Batman trained your Bat Family be the greatest force for good in Gotham City, but new concept art shows what they could be with some villain costume choices. The Bat-Family spends every night on the streets making sure everyone is safe and sound, but a talented artist turned to X and showed what the Bat-Family would be like if they had very different mentors.
This fantastic art, courtesy of THoskisson in the X, it shows the Bat Family as if they were guided by the various villains of the DC Universeand the result is jaw-dropping. Almost every member of the Bat-Family has based their identity on Batman in one way or another, which only makes sense considering he trained them. But in these alternate universes, each of them was taught by different villains – some from Gotham and others further away.
These reimaginings result in iconic characters like Carrie Kelley, Barbara Gordon, Dick Grayson, Damian Wayne, and Tim Drake all taking on villainous personas. These designs are fantastic, and more than that, the villains' choices for mentors make perfect sense for many of them.
The extended bat family creates perfect villains in their reinvented contexts
Yes, Tim Drake is Darkseid's perfect sidekick
Two interesting choices are Carrie Kelley and an unnamed woman, Robin – possibly Cassandra Cain – who are apprentices to the Ventriloquist and the Penguin. Robin's design is fantastic, showing a yellow umbrella in place of the iconic yellow cape, as well as wielding a gun. Considering that the Penguin was Batman's ally in the past, The idea of ​​the Penguin facing off against Batman's bird-themed sidekick Robin is very interesting. Meanwhile, if Batman died in The Dark Knight ReturnsKelley may simply take on the role of Robin to try and keep him alive as the Necromancer, equipped with a Batman action figure.
Tim's insatiable desire for knowledge could have easily been directed towards the Anti-Life Equation.
Tim Drake always needs to solve problems and mysteries. Tim almost always saw Gotham as a mathematical equation that could be solved if the correct solution was applied, which is why Batman made him the leader of the Gotham Knights during writer James Tynion IV's run on Detective comics during the Renaissance. Tim tried to build an entire rapid response system to make crime-fighting easier for the Bat-Family. Tim also quickly discovered Batman's secret identity, along with Nightwing's. Tim's insatiable desire for knowledge could easily have been directed towards the Anti-Life Equation, making Tim one of Darkseid's greatest generals.
Barbara Gordon has always been James Gordon's loving daughter, but her character could have been completely different if James Gordon had been killed off. In some alternate worlds, James Gordon was in fact murdered. In the main universe, he came pretty close, like when he was shot multiple times in the crossover arc Batman: fallen officer 2001. After seeing his father dead and abandoned by Gotham City, It is not out of the question that Bárbara responds by trying to burn down the city that failed her father. It would be an incredibly dark twist, but one that isn't completely out of character for her.
Damian Wayne Could Have Been Bane's Son
From one family of villains to another
It's common knowledge that Damian Wayne is the son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul, but that could easily have been changed. Bane was once a potential love interest for Talia al Ghul. If this relationship had gone just a few steps further, Bane could have easily become Damian's father, resulting in a significantly darker take on Damian Wayne's already dark character.
Under the tutelage of Talia and Ra's, Damian was already a master assassinhaving killed more than a hundred people by the age of ten. Fortunately, Batman was able to set him on a different path, but without Batman's influence as a father, Damian would have become the most brutal assassin and warlord to ever walk the Earth – a fate made worse if Bane had been involved in creating him. it.
Nightwing has a disturbing habit of becoming a monster
Dick Grayson is prone to animalistic transformations
Disturbingly, it is very common for Nightwing to transform into a bird-like monster on the rare occasion he is infected with a monster serum or curse. Nightwing has become a monster countless times, but the Bat-Family has always managed to transform him back into his human form. Hoskisson's art paints the very possible scenario of Nightwing never being cured. Dick Grayson would transform into the monstrous Nightwing and haunt the Gotham City skyline, just like Batman before him, as a flying animal-human hybrid.
The Bat-Family are undeniably Gotham City's greatest heroes, but that's only because of Batman's influence and guidance. If, for some reason, Batman had never entered their lives, it's quite possible that each would have found a much darker path to follow. Every citizen of Gotham should be grateful for from Batman existence, because without it, the Bat Family They would be the greatest villains Gotham City has ever seen.