Jean-Paul Valley

Jean-Paul Valley

Jean-Paul Valley. Typical nerd. Social outcast. The new Batman.

Confused? Let’s start from the beginning.

When supervillain Bane broke Batman’s spine in 1993, Wayne chose Jean-Paul to carry on the legacy. What he didn’t know was that Jean-Paul had been trained from birth to be Azrael, the assassin for the fanatical, Illuminati-like Order of St. Dumas cult. Had Bruce known, he would have spared himself a lot of pain.

At first Valley seems like the safe choice. His Azrael training has given him the necessary skills. Batman himself said that, “Jean Paul . . . instantly shifted into the state of alert relaxation Batman had observed only in Zen masters . . . poised on the cusp between readiness and action.”

All of that changes when Valley dons the mask. Ordinarily meek, Valley seemed overjoyed at using lethal force on a helpless opponent. It’s only the intervention of Tim Drake (the current Robin) and the timely arrival of the police that the criminal walks out with all limbs intact. Later on, Valley berates Robin for his soft-heartedness, despite the fact that Drake has significantly more experience. It’s as though Valley is a completely different person when the mask is on.

The truth isn’t far off. Much of Valley’s Azrael training involved brainwashing and negative conditioning. As such, Valley’s been trained to believe he’s nothing without Dumas and the System (the collective name for his subconscious assassination skills). An example is the Valley nearly crashes the Batmobile twice. It’s only when Valley prays to Dumas that his subconscious grants him the necessary skills.

It only gets worse. Valley’s darker persona gains more power with each passing night, as exemplified by Valley’s new costume. His subconscious, seeing Batman’s ordinary garb inadequate, completely modifies the costume. Combined with the lethal weaponry suitable for a holy assassin, plus a strong resemblance to the Azrael garb, this new costume marks Valley’s complete domination of his Azrael persona.

The Azrael persona’s effects are also psychological. Seeing Drake’s reluctance with violence as weakness, Valley arms the Batcave with a host of fatal defenses designed to keep interlopers out. Furthermore, finding detective work tedious and unbecoming of an agent of holy vengeance, Valley concocts an alliance with antagonistic policeman Harvey Bullock for the information he needs. Valley is so consumed within this Azrael persona that he lives within the costume. It’s only when Valley is tricked into getting out of his costume that his Valley persona reasserts himself.

Knowing that all comic book characters must receive periodic evolutions in order to satisfy an equally evolving audience, the Batman staff made Valley’s character into a question: do the fans want a darker Batman? The answer? No. Jean Paul is a pretender. Bruce Wayne is the one true Batman. Not even a broken spine can stop him. He’ll be a long time correcting Valley’s atrocities, but he’ll persevere. He’s Batman. He always does.