All 17 Batman’s Sidekicks, Ranked by Importance
Join the community on Reddit for the latest Marvel & DC news!
Despite being one of the oldest superheroes in the comic book’s history, Batman from DC Comics is still one of the most popular characters ever. His amazing stories and lore made us feel all kinds of feelings, but most importantly, they made us wait for new Batman stories with excitement and a new storyline that would make us lose our minds. Of course, Batman is a great character, but he is nothing without his trusty sidekicks and allies who help his cause.
Since Dick Grayson and the first Robin in the 1940s was the first Batman sidekick, The Dark Knight had around 17 important sidekicks and allies that impacted his life or the other way around in some way. In this article, we will rank our 17 picks by importance, including both traditional Batman sidekicks and the ones that toe the line a bit. If you are interested, stay with us until the end.
17. Duke Thomas – Lark/The Signal
We start this list with one of the newer DC characters, specifically released in 2014, known as The Signal. This teenage meta-human first appeared in the Batman: Zero Year comic book story from 2013, when Riddler terrorizes and challenges Gotham City’s population to outsmart him. During that storyline, Duke and his family saved Bruce Wayne, and after thanking the boy and his family, Batman left to defeat the Riddler.
Several years later, Joker returns to Gotham and poisons Duke’s parents while Batman suffers from amnesia. While Batman is absent from Gotham, Duke joins the Robins movement to save the city. Since then, Duke joined Bruce Wayne; they work together, and eventually, Duke Thomas becomes Batman’s sidekick. There is a whole storyline in Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo Batman Vol. 2 run from 2015. It’s a cool storyline that added another member of the Bat family under the mantle of The Signal – a superhero acting during daytime in Gotham City.
16. Ace The Bat-Hound
As much as Batman is a tough man and a badass character, he is also weak for animals. Despite being a dog, Ace’s origin story revolves around becoming an attack dog, courtesy of Joker himself. Batman meets Ace when the dog bites him, and after some time, Dark Knight finds the abandoned dog in a pit as the only surviving animal. Alfred adopts the dog despite the injuries and lingering bad behavior, and Bruce eventually takes a liking to the dog, which starts to show concern for the billionaire.
Ace’s concern for Batman is seen when the vigilante returns home with injuries and stays by Wayne’s side until he is okay. Unknowingly, Bruce actually adopts Ace as his own dog, and the pet officially joins the elite group of Superpets that already includes Superman’s Krypto and Damian Wayne’s Titus. There is also a cow named Bat-Cow, which only showcases that Batman doesn’t only adopt abandoned children; he also takes in stray animals.
15. Carrie Kelley – Robin
Despite not being the most-known character in Batman’s lore, her character is significant to Batman’s character. We first meet Carrie Kelley in Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns comic book, where in the possible future, specifically, Earth-31, we see an elderly Batman protecting Gotham City. After he saves her life, Carrie protects the city by herself, becomes a new Robin, and even saves Batman’s life.
She eventually changed her superhero persona into Catgirl and Batgirl and continued to fight alongside the old Batman. Because she is from a different universe, Carrie Kelley isn’t considered canon to the main DC continuity because she is from a different universe, but the fans still do, so she is on this list.
14. Kate Kane – Batwoman
Kate Kane has two debuts in DC Comics, the first occurring in the Silver Age of Comics as Kathy Kane/Batwoman, who really wanted Batman for herself. However, modern-era Kate Kane doesn’t want Bruce Wayne in any way since they are cousins from Martha Wayne’s side, and she is a lesbian.
As Batwoman, Kate Kane uses her resources to stop the Religion of Crime in Gotham and is more of an ally to Batman than a sidekick. However, Batwoman worked with Batman many times, which is why she appeared on this list.
13. Stephanie Brown – Robin/Batgirl/Spoiler
We are getting to more “important” Batman’s sidekicks, and Stephanie Brown is also on this list. Her stint as Robin wasn’t that popular with the fans since her recklessness and lethal force against the criminals didn’t sit well with Batman, who eventually rejected her as Robin. Steph even died in DC Comics but eventually returned as Batgirl and Spoiler.
Her stint as Spoiler was her most iconic role in the comics, and she became a better ally to Batman than when she was a Robin. Stephanie Brown is iconic and should always be considered an important character to Batman. She is also known as Tim Drake’s long-lasting love until they parted ways.
12. Jean-Paul Valley – Azrael
Cults and strange groups are always present in DC Comics, and Jean-Paul Valley is definitely one of them. The wrath of the sacred Order of St. Dumas, and the angel of death, Azrael, was cold and vicious murderer until he met Batman and his allies, who showed him the way how to fight evil in Gotham without killing everyone in sight.
Azrael impressed Batman with his detective skills and, at one point, even became Batman and the protector of Gotham. However, he went to his killing ways, and Bruce had to intervene and take over his mantle back from the unhinged assassin before reforming once again. Truly an interesting character and one of the better-known antiheroes of the DC comics in recent years.
11. Cassandra Cain – Orphan/Batgirl
Formerly the Orphan, now the other half of the Batgirl persona she shares with Stephanie Brown, Cassandra Cain is someone very special to Batman. Her origin story really ties her to the orphaned billionaire, and both have suffered great loss during their childhood. Cass’ life is ridden with vicious training to become the perfect killing machine and speech impairment, which does help her in her vigilante work.
Cass easily joins Batman’s family, and she is one of Wayne’s favorites since she is quiet but understands people more than anyone in the group, including Bruce Wayne.
