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Despite his gadgety goodness and (worryingly) spandexed tween sidekicks, Batman’s true universal appeal is that he can dole out all kinds of vicious vigilantism and yet never resort to murder, no matter how twisted his opponents.
DC’s decision to cripple Bruce Wayne at the hands of the steroided supervillain Bane, and replace him with the mentally unhinged, kill-happy Jean Paul Valley was in direct result to two things: the headline-grabbing, geek-baiting and gabillion selling “Death of Superman” storyline, and DC’s attempts to appeal to the “yoof” of the day, who were spending their dollars on gritty and ruthless anti-heroes at the time, such as The Terminator.
Backlash? Aside from the shock of the swapsies, fans went along for the ride. It probably helped that, what with Azrael being more than a little mental, they presumed it wouldn’t last for long. They were right.
Gender/Sexuality/Ethnicity Reassignment? While his mulleto hair alone is questionably applicable to all three, the main visual difference is his blondness and penchant for craziness.
How Long Did They Last? While the “they could only have named that in the ’90s” Knightfall / Knightquest / Knightsend trilogy went on for almost two years, Jean Paul only wore the body armoured cape for a year.
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