5 Most Useless Bat Family Members

Despite his reputation for being a loner, Batman actually has one of the largest, most diverse superhero families in all of comic books. Robin, the first sidekick in comics, was introduced less than a year after Batman’s introduction in Detective Comics #38. Robin was an established part of Batman’s lore even before the Dark Knight had his own comic series. Batman has worked with others since nearly the start of his publication history, so it only makes sense that over the years, Batman has picked up quite a few additional partners along the way. Creating new characters to work with Batman is something that always generates great stories, because Bruce is such a fun character to bounce others off of.

However, with how long Batman has existed, and how fun it is to make new characters, one could say that too many people have been made over the years. Frankly, the people who say that are right. As much as I love every Bat Family member, even I have to admit that Batman works best when he has a tight knit group to work with. If Gotham has over twenty vigilantes dedicated to constantly fighting crime at Batman’s level, then honestly that’s a small military force and Gotham not being changed for the better within four months is downright unbelievable. Yes, the Bat Family is so big it can break my suspension of disbelief, and this is in the world where dressing like a bat to punch crime is accepted and apparently encouraged. So let’s time some of the dead branches of this family tree. 

To set a standard, considering how nebulous being a member of the Bat Family can be when including teams like Batman Incorporated, for the purpose of this list we will only count members who have or have at one point operated solely within Gotham City.

5) Bluebird

Harper Row was first introduced in the New 52’s Batman #1. After Batman saved her and her brother from a group of hooligans attacking them, Harper dedicated herself to following in his footsteps and finding a way to help Batman clean up Gotham. That led her to create her Bluebird identity. She boasts next-level mechanic skills and has a very interesting connection to Batman and Batgirl, with Harper originally being prepared by the supervillain Mother to be trained as the perfect Robin. Cassandra Cain, then an assassin for Mother and now Batgirl, killed Harper’s mom but didn’t do so to her dad. This could create a very, very interesting dynamic between the three, but unfortunately, after that storyline concludes Harper leaves Gotham to go to college. 

Since then her appearances have been sparse, and this past is never brought up again. Honestly, Bluebird is only this high on the list because of her potential dynamic and her skill set makes her slightly more diversified in abilities than the others. I wish I could give her more, but honestly, that’s all I can say about Bluebird.

4) Orpheus

Gavin King debuted in Batman: Orpheus Rising. He was born and raised in Gotham, and toured the world as a famous dancer that was inspired to do good after seeing the poverty and crime around the world in his travels. I wish I could say something great about Orpheus, bring up something unique that sets him apart from other members of the Bat Family, but there’s nothing there to bring up. I like Orpheus, I have no reason to dislike him, but he doesn’t give a reason that he belongs in the Bat Family. In a city stacked with some of the most memorable and beloved superheroes in all of fiction, you have to be able to stake your claim and show why you deserve to be here. Orpheus is just another superhero. That’s not a bad thing, but frankly he could be placed in any city other than Gotham and have the same impact. Gotham is just as much a character as Batman, so you have to connect with the city in a way that Orpheus just doesn’t.

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3) Harold Allnut

Originally appearing as a one shot character in The Question #33, Harold is a genius mechanic who was responsible for creating many of Batman’s greatest gear and gadgets, with the Dark Knight having recruited him after Harold was manipulated by the Penguin to make a device that would let him control birds. Harold is a mute, hunchbacked man who is perhaps the greatest mechanic Batman has ever worked with. Except, he’s far from the only one. Lucius Fox, Luke Fox, Harper Row, Batman himself, all of them are genius mechanics who have created impossible wonders over the years. Frankly, even after Harold left Batman at the start of the No Man’s Land event, Batman’s effectiveness and deep bag of new tech did not change. 

And something else about Harold, as much as I love him, all he does is build machines. As stated up above, Bluebird is also a mechanical genius and an active crimefighter. While Harold has his specialty, multiple other members of the Bat Family can do nearly as good a job, and they all have other skills. Unfortunately, that means Harold might just not be needed.

2) Sasha Bordeaux

Sasha Bordeaux was introduced in Detective Comics #751 as Bruce Wayne’s bodyguard. I don’t think I need to explain why Batman doesn’t need a bodyguard. Sasha worked to keep Bruce safe, and eventually grew suspicious of his constant disappearances, eventually discovering that he is Batman. However, it was revealed later that Bruce let her figure it out in order to bring her closer into his fold as he developed feelings for her. Sasha started to train with Batman to be a new partner alongside him, but before she even earned a codename she and Bruce were falsely arrested for murder. While in prison, the organization known as Checkmate recruited Sasha and broke her out, ending her career with Batman.

The thing about Sasha is that she is infinitely more interesting of a character after she leaves Batman’s side. She becomes an awesome cyborg in charge of the entire shadowy Checkmate on her own. But when she was in the Bat Family? Well, she filled the useless position of Batman’s bodyguard. Sasha is interesting, but in the Bat Family she literally couldn’t contribute anything because the person she is supposed to guard is just better at fighting. And yet, even being Batman’s bodyguard is more useful to the Bat Family than our number one position.

1) Clownhunter

Bao Pham is, and I cannot stress this enough, just a guy. He was introduced in Batman #96, and has a vendetta against the Joker and his goons after the clown killed his parents. However, Bao doesn’t have any special skills. He isn’t a genius mechanic, he doesn’t have years of preparation to be a vigilante, and he isn’t trained to protect others. There is literally nothing that he can do that every single other member of the Bat Family can’t do ten times better. He is just a seventeen year old guy who has a bat with a batarang stuck through it. He also seems to have a rather deep arsenal of firearms, but who doesn’t in Gotham? But that’s it!

Clownhunter contributes nothing to Batman’s mission. In fact, he actively works against it given that he aims to kill the people he fights. And I might be stretching the definition of being a member of the Bat Family here, given he never worked with the Dark Knight, but he was recruited for Batman Incorporated only after he operated in Gotham for a time, so I’m willing to count him here. Honestly, Clownhunter just adds nothing to the greater Bat Family. He’s just another young vigilante, and while he has potential for good stories, like everyone on this list, he doesn’t make strong enough of a case to stand beside longtime greats like Nightwing and Batgirl.

As much as I love most of the characters on this list, the truth is they just don’t do nearly enough, either as heroes or as characters. The Bat Family has gotten a little bit too large, and while I love it to death and back, there does need to be some kind of trimming. 

What do you think? Let us know in the comments!