10. Helena Bartinelli – Huntress
This entry is interesting since Helena Bartinelli wasn’t always the favorite person to Batman. When Batman disappeared in the 1999’s No Man’s Land, a comic book story when an earthquake hits Gotham, the Huntress assumes the mantle of Batgirl. She realizes that the enemies respect her more under the mantle of Batgirl, but Batman isn’t really happy about her Batgirl stint since it reminds him of Barbara Gordon.
Eventually, Helena returns to her Huntress mantle, joins Birds of Prey and Outsiders, and with that, one of the members of the Bat Family. Batman and Huntress have gone a long way since they first met.
9. Lucius Fox
This entry is more of an ally than a sidekick, but Lucius Fox definitely deserves to be on this list. The CEO of Wayne Enterprises has been one of the closest allies to Bruce Wayne and Batman, and his business and invention experience helps Batman in his fight against crime immensely.
Even his son Lucas Fox joins Batman in the fight against crime in Gotham, which marks the Fox family as one of the biggest and most important allies of the Caped Crusader.
8. Selina Kyle – Catwoman
Now, Selina Kyle is Batman’s ultimate femme fatale, a woman whom Bruce Wayne cannot resist. She was always on the opposite side of Batman, usually doing illegal things across Gotham City. Their animosity usually ends with them being in bed together, but since then, Catwoman and Batman have worked more together to stop the crime across Gotham City.
These days, Catwoman is one of the more valuable allies of the Bat Family and is seen helping Bats on numerous occasions. They were supposed to get married, but Selina didn’t arrive at the wedding – Bruce Wayne was heartbroken.
7. Jason Todd – Robin/Red Hood
After Dick Grayson’s tenure as Robin stopped, Jason Todd became a new Batman sidekick. Fans liked the character, but DC decided for Joker to kill him in one of the most controversial stories of DC comics. Jason’s death deeply hurt Bruce Wayne, but he was shocked when Todd was revived in 2005 as a vicious Red Hood.
The revival of Jason Todd has been a great decision by DC since his character and stories have been really good, and despite being unstable and bloodthirsty at times, Jason Todd is still considered one of the most important Batman sidekicks of all time.
6. James Gordon – Commissioner of GCPD
Commissioner Gordon is probably one of the most iconic characters on this list. He has been Batman’s ally since 1939, even before the Robins, and one of the few supporters of Batman in the early days. Gordon shares his morals and stance against crime with Batman, which helps them work together. In modern times, Gordon is more skeptical of Batman’s methods but still believes Gotham needs its Caped Crusader.
Jim is closely connected to Batman and, at one point, even became Batman in volume two of Batman #41. Of course, he is currently retired from GCPD but still works as a private investigator in Gotham.
5. Damian Wayne – Robin
Damian Wayne first appeared in 2006 as the son of Batman and Talia al Ghul, who the League of Assassins trained. The 11 years old boy is abrasive and asocial at the beginning, but over the years, Batman and his adopted brothers help him adapt to the new surroundings and life.
As Robin, some fans argue that others have been better, but we didn’t get as many stories of Damian Wayne as we got from previous Robins, and when we get it, Damian has the potential to move up on the ladder of most important sidekicks to Batman. Just because he is Batman’s biological son, Damian deserves the place on this list.
4. Barbara Gordon – Oracle/Batgirl
Commissioner Gordon’s daughter, Barbara Gordon, is one of the most popular and loved characters in DC Comics. She is regarded as one of the most important sidekicks of Batman and has been part of some of the best stories in DC Comics. When she became Batgirl, Barbara worked with Robin (Dick Grayson) and Batman to fight crime. However, her career as a vigilante was cut short by Joker, who shot her in the spine.
Her injuries didn’t stop her from fighting crime, and she became the famous Oracle, who helped Batman and the rest of the family with her hacker skills. Today, Babs is part of the Bat Family and still helps Batman on his missions.
3. Tim Drake – Robin/Red Robin
After Jason Todd’s death, a young boy Timothy Drake discovered the identities of the original Robin and Batman and decided to reach the Caped Crusader to become his new sidekick after Jason Todd’s death.
Tim Drake has been the most balanced Robin to Batman, showcasing his amazing detective skills, intellect, and will to put him on the right path. When Damian Wayne first arrived, Tim left the mantle of Robin to Batman’s biological son, while he took over the mantle of Red Robin. Great character and one of the best Batman sidekicks ever.
2. Alfred Pennyworth
Alfred Pennyworth is the father figure to Bruce Wayne and the biggest ally and supporter of Batman. The butler of the Wayne family is also Bruce Wayne’s biggest confidant, who supported Caped Crusader when no one did.
Besides being a butler, Alfred is a very skilled man and would showcase his skills from medical to technological skills. Unfortunately, since January of 2023, Alfred Pennyworth has been dead in the Batman comics. Bane killed him, and it’s safe to say that Bruce Wayne was devastated. One of the most iconic characters of all time.
1. Dick Grayson – Robin/Nightwing
Finally, we have “Mr. Sidekick” himself, Dick Grayson. As Alfred, Dick has been with Batman since the beginning, in the 1940s, and the first and original Robin, making him the first Batman sidekick.
Dick Grayson was Robin for forty years until he left the mantle for Nightwing, which only propelled the character in the long run. Dick Grayson is one of the few characters that went through Batman’s darkest moments, which makes him the most important Batman sidekick ever.
Liked this article? Join the community on Reddit for the latest Marvel & DC news!
