Warning! Spoilers ahead for The Next Batman: Second Son #9!
Tim "Jace" Fox, the next his predecessor, the previous Batman, Bruce Wayne. After the death of Bruce's parents, the first Dark Knight traveled the world and spent time training with the most renowned fighters, amassing various fighting techniques along the way. By the end of this massive excursion, Bruce had transformed himself into the ultimate fighter.
Meanwhile, Jace began his training at an international boarding school for troubled youth called the Sanford Military Academy, as revealed in The Next Batman: Second Son #9 by John Ridley, Travel Foreman, and Mark Morales. Similar to how Bruce began training after his parents were killed, Jace's father, Lucius Fox, coincidentally sent Jace to the place where the next Batman would learn how to fight after a murder. The difference, however, is that Jace Fox was the perpetrator behind the killing, having accidentally killed a man during a hit and run.
Jace's training regime at Sanford wasn't some covert operation, however, fighting is part of the curriculum there. While it's currently unclear whether Jace only trained at Sanford or if he sought additional teachings during his pre-Batman days in Vietnam, readers at least know for sure that he first began learning to fight at the school. This isn't to say that Jace wanted to learn. At least, he didn't initially. Jace originally let the teacher beat him up because he felt he needed to be punished for his crime. It wasn't until his friends convinced him otherwise that Jace changed his stance, compelling Jace to find his teacher after class and ask for lessons.
It's telling that Bruce proactively made the decision to learn how to fight on his own and Jace did not. Although the death of his parents is what sparked Bruce's desire to better himself physically, no one told or tried to convince him to become a fighter. Conversely, Jace is twice removed from making his own decision. He wouldn't have been introduced to fighting if his father hadn't sent him to the Sanford, and he probably would've let his teacher beat him up for his entire tenure at Sanford if his friends hadn't convinced him otherwise. These are just more examples of how Jace is the reverse version of Bruce Wayne.
In fact, this lack of decision-making appears to be part of a larger prevailing pattern. Jace seems to have no control of what he does or is at least highly influenced by outside forces. After the hit and run, Jace comes to resent his family's wealth, especially his father and runs away to Vietnam, where he effectively cuts off all communications. But when Lucius calls him back home to Gotham, Jace surprisingly obliges without hesitation. Although Jace promised himself to never rely on the family fortune, his obsession with catching a purported criminal makes Jace Fox become an employee at FoxTech so he can have access to the technology there. This, consequently, will be what helps him become the next Batman, but even more importantly, could be what finally gives Jace back some control of his life.
