Many fans understandably love the worldwide and cosmic-level adventures that superheroes get into in comics. As one of the "big two" comic book publishers, DC unsurprisingly has many of them. However, it's still great to see writers and artists team up to tell smaller-scale stories.
Thankfully, the "multiverse" concept as a plot device allows both to exist seamlessly in the medium. Batman is certainly the most popular of the street-level superheroes, but he's spawned some more great ones. Aside from the Bat-family, tough, the likes of Green Arrow are evidence of some other worthwhile characters.
Batman
Being the second-most popular individual superhero IP overall, it isn't a shock that Batman is arguably the best street-level superhero. The character began as a pulpy character in crime-noir-influenced stories before eventually veering hard into camp.
But once the over-the-top campiness of the Bronze Age of comics and the '60s TV show wore off, the return and evolution of the Dark Knight's gritty crime-noir roots came to define the character overall from the early '70s onward. It's what's come to be the most acclaimed of Batman's story arcs, and the likes of Year One -- regarded as the definitive Batman origin -- are great examples of how smaller, more intimately-scoped stories can be just as compelling as the best cosmic adventures.
Nightwing
After being one-half of the iconic Dynamic Duo with Batman, Dick Grayson evolved from being Robin into Nightwing. Though there are many important of the extended Bat-family, Nightwing is among the most important of Batman's friendships in the comics. Dick has grown into his own with the Nightwing persona, dealing justice in Blüdhaven as well as maintaining his dynamic with his adoptive father in Gotham.
He provides a much-needed occasional dose of upbeat charm, but still stands as arguably Bruce Wayne's most suited successor to the Batman mantle. In the comics, Bruce himself has said that he represents a more complete version of what the Dark Knight is meant to be.
Catwoman
Selina Kyle has gradually grown as Catwoman in of her role in Gotham City. She started as a supervillain in Batman's rogues' gallery, but then worked her way into the anti-hero role. More recently, she's effectively become a superhero and Bat-family member in the process.
Though her romantic relationship with Bruce has become more defined as of late, it's still fairly complicated. Once Frank Miller's Year One came along, she was popularly established as an anti-hero/Robin Hood figure who no one could know for sure whose side she was on. The Batman looks to be taking an exciting take on this version of the character with Zoë Kravitz embodying the famous feline anti-hero.
Green Arrow
Even though he doesn't have the same level of popularity as Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, Green Arrow still ranks among the best DC Comics superheroes. Though Catwoman eventually adopted those aforementioned character traits, Green Arrow is DC's most literal incarnation of Robin Hood.
Oliver Queen was a billionaire owner of Queen Industries who went on to be a street-level champion for Star City's disenfranchised. One of his most iconic friendships and comic book arcs came in the classic Green Arrow/Green Lantern team-up, in which the two took part in a story charged with social commentary.
Robin
Though Spider-Man is the most popular of this age group of heroes (and in general) Robin is another one of the best teenage superheroes in comics. Several characters have carried the Robin mantle, both in mainline and alternate continuities. However, the symbol itself carries the most weight. Dick Grayson was, of course, the original, but they all play an important role in Gotham City and Batman.
On top of lending one more crucial hand in the everlasting fight against Gotham's corruption, he's one of the moral and psychological anchors for Bruce. Robin was instrumental in the Caped Crusader realizing that being the pained, lone wolf with the weight of the world on his shoulders won't help in the long run.
Jonah Hex
While a more unconventional "street-level" character, Jonah Hex could qualify as one given the context. He's DC's superhero twist on classic Western movies and is also one of their heroes that are arguably darker than their villains. Jonah Hex is another character that can fluctuate within the spectrum as an anti-hero, calling back to one of the most defining traits of Westerns.
His cruel upbringing brought about his cynicism but ultimately bounds himself to a moral code to protect the innocents of an equally-cruel, lawless world. With this, it stands to reason that Jonah Hex operates on a street-level scale, though, a much older one.
Red Hood
Jason Todd made comic book history as the first Robin to be killed -- and even by (slim) popular demand in the '90s. The second Robin was characterized as an angsty, unstable young man who's dangerously come close to crossing Batman's moral line. After the Joker viciously murdered him his rebirth as Red Hood molded him into something darker.
Naturally, this made an even more complicated and contentious relationship with the Dark Knight but eventually transitioned into a "hero" of sorts within Batman's family. His brand of justice teeters even closer to the edge, but still managed to stabilize to the point of regaining the family's trust.
Batwoman
While Batwoman has technically been a character for much longer, the popular incarnation of her as Kate Kane is much more recent. In this version, she was established as Bruce's cousin from his mother's side. Kate's mother was killed at a young age, and she then leaned harder into training within the military lifestyle of her parents.
Her proper debut in 2006 started smaller, more independent from the rest of the Bat-family, but gradually built up a great amount of popularity as she became more associated with them. Perhaps the best story arc involving Batwoman was on James Tynion IV's run on Detective Comics, where she served essentially as a valuable co-lead/partner alongside Batman.
Batgirl
At least around as popular as the Robin mantle overall is Batgirl. Similar to the former, multiple characters have assumed the identity of Batgirl, from Barbara Gordon to Stephanie Brown to Cassandra Cain. However, Barbara is undoubtedly the biggest fan-favorite. She donned the persona on her own accord and initially without Batman or Robin knowing.
Barbara was inspired by the dynamic duo, and though unexpected, she proved to be an indispensable asset to the Bat-Family. The others deserve praise, and namely Cassandra Cain's iteration of the superhero since she's arguably DC's most skilled martial artist.
Oracle
It's a technicality as it reworks Barbara Gordon into another role, but her work as Oracle debatably challenges her's as Batgirl. She was cruelly paralyzed in the acclaimed yet harrowing The Killing Joke, but it couldn't stop her sheer willpower.
She functioned as Batman and the wider Bat-family's "eye in the sky," putting her computer science skills and overall incredible intelligence to help overcome obstacles before they become obstacles for those working in the field. The masterful feats she was able to achieve from her computer at the Clocktower cement that no one else could do this job like her.