over for Bruce instead of Azrael would be a completely different story and would not accomplish what they set out to do. In fact, it would’ve had probably the opposite effect.

Interestingly, I have heard an interview with Chuck Dixon where he said that there were legitimate concerns that the readers would embrace the more brutal Batman of Azrael and prefer him to Bruce. They were actually a little relieved when sales started to decline during Azrael’s run on Batman, because it meant that audiences resonated with the historic cores of the character.