With the announcement of the Batman 2022 Annual #1, releasing in May, it seems that Lex Luthor is being replaced as the leader of Batman Inc. by someone much more suitable... and deadly. The mainline Batman series has thrown Bruce Wayne's international group of vigilantes into total disarray recently, giving them not one but two villainous leaders. Lex Luthor used his fortune to acquire Batman Inc. out from under the Dark Knight when he lost most of his fortune in Joker War. Then, the mysterious villain Abyss took control of the team from Luthor without his knowledge.
This villainous leadership won't last long, however, and it's been confirmed Batman will take back his international organization. The Dark Knight isn't going to be the one leading it though. He's going back to Gotham and leaving one of his most bitter rivals in charge - Ghost-Maker.
Ghost-Maker is a recent addition to the Batman mythos. He first appeared in Batman #100 in 2020 and was created by James Tynion IV and Jorge Jiménez. Although he's new, Minhkhoa Khan has quite the history with Bruce Wayne. They both have similar origins and they trained to be vigilantes in their youth under many of the same teachers. Although their goals often aligned, their philosophies did not - especially when it came to killing. Khoa also believed that Bruce was naive in his war on crime. Rather than seeing crimefighting as a battle that can be won, or even a moral duty, he perceived it as an art form.
For years they both agreed to stay out of each other's affairs. Recently, they set aside their differences and Bruce convinced his rival to stop killing and work with him in Gotham. It seems their partnership has reached a new level if Bruce is willing to trust Ghost-Maker to lead Batman Inc. In many ways, Khoa fits the role perfectly. He can finance the team properly, which Batman no longer can. Also, whilst the Dark Knight stayed solely in Gotham, Ghost-Maker traveled all around the world fighting crime. This gives him knowledge of international criminals which Batman himself may not have. He sounds like the perfect fit for these global Batmen then.
But is he really? To what extent is he willing to follow Batman's moral code? When he was working in Gotham, he agreed to the Dark Knight's no-kill rule more as a challenge than a strict agreement. With Batman Inc., he'll be out of Gotham and away from Bruce's prying eyes. It's possible he may see this not as a way of helping his ally but furthering his own brand of crimefighting.
The various members of Batman Inc. aren't exactly saints either. A few of them have killed in the past, with one even taking part in Robin's murder tournament, and most of them do their own thing in their own way, independent of the Dark Knight. There are already a number of similarities between Ghost-Maker and Batman. Perhaps the international Batmen will find more kinship with Khoa and adopt his philosophies as well.
The direction Ghost-Maker takes the team will all depend on how he handles the Lex Luthor/Abyss affair. Although Batman will put a stop to it in Badhnisia, there's more that needs to be uncovered beyond that country, globally. This mission will determine whether the team sides with Batman's methods or Ghost-Maker's - or whether they accept Ghost-Maker as their leader at all.
However this story goes, this looks to be an interesting opportunity for Ghost-Maker in the wake of his most recent team-up with Batman. It could establish him as another international Batman, like the members of Batman Inc. It could also give him the space he needs to form his own identity in comics, away from Gotham, and create his own globetrotting dynamic duo with his new sidekick, Clownhunter.
Source: Trendz OH
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