DC’s New Batman Gets Called Out for As a Coward - And His Reaction Is Terrible

Jace Fox / Batman gets called out for being a coward in the pages of John Ridley, Christian Duce and Tom Derenick’s I Am Batman #14.

Issue #14 finds Batman and Detective Whitaker taking in the quiet of New York City after what the Dark Knight describes as a “hell of a night.” But their amicable discussion quickly takes an aggressive turn, as Whitaker questions why Jace took the Batman name, and calls Jace a coward for running from Gotham to New York City and for sitting out Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths. “I’m asking: Why Batman? Why ruin his rep just cause you’re a straight-up coward?” Detective Whitaker asks.

Jace, of course, does not take well to Detective Whitaker’s questioning and proceeds to furiously beat him down. Detective Cubb’s eventually intervenes, stopping Jace from potentially crossing a line he could never return from.

Jace Fox Is Batman

After discovering that his father Lucius works for Batman in the pages of The Next Batman: Second Son, I Am Batman sees Jace works with his friend Vol to become a new Batman, one who instills hope in the citizens of Gotham instead of fear in the minds of the city’s criminals. However, after defeating the Magistrate, Jace decides to relocate to New York City to make a name for himself, one that does not have to constantly compete with the shadow of the original Caped Crusader. Upon his arrival to New York, Jace faced off against Manray, who went after some of New York City’s most powerful, and teamed up with the Question.

Jace also made a brief appearance in Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths #1. After the death of the Justice League, Jon Kent / Superman sought out new heroes to form a new team. While he wanted Jace to be his Batman, the Dark Knight refused the offer, opting to stay and protect New York City instead. However, Jace won’t be able to completely avoid the events of Dark Crisis, as I Am Batman #15 will directly tie into the crossover.

Created by Len Wein and Irv Novick, Timothy “Jace” Fox made his first appearance in December 2020’s Batman #101. He is the oldest child of Lucius and Tanya Fox and has three siblings: Tiffany, Tam and Luke, who is also known as the hero Batwing.