The other night my girlfriend and I were watching Batman Beyond and remarking on how great the show was for it’s time. Warner Brothers were coming off of the win streak of the classic shows, Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series. Fans were getting older and Warner knew it so they tried a different approach with Batman. They did the unthinkable; they fast-forwarded time 50 years into the future made Bruce Wayne an old man. They gave someone else the cape and cowl. Not only did they make him old, they had the audience witness his fading mortality and his growth into helplessness. The need for a new Batman was apparent, so spawned the creation of Terry McGuiness.
Terry McGuiness was a high school student and like most high school students he was defiant and had a penchant for trouble, but McGuiness wasn’t just any average kid. He was tough and had a natural ability for fighting. Within just the first episode, he suffered a traumatic loss with the death of his father. With such a loss, he demanded justice, so when his world crashed into Bruce Wayne’s’, it was only natural for the two to work together. The whole series takes place during the early stages of McGuiness being Batman, so we never know how great he becomes. We see the many screw-ups that he gets himself into and how he is able to think quickly on his feet. In many ways, he was extremely different than any of Batman’s other disciples. What all the Robins and Batgirl had in wit, discipline and intelligence, McGuiness made up for in courage and resourcefulness.
So I question crossed my mind, out of all of the Batman’s former sidekicks, which one could Terry take out if he really needed to. So my girlfriend and I stated to go through the list, first is Dick Grayson. Besides being the most seasoned and oldest of the sidekicks, Grayson spent the most time with Batman and was the first to leave the nest. He was taught in a different way than all the others. He was taught at a time when Batman was younger and had less to offer. There wasn’t a precedent for their relationship. So they were both learning together by trial and error.
Grayson had to learn for himself how he fit into the equation, how to stay alive, how to grow into himself without turning into Batman. So just with experience and knowledge of self, Dick’s got this one in the bag.
Winner: Dick Grayson
Then you have Jason Todd, arguably Batman’s greatest failure. Todd was cleaver, strong and angry. After finding him in Crime Alley trying to steal one of the Batmobile’s tires, Batman thought he could help Todd channel all of his anger into something productive and useful. With the success of Dick Grayson, now Nightwing, Batman thought teaching Jason would only lead to something good. That is until Joker got a hold of him. The Joker murdered Jason Todd. Many years after, Todd was resurrected and became the anti-hero the Red Hood. Red Hood is lethal, cunning and unmerciful. He knows many of Batman’s tricks and weaknesses, but is very one track minded, which could cost him the fighter against McGuiness. Both opponents would walk away from the fight bloodied and bruised. Terry might even suffer broken bones and gun shot wounds. Todd is super- aggressive but McGuiness is tough and is able to think on his feet, unlike Todd which ultimately led to his death.
Loser: Jason Todd
Long time after Jason Todd, a young man by the name of Tim Drake deduced that Bruce Wayne and Batman are one in the same. Drake believed that Batman shouldn’t be without a Robin and assumed the identity as the new, Teen Wonder.
Drake is on the road to being the world’s best detective after Batman. He’s smart, his deduction skills are unbelievable and his reasoning ability is off the charts. He goes on to become Red Robin after his years with the teen titans. Batman understood Tim Drake’s strengths and honed them. He would make sure to put him on case that required much investigation and inquiry. So while he became an excellent detective, his fighting skills suffered, he cannot hold to candle to Terry McGuiness. Drake fights because he has to. Terry fights because in his on mind, he believes he can also win. Drake would be overwhelmed with the raw intensity and advanced technology that McGuiness will bring to the fight, like he did when faced Todd during the Battle of the Cowl.
Loser : Tim Drake
The latest, and deceased Robin is the alleged son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul, Damian Wayne. He is genius and in the short 12 years of his life has learned at a rate that is nearly 50xs faster than Bruce Wayne. Being raised under the tutelage of the infamous Ra’s al Ghul, he is not only a genius but is a master martial artist and has been trained in every weapon known to mankind. I believe one look from Damian, Terry would easily lose the fight.
Winner: Damian Wayne
Now onto Batgirl, Barbara “Babs” Gordon, the last and essential part of the central Batman family. Jim Gordon’s daughter, Babs, was the only sidekick that Batman himself, did not recruit. She watched her father struggle and become frustrated with the rules of the law within a broken city. When the vigilant known as The Batman started to bring his own brand of justice and create some changes within Gotham, she instantly became magnetized with vigilantism.
Winner: Barbara Gordon
She loved the thrill of dangerous situations and seeing first hand the difference she could make in a person’s life. The Babs l I am referring to is the one that can walk of course, with that being said, now onto her abilities. Barbara Gordon is an expert in Judo and Karate, not a master, but an expert. She is also a magnificent gymnast, good enough to keep up with Dick Grayson. She is an intellectual and technological genius. With her photographic memory and immense knowledge of electronics and computers, she could very well disable Terry’s suit. Within a battle she could locate any technology around her, manipulate it and use it to bend Terry’s suit to her will and finish him off. Terry can be very resourceful, but that suit usually gives him the edge in all of his fights. Without it, he is just a tough kid with potential. Besides the strength increase and flight the suit provides, all of the other abilities of stealth and speed, the original sidekicks were able to master 50 years earlier. So with all these theories and information, who do you think Terry would be best suited to face?